Spay age/weight?

So kitten is about 12 weeks and only 1 lb, 12 ounces (she was only 4.5 ounces at about 3 weeks). My vet recommends waiting until 4 lbs to spay, but I know other vets will spay at 2 or 3 lbs. She eats as much or more than my 10 and 15 lb adult cats, she gets fed as much as she wants 4 times a day and if I see her to up to her bowl or act hungry I give her more food.

I am a bit paranoid that she'll go into heat before 4 lbs. I originally was hoping to spay at 16 weeks, but that won't work unless I use another vet. Thoughts?

Some vets simply aren't comfortable spaying at such a young age. Part of the reason is that the kittens are so tiny and some of the tissue can be left behind.

Personally, I have found that *most* cats do not go into heat until they are 6-9 months old. Yes, you can certainly get on that does at 4 months; but, this is not common.

Ultimately, this is your decision. There are some added risks with sedating a cat under 2-3 pounds.

If she were mine, and she was indoor-only, I would wait to spay. But, I also prefer mine to be 5+ pounds for surgery.

As a side note...
Is this kitten simply tiny? Weighing not even 2 pounds at 12 weeks is extremely unusual. Our current batch of kittens are 13 weeks old and range from 4-5 pounds.

I have had kittens that were small, but there were always health problems associated with their small stature.

The vet said, at her last appointment, "size doesn't matter"... heh.

I don't know. She isn't bony by any means and has a belly (she has been wormed twice). I originally thought she was 2 weeks when she was found, but she had teeth so I am thinking she was 3 weeks. She was very, very small when found.

She does seem to have a developmental delay, but we aren't really sure why. That will be discussed at her next appointment. She isn't losing skills, though, and is very active.

I know rescues and shelters will spay at 8 weeks, if they're 2lbs. Your kitten is extremely small. Has she been checked for all types of worms? I know some dewormers don't do all types of worms.

You could possibly mix some KMR into wet food to help with weight gain.

She still gets milk mixed in once or twice a day. Do you mean mixing the powder straight into the wet food?

The worm medicine was at the vet, so I would assume it worked (she definitely did have worms, but her symptoms improved completely after the first treatment) but she hasn't had her stool tested.

Milk, as in prepared KMR

evolily said:

She still gets milk mixed in once or twice a day. Do you mean mixing the powder straight into the wet food?
 

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I would reconstitute the KMR powder in water according to the package directions first and then mix it into the canned food. KMR also comes in liquid form if that is easier for you to use.

That's what I'm already doing :/

She'll grow at her own pace. I had some malnourished kittens I found and it took them a long time to get to a reasonable size but now they're normal sized adult cats. So don't worry about that.

As for going ino heat, I've found that kittens who are born in the spring and come of age in the fall don't come into heat as early as those who are born in the fall and are 4+ months in the spring. So hopefully she'll hold off for a while longer! I currently have a 7-month-old who I haven't gotten spayed yet and she hasn't gone into heat. . .I really need to do it soon though!