Just called the vets to get the Kittens spayed and neutered as they will be 5 months old in a couple of weeks. The vet said they won't do it until they are 6 months old. I said that was crazy as I've seen kittens go into heat at 4 months old. She said yes that is true and would see if the vet would agree to do it at 5 months. She said it had something to do with the urethra not being fully developed until 6 months. I've never heard of that before. Guess I better start looking for someone else to do it
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Vet may be crazy
- Thread starter susanmly
- Start Date
Might want to check out this article based on the a 20 year study by the humane society - which also mentions the misconseption mentioned by your vet.
http://cats.about.com/cs/spayneuter/a/earlyneuter_2.htm
http://cats.about.com/cs/spayneuter/a/earlyneuter_2.htm
If the AVMA can endorse pediatric spay/neuter, why can't the general vet community? If such pedigree registry associations such as CFA and TICA can endorse it, again, I ask why can't most vets? If nearly ALL rescue/shelters not only endorse it but even encourage and perform it, why-oh-why can't vets??? Is it that they are not confident performing the procedure on kittens? Is it that they have to spend additional money for education on the procedure? Why? I just wish someone (preferably a vet) would give me some sort of reasonable explanation here ... it just doesn't make sense to me.
I agree - most Vet don't feel comfortable or are experienced enough to work on such tiny little beings and prefer to remain in their comfort zone - SAD actually!!
PS. I know many kittens that had pediatric spay/neutering and they are healthy adults!
I have said many, many times over - if pediatric spay/neuter were more readily available to me, performed by competent vets at a reasonable cost, I would have it for all of my kittens before they ever left this house. As it stands, my only resource is the local SPCA and low- or no-cost s/n clinics which I would never dream of using as I would feel as though I am taking away those services from more needy cats.
Flip side of the coin here:
If your vet really isn't comfortable performing alter surgery on kittens younger than 6 months, do you really want him/her to try?
Maybe he doesn't have the skill set needed to safely do the procedure. I'd rather have a vet honestly say, he can't/won't/shouldn't do the surgery, than to have one who feels pressured into doing it, and then botches the job.
If your vet really isn't comfortable performing alter surgery on kittens younger than 6 months, do you really want him/her to try?
Maybe he doesn't have the skill set needed to safely do the procedure. I'd rather have a vet honestly say, he can't/won't/shouldn't do the surgery, than to have one who feels pressured into doing it, and then botches the job.
Oh believe me, I wouldn't want him to do it if he wasn't comfortable, nor would I push him to do it. However, I would (and have) tried to pursuade him to at least look into learning how to do it - and he wasn't at all receptive! I like a vet who is more open to researching ALL possibilities when it comes to the care of my cats.
Well, I certainly agree with you on that one!
Thank you, Helen! I have a lot of my kittens go to the Northern Virginia area and this is just a wonderful referral for them!
Well, I prefer to have my cats adult before I spay/neuter them. It's not the vet. but rather a personal opinion. I don't feel at all comfortable having them under surgery (though in the males case it's a very simple operation) when they are barely kittens.
As I say, it's a personal opinion, I'm not predicating anything here
As I say, it's a personal opinion, I'm not predicating anything here
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #14
Well I just heard back from them and they said they would do it at 5 months, it's just not something that they usually reccomend. The kittens are all almost 6 lbs so I'm not concerned about them being to little. Although I can't bear to be without them even for a night.
They and YOU will be just fine !!!!!!!!!!!!!
This has been on my mind a lot too. I have a brother and sister cat, about 4 months old. I really, really don't want the little boy getting his sister pregnant. My new vet practice so far is very good and has a good reputation in the area. I asked about this possibility, and they said that "female cats shouldn't go into heat in the winter", and that they should be brought in sometime in January. They didn't want to do it any earlier. So far I have no signs of spraying or her going into heat. She is also a very tiny cat compared to her brother. I am nervous b/c I have never had a little girl before.
I would think that if it is something they are not comfortable doing, they would advise people to see another vet. They don't do that, they say it is unsafe. If they would think, they would realize that many pet owners delay things. So saying come back in 2 months can translate to coming back in 4 or 8 months, after a litter of kittens is born! They should go see how many unwanted kittens are euthanized, and especially how many unwanted cats are pts. Maybe then they would take the time to learn how to do speuters on little ones.
zak&rocky
I am sorry BUT your VET is very wrong when it comes to indoor cats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cats are seasonally polyestrous which means they will go into heat multiple times a season until they mate. Season usually starts a few months after winter solstice and usually ends in September or October. Indoor cats who are only exposed to artificial lighting may go in and out of season (heat) year round until they mate or are spayed
I would go and find another VET
I am sorry BUT your VET is very wrong when it comes to indoor cats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cats are seasonally polyestrous which means they will go into heat multiple times a season until they mate. Season usually starts a few months after winter solstice and usually ends in September or October. Indoor cats who are only exposed to artificial lighting may go in and out of season (heat) year round until they mate or are spayed
I would go and find another VET
