Neutering - How Early?

I am wondering how early I need to get my kitten neutered? He is around 9 weeks old right now, and I think that normally the operation is done around 6 months, but the vet says the sooner the better.

Any advice?

All but two of mine were done at 8 weeks/2 pounds.

Earlier is indeed better for the cat.
Less pain, faster heal time, faster recovery overall.

A lot of vet are still not on board with pediatric spay/neuter, and unfortunately, cats can and given the opportunity they do become sexually mature as young as 4-5 months.

If your vet will do the surgery, go for it, if he is a good surgical candidate, there really is no reason not to.

In lieu of a pediatric surgery, I try to get kittens done by 4 months, and no later than 5 months, by 6 months, a lot of queens have already come into heat, and a lot of toms are already spraying.

Lilly was spayed at 4 months, which was before she went into heat.

I just added to the family this weekend when I adopted Teddy. He is 11 weeks old now, and was neutered before I got him (at 9 weeks). He's doing well. I asked the vet about pediatric neutering when I took him in Sunday, and she said it's totally fine to do as long as they are at least 2 months and weigh at least 2 pounds.

I agree with what is posted above- the younger and lighter they are, the quicker the recovery time.

I completely agree with the above post. The earlier the better. I have a very healthy 4 year old male, who was altered at 10 weeks, and he is thriving. My vet also practices pediatric altering on all of our kittens, they are up and bouncing the same day. The incision is much smaller.
There is a lot of up to date research that has been done, showing the positive benefits to early age altering.
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org//rep...ly-neuter.html
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org//hea...ay-neuter.html
http://www.catvet.homestead.com/EarlyAlter.html

By the age of 6 months a male could have already begun spraying or if accidently got out could impregnate a cat. By the age of 6 months old a female could have already became pregnant.

If your vet is an advocate of early-altering, it is truly the best for your cat, IMO.

Minimum weight of two pounds. I have four kittens, two were early spayed two were "normal" time. The two early ones had fewer complications and barely even noticed.

I'm also in agreement