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why there some vets that requires to wait? what is their reasoning?
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why wait 5 or 6 months to spay or neuter a cat?
- Thread starter mwallace056
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It is fairly recent advances in anesthetic that allows for earlier neutering which is why some vets still wait. Even if they are using newer anesthetics they still wait until the customary 5 or 6 months. Even though it can be done as early as 2 months and 2 pounds I waited a bit longer to get my two done. Rescues get it done as early as possible to get kittens up for adoption. A kitty that is in their forever home can wait a bit.
While the anesthesia is a factor, my understanding is that the primary reason to wait up to six months is physical development. Hormones aren't just about sexual development, they regulate growth, muscle development, and have an important role in bone growth and importantly, bone density. It is coming into sexual adulthood that the hormones trigger the body to stop growing the bones. Cats and dogs spayed or neutered early are typically taller, longer, and have smaller heads than those spayed or neutered later.
There has been more research on the long term consequences of early age s/n in dogs than in cats ( http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/09/30/neutering-health-risks.aspx a good summary) - but so far in cats similar long term health consequences have not been revealed. That said, if one is in a position to wait six months for spaying / neutering a cat, it's probably best, given the unknowns. Our vet recommends spaying/neutering owned cats when the first baby tooth falls out, as that is when the body is nearing sexual adulthood. That usually happens at four - five months.
There has been more research on the long term consequences of early age s/n in dogs than in cats ( http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/09/30/neutering-health-risks.aspx a good summary) - but so far in cats similar long term health consequences have not been revealed. That said, if one is in a position to wait six months for spaying / neutering a cat, it's probably best, given the unknowns. Our vet recommends spaying/neutering owned cats when the first baby tooth falls out, as that is when the body is nearing sexual adulthood. That usually happens at four - five months.
I know what you mean. I work at a humane society & foster kittens. They like to get them out the door ASAP because for some reason people want the smallest kittens. I used to take them back at 2 lbs. Now that I know more I am going to keep them until 2.5 lbs. I wish people would realize that tiny kittens will be cats in 1 year.
Yes, you do need to wait and allow for proper development of the body. Bone plates need to grow, and once the pet is altered, this comes to a halt.
I have never heard this! Do you have a link or somewhere I can read about it? Sometimes the babies I take in are only 8 weeks old. The vets think it is fine.
I agree. My cat was from a shelter and at 2 months they spayed her. She is super long w a pin head. She did not have the hormones to stop growth. Still I love her with all my heart and think she is gorgeous but I know the importance of hormones and given the choice I would have gotten it done after she grew some.
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The studies that have been done have all been done on dogs. The issues arise more with larger dogs. LDG's post had a good summary and here is another one http://www.2ndchance.info/cruciatelongtermneuter.htm
Of course given how much easier it is to get the little puff balls adopted and the need for rescues to get kittens adopted out, the rescues need and should continue to do the early spay/neuter. For those of us that take in a kitten on our own we should wait a bit to get them done. A vet that advises to wait until 5 or 6 months is giving good advise. That being said there are some precocious female kitties that will go into heat earlier than that. It is usually not a very long and loud heat but the risk of pregnancy is there.
Of course shelters have to do what they have to do to get kittens in homes with no risk of pregnancy, so I'm all for spaying/neutering shelter kittens as young as possible. The growth plate thing doesn't seem to be much of a problem in small dogs so I would expect it's not much of a problem for cats either. I haven't personally seen any problems from early spay/neuter in cats.
But personally, I do like to wait a bit to neuter males. Not too long, of course, because I don't want them to start spraying, but 6-8 months is usually fine. For females I prefer around 14 weeks, because I have had them go into heat at 16 weeks. I just hate to put little babies through surgery if it's not strictly necessary.
But personally, I do like to wait a bit to neuter males. Not too long, of course, because I don't want them to start spraying, but 6-8 months is usually fine. For females I prefer around 14 weeks, because I have had them go into heat at 16 weeks. I just hate to put little babies through surgery if it's not strictly necessary.
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I just wish I had the option. I would have signed a contract and paid extra to do it myself at 5 months and provided the shelter proof. I am in medicine and psychology. I know hormones are very important for development. I am not trying to make money off anyone-vets are-always consider the source. I advocate tying tubes rather than removing all the organs as that way the cat is fixed but has the ovaries for those important hormones. Love the article provided. Makes sound sense.
I did find this online. I do not know who sponsored it. It is important to know that as the study could be bias but overall it says early neutering is ok. It backs up the "Long cat" thing Whitney has.
http://www.cfainc.org/CatCare/SpayNeuter/EarlySpayNeuter.aspx
I did find this online. I do not know who sponsored it. It is important to know that as the study could be bias but overall it says early neutering is ok. It backs up the "Long cat" thing Whitney has.
http://www.cfainc.org/CatCare/SpayNeuter/EarlySpayNeuter.aspx
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This was me, when i adopted my first cat Kitty, she was three months old when i adopted her. XD It was my first pet as an adult, and i guess i wanted the experience of having a kitten, and seeing her grow up. Im so glad to have her in my life.
My second cat turned out to be around 6 months+ (shes a stray cat, was not expecting a second cat).
Once i am more financially stable i may consider adopting an adult cat. I know how hard it is for them to be adopted.
I didnt realize why the people at the shelter were encouraging me to adopt an older cat. I think that is the problem, there is not enough awareness to the reality that older cats are being put down because people adopt kittens.
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While I might consider this for a dog (although pyometra is a real threat), I wouldn't ever think of it with a cat. I've lived with females in heat, and have seen what tomcats can do, and nope
. There may be an outlier now and then; a female with silent heats who doesn't urine mark, or a tomcat who doesn't spray or fight, but in general, a cat's sexual behaviors aren't really compatible with being a pet. Particularly since cats use urine so much in their mating behaviors, I think there are very few people who could/would live with a mature hormonally intact cat.While, yes, vets are trying to make enough money to pay their bills (who isn't?), they also know how many cats die from lack of a home. Their main consideration is to prevent unwanted babies and pets thrown away for developing problematic behaviors. And cats are extremely efficient and prolific reproducers. Most people can't keep an intact cat from mating, and prefer not to live in a urine-soaked home. So it benefits everyone if the majority of pets are altered young, before there's any chance of reproduction.
Even committed responsible breeders keep their males in an outside enclosure or an enclosure indoors. The enclosures are large floor to ceiling enclosures not little cages. They also retire and spay their females young. They do that both so they aren't worn out from a lot of litters but also because the damage from 'dry cycles' or cycles where they don't mate is cumulative. A female goes into heat very often, it isn't unusual for them to go into heat before the kittens are fully weaned. They will keep going into heat until they mate so it isn't possible to mate a cat every time she goes into heat and keep her healthy. A female dog only goes into heat twice a year and will not go back into heat if she doesn't mate. There is one breed, I forgot which one, that only goes into heat once a year. A male dog's adult behaviors can also be overridden with proper training.
