A Stray Female

About 2 months ago, I found a black female kitten someone had left at my workplace. I brought her home with me and added her to my family. I now have three cats and two dogs and sometimes it's more like Jurassic Park then home sweet home!

Anyway, I have no idea how old this little one is but she's small. She will be spayed but does it matter how old she is when this is done. I would prefer doing it before she goes into heat for the first time.

When I got my first cat, he was also a stray, and had been malnourished. The vet wanted to wait as long as we could before neutering because he said the hormones would help him grow. Is this the same with a female?

smiles,
sue

The recommended age for spaying/neutering is 4 months (that's the official vets association guideline). They also say there's no harm in doing it as early as 2 months.

You're right about getting her spayed before she goes into heat for the first time - you will be reducing her chances to get mammary cancer by 80% if you do that! So, if you think she's 3-5 months old, go ahead and have her spayed.

As for growth, I actually read quite the opposite. Cats that are spayed and neutered at an early age (before they reach sexual maturity) actually grow up to be larger than usual. The reason is that the onset of sexual maturity halts the growth (causes the bones to stop growing). It's much like the way girls stop growing tall once they get their period. If you prevent the cat from getting there at all, chances are he or she will be even larger than usual because they'll keep growing for a while. My two cats were spayed/neutered at the age of 4 months and people always comment about how large they are (not fat, but actually large).

Anne - I never knew that. Learn something new every day here!