Need advice! How soon do I need to neuter???

I have 2 kittens, 5 months old. One of them is showing sexual-type behavior and his urine has changed odor recently. How soon do I need to neuter him before he starts ro spray? I was planning to get it done after Jan 1st, but it will be at least 5 days from now - maybe more...I was supposed to go out of town. I really don't want him to start spraying!!! Help!

Some vets recommend to neuter the cat at six months old - NOT BEFORE !!!
Some other vets reccomend to neuter at nine monthes old..
In my books i read that never neuter a cat before 9 months old!!!
Good Luck!

Amir.

Cindy ~ any time now will be Ok to get the kits taken care of.
Good luck to you!

Or is this only for dogs? It is a little controversial, but many vets will spay or neuter your dog as early as 6 weeks old with no proven physical or behavioral side effects. I'm pretty sure they do it for cats too. This doesn't really affect you now, but it is something to ask about.
And yes, Debra is right, you can do it anytime now.

I had Loco neutered when he was a little over 5 months old because he was displaying sexual behavior and I was afraid he'd start spraying too. He came through the surgery fine (a few minor problems that had nothing to do with his age but everything to do with an incompetent vet), I'd say go for it

If one of your kittens is female, don't be surprised if you have an unplanned pregnancy. One litter I rescued at a very young age grew up together, secluded in one room from my other cats until they were of a age to be neutered and spayed. Imagine my surprise when the vet called and told me Bacardi was pregnant! Knowing only her brothers had access to her, I told the vet to terminate the pregnancy and spay her which he did. It may sound heartless on my part, but working with feral colonies and seeing what inbreeding does, it was the kindest thing I could do. Hopefully, both of your kittens are males and this won't happen to you as well. Your vet is the one to make the call about an early neuter, some do it, and some don't.

We neutered Mac before any sexual behavior started and it was wonderful! I had planned on spaying my female kitten before she went into heat for the first time, but her appointment was for Monday and when I got home from work the Friday before, she was in heat. All worked out fine though. Mac would just look at Allie when she was howling and crying like 'what's your problem?' He didn't have a clue!
Mac was around 5 months old and that is the perfect time, at least in my opinion.

smiles,
sue

How early should you spay a cat? My Archie is 8 months and we haven't had her fixed yet. She is surrounded by 4 males (all fixed)?!?

Although there is a debate, especially between people in the us and in euopre. In the states, the norm is 4 to 6 months for males and 6 to 8 months for females. Females you want to try and get done before the first heat to reduce chances of mammory and ovarian cancers.

There is nothing wrong with spaying/neutering a kitten before 6 months of age according to everything that I have read. I had my dog spayed at 4months, my female kitten spayed at 4 months, my youngest male done at 4.5months and one of my other males done at 5months and have not yet had any ill effects from having it done this early. My vet will not do it any sooner than 4months old and some vets will not do it any sooner than 6months but the SPCA in my area does it as early as 8wks for kittens and I'm not sure about dogs as long as they reach a required weight at this age. The average age of sexual maturity in cats is around 6months so I prefer to do it prior to that. I have not yet heard of any complications with people spaying/neutering early but if others here have stories/studies showing a downside to early spay and neuter feel free to share. It has been my understanding that its best to spay/neuter before the onset of sexual maturity which decreases the risks of certain cancers and the developement of some unwanted behaviors such as spraying,aggresion.Im not saying that early neutering indefinatly has these effects on behavior but can have these effects on behavoir. Well that just about sums up my opinion but I will share these two links on studies done on early spay/neuter. Please read them, they are very interesting.
THE WINN FELINE FOUNDATION REPORT ON EARLY SPAY/NEUTER
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/repo...ly-neuter.html

HEALTH COMMITTEE REPORT ON EARLY SPAY/NEUTER
http://www.cfainc.org/health/early-spay-neuter.html