When Do You Know To Spay The Mommy?

how do you know that the kittens are weaned? is it when they open their eyes? and are all orange cats male? just a question lol! cuz my cat had 5 orange and one that looks exactly like her. I wanna keep them all but my parents want to give them away to good families (don't worry, we go to the persons house before giving them the cat). I will miss them soooo much. they are still only 2 days old and i have a bond with them. we will give them up when they are 2 months old hopefully we find great homes for them. the thing is that we have 6 kids in the family, and we all live with our parents so 6 more cats and the mommy equals 7, will just be way too much. I don't want to give them away but my parents are forcing me to!

also, it has only been 2 days and Ginger who is my cat is already walking away from the kittens. today, she went outside and was about to jump the fence to the other side, when i called her in! am i supposed to be worried?!?and how can you tell a male from a female?

please answer my questions because this is my first time.

THANKS

Not all orange cats are male (but they outnumber orange females 3 to 1, so they definitely are 'mostly' males)...but here is a site that helps sex them when they are newborn:

http://www.mystic-tree.com/kitten_sexing_guide.htm

They will open their eyes way before they are weaned (usually within 7-10 days). They will start eating solid food around 4-5 weeks...and they should be with their mother until they are 10-12 weeks. Everyone has a different opinion about when to spay, but I think it is a good idea to spay after the kittens are fully weaned. I spayed my mother cat and her 2 female kittens when they were 14 weeks, IIRC.

And I agree with your parents, they need homes that can take care of them. It's a huge responsibility. If your parents feel that 7 cats is too many, you should respect that they are thinking of the welfare of the animals, so that is a good thing...I understand your feeling sad about it, though.

Please dont let momma go outside..what if you cant get her back in next time?

You will need to keep Momma kitty inside only at all times now because she can get pregnant again very, very quickly, even though she has just had babies.

The babies are weaned when they are eating solid foods consistantly on their own, usually by the age of 6 to 8 weeks old. Kittens should always be kept with their mother until they are at least 10 to 12 weeks old or until they have had all of the kitten vaccines.

Momma cats do leave their kittens for short amounts of time in order to eat, drink, use the litter box and to stretch their legs. If she is leaving them for hours at a time, this is not good.

Momma can be spayed as soon as all of the kittens are completely weaned.

I read that they do early spaying which is what am going to do. Also mommy cat is going back outside after 2 days. please keep her in if it isnt for the fact she can get pregnant again then it is because there is dangers around the corner. SHe can get hit by a car in a fight or well you know where am going.

Best thing is to spay the momma when the kittens are between 10-12 weeks of age....but you definately need to keep her indoors only. Also, if your vet performs pediatric spaying/neutering..you may want to get all the kittens fixed at the same time. That way you do not need to worry about any of them becoming pregnant or causing another cat to become pregnant.

Katie

We were talking about having to give the kittens away (it breaks my heart!) and my husband (he thinks he is sooooo funny) was talking about how sad momma was going to be when she realizes her kittens are gone. I am hoping that when they get bigger and are weaned she won't feel so "attached". However, I was thinking that when it was time for the babies to go to their new homes I would take her to the vet for spaying and then deliver the kittens while she is gone. What do you think?

Also, I didn't think that females could be spayed until 6 months.

They are doing what is called early s/n but only some vets do it. Mine is going to do Skittles and the babies after weaning.

Originally Posted by LisaB917

We were talking about having to give the kittens away (it breaks my heart!) and my husband (he thinks he is sooooo funny) was talking about how sad momma was going to be when she realizes her kittens are gone. I am hoping that when they get bigger and are weaned she won't feel so "attached". However, I was thinking that when it was time for the babies to go to their new homes I would take her to the vet for spaying and then deliver the kittens while she is gone. What do you think?

Also, I didn't think that females could be spayed until 6 months.

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Lisa...actually 6 months is an arbitrary date and unfortunately, cats can become pregnant as early as 4 months of age. Our rescue spays/neuters at 10-12 weeks of age and have found that these kittens bounce back very quickly after their surgery. Plus, kittens that are spayed at that age will never have to worry about going into heat. A good thing is to check to see if any of the vets in your area offer pediatric spaying/neutering. Some low cost clinics will perform pediatric spaying/neutering....so you may want to check the link in my signature to see if there is a low cost clinics in your area.

I highly recommend that you charge an adoption fee. There have been a lot of articles against giving away kittens...below is a really good one:

http://www.cathobbyist.com/articles/...yist/Free.html

Katie

Katie,
I had read about that kind of stuff and it freaked me out! Fortunately, one of the kittens is going to the family of a co-worker that I know really well and 2 of my close friends want 2 of the others. I would never give them away to a stranger!

We got Ethel from a friend of my son's and it's really neat when Matthew comes over especially since he has her sister and they look identical! It kind of keeps it in the family.

But the defraying the expense part makes lots of sense because you just don't realize how much more you are spending! KMR is 2.99 for a ready made can at Tom Thumb (you can't even get it at Target) and I have bought all they have since momma likes it. Petsmart is so expensive that I haven't ventured there for it yet.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by LisaB917

Katie,
I had read about that kind of stuff and it freaked me out! Fortunately, one of the kittens is going to the family of a co-worker that I know really well and 2 of my close friends want 2 of the others. I would never give them away to a stranger!

