How early is too early?

Hi,
I was just wondering when was a good time to spay my kitten. I remember it not being before they are 6 months but I could be wrong and I knew that I would find out here what the right thing to do was for sure.

Mel and Terry Fox

Hi!
I think the general suggestion is 6 months. I'm getting my kitten done in 2 weeks when he's 6 months. (not looking forward to it). However a lady I work with had her kitten done at 4 months as he started spraying on things and peeing everywhere. So I think it really depends on the cat... but if you've had no problems by the time he gets so 6 months that would be the perfect time x

Harley is only 4 months old and he will be able to get fixed in about a month (so around 5 months), he is at the correct weight (he's 5lbs) and developed properly so I'm getting him fixed b4 he starts spraying in my apartment!

Some Vets will do it as early as 4 months Old. I adopted Buddy at 4 months and the shelter did not release him to me until he was nuetered, which happened the next day.

Polly was already done when I got her. I got her at 11 weeks and the cut was almost all healed up, so I'm guessing they did it about 8 weeks. Is there any advantage in waiting?

My Daisy and Lucy were both spayed around 4 and a half months. They're just fine now.

My Toby was between 4-5 months and he did just fine.
I`d not hear of doing it as young as 8 weeks...but if it is a female i`m sure it is possible to do the surgery as long as the vet does`nt have hams for hands....that`d be a tiny surgery to do on a baby that small....I`d imagine it would be impossible to do a male cat quite that early as most don`t have their testes down yet.
Linda

Originally Posted by Mel

Hi,
I was just wondering when was a good time to spay my kitten. I remember it not being before they are 6 months but I could be wrong and I knew that I would find out here what the right thing to do was for sure.

Mel and Terry Fox

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Hmmm....well...I've noticed that 4-6 seems to be the norm, but...

Having witnessed kittens younger than 4 months begin to reach sexual maturity (many do this before 6 months) and having witnessed a handful of cats in this age bracket get impregnated and attempt to give birth to kittens (usually which ends in the kittens dying, the mother dying, the mother attempting to eat the kittens, the kittens dying of disease or being developmentally unsound), I STRONGLY reccommend a pediatric spay/neuter. Plus, you never, ever have to even chance going through a heat or spraying. Also, letting a cat get old enough to participate in these behaviors can increase the risk of genital/mammery cancers, so...yeah. I'd say spay her right away.

The best time to spay is right after she's reached 2 pounds. Clinical tests have showed no developmental differences in cats who recieved a pediatric spay and cats who received a spay in adolescence. Nor is you cat at any higher risk in the surgery...actually, pediatrics tend to recover faster. Altogether it's safer on all fronts..I strongly suggest you check out the possibility of this.

Originally Posted by Mel

Hi,
I was just wondering when was a good time to spay my kitten. I remember it not being before they are 6 months but I could be wrong and I knew that I would find out here what the right thing to do was for sure.

Mel and Terry Fox

Click to expand...

Check with your local vets. Some vets will now perform pediatric spaying as long as the kitten weighs 2 lbs (as early as 8 weeks of age). The best time is to have her spayed before she has her first heat.

To be on the safe side, do not allow your cat outdoors until she has been spayed.

Thank you all for your advice,

I made one mistake though, My kitten is a male so I guess he would be getting neutered.
He is about 13 weeks old now. Now that I have corrected myself does it make a diffrence from all of the above mentioned advice?

Originally Posted by Mel

Thank you all for your advice,

I made one mistake though, My kitten is a male so I guess he would be getting neutered.
He is about 13 weeks old now. Now that I have corrected myself does it make a diffrence from all of the above mentioned advice?

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Not at all...my male was fixed at 5 months...but the rescue I volunteer with does neuters as early as 8 weeks of age.

Katie

Originally Posted by stampit3d

My Toby was between 4-5 months and he did just fine.
I`d not hear of doing it as young as 8 weeks...but if it is a female i`m sure it is possible to do the surgery as long as the vet does`nt have hams for hands....that`d be a tiny surgery to do on a baby that small....I`d imagine it would be impossible to do a male cat quite that early as most don`t have their testes down yet.
Linda

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Polly's mom is a stray that they're trying to trap and spay. I think that's why they did the whole litter so young. That way they wouldn't be taking any chances. They also mentioned that younger cats can recover faster from surgery. Polly seems just fine now.

Originally Posted by stampit3d

My Toby was between 4-5 months and he did just fine.
I`d not hear of doing it as young as 8 weeks...but if it is a female i`m sure it is possible to do the surgery as long as the vet does`nt have hams for hands....that`d be a tiny surgery to do on a baby that small....I`d imagine it would be impossible to do a male cat quite that early as most don`t have their testes down yet.
Linda

Click to expand...

Actually the feral cat clinic does neuters at 8 weeks of age. Our rescue neuters at 8 weeks of age as well...the boys bounce back so quickly after a neuter.

Katie