We got Ethel from a friend of my son's and it's really neat when Matthew comes over especially since he has her sister and they look identical! It kind of keeps it in the family.

But the defraying the expense part makes lots of sense because you just don't realize how much more you are spending! KMR is 2.99 for a ready made can at Tom Thumb (you can't even get it at Target) and I have bought all they have since momma likes it. Petsmart is so expensive that I haven't ventured there for it yet.

Thanks!

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Lisa...not to mention a contribution towards "spaying the momma". I like the idea of finding out the cost to spay mom and dividing by the number of kittens. That way....your adoptors help you have mom spayed.

Katie

I saw KMR at Wal-Mart for puppys in powder form. It was 8.99 but it made alot. Maybe they have it like that for kittens also.

Yeah, they do sell a kitten version at walmart. I think Hartz makes it.

I also urge that you keep the mother inside from now on. Besides all the other reasons you've been given, she can get diseases out there, parasites, fleas, and give that all to the kittens. And unfortunately, many of the remedies you would use on an adult cat can't be used on kittens.

I was told that the mother shouldn't be spayed until her kittens are weaned and her milk dries up. The rescue I foster for asks those caring for a queen to hold them (inside of course) until then.

I personally am not a believer in early spay/neuter, especially in males. I would tend to be more flexible with females. But with males, it can very possibly keep the urethra from forming and growing completly, and can cause a lot of urinary tract problems later in life. The thing is one has to be responsible if they have a cat that is not yet neutered until it gets to the right age. I was told the safest time (and the earliest to keep from spraying, etc.) would be 7 to 9 months. My feeling is there is a reason why many vets won't do it.

You might also want to talk to your parents about contacting a local rescue or animal welfare group to help find homes for the kittens. These places do very thorough research on potential homes, and at least here, not only do they do follow ups, they have the legal right to enter a home and remove an animal if they feel the new owners are not living up to their agreement or caring for the animal properly.

It has also been my experience that the Mom does seem to miss them for a few days, and goes around meowing looking for them. I usually try to distract her with toys or playing or hugging and petting, or treats, and it helps. Eventually they go back to their old selves.

I hope all goes well with your new family

I personally am not a believer in early spay/neuter, especially in males. I would tend to be more flexible with females. But with males, it can very possibly keep the urethra from forming and growing completly, and can cause a lot of urinary tract problems later in life. The thing is one has to be responsible if they have a cat that is not yet neutered until it gets to the right age. I was told the safest time (and the earliest to keep from spraying, etc.) would be 7 to 9 months. My feeling is there is a reason why many vets won't do it.

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We have neutered hundreds of cats at 10-12 weeks and some as early as 8 weeks of age...we have had none of them come back due to the issue you have described above. I don't agree with your observation of why vets will not perform pediatric spaying/neutering...all the vets that are around me will spay/neuter around 4/5 months of age and a lot of rescue groups now spay/neuter at 8-12 weeks of age. I hope that in time we will see more and more vets and clinics embrace early age spaying/neutering.

Also the Winn Foundation did a study that showed there was not a marked difference for the urethra:

Observations of urinary tract development showed no differences between the three groups other than the differences related to sex and these were consistent across all groups. The investigators measured the diameter of the urethra in the male kittens only and found no differences between the groups. Concerns have been raised that early neutering would result in smaller diameters in the urinary tract, resulting in an increased incidence of cystitis and related problems. This does not appear to be the case. The main differences observed between the groups occurred in the comparison of secondary sex characteristics. Males were examined for differences in the development of the penis and prepuce (skin covering the penis), as well as for the development of penile spines. The penile spines were absent in Group 1, smaller than normal in Group 2, and normally developed in Group 3. In the examination of the female kittens, investigators found that the vulvas were more infantile in Groups 1 and 2 and normal in Group 3. None of these differences had any impact on the ability to catheterize the kittens. Concerns that development of the urinary tract might be arrested or impaired by early spaying and neutering proved unsupported.

http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/repo...ly-neuter.html

I will be spaying my mom and kits the earliest the vet will do it, but I also was talking to a lady at the store she said it might be cheaper if you do them all at once and it might be cheaper if they are younger because there is no chance of being in heat for 1 and might be less stressful. I am not sure if it is all true you will have to consult your vet.

Originally Posted by momof3rugratz

I will be spaying my mom and kits the earliest the vet will do it, but I also was talking to a lady at the store she said it might be cheaper if you do them all at once and it might be cheaper if they are younger because there is no chance of being in heat for 1 and might be less stressful. I am not sure if it is all true you will have to consult your vet.

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Best thing is to call around and see if there is a vet who 1. will perform pediatric spaying/neutering and 2. whether the vet will give a discount for bringing in the entire family.

Below is a list of low cost clinics that are in the USA. You may want to see if one is close to you:

http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html

Katie

Mine is going to give me a 10% because of bringing them all in. Also I volunteer there and I donate items I get at yardsales or from friends or just something I buy. Money is no worry so I do donations because of it. Right now am trying to get the big grey cat to trust me enough to come in my house then I will fix him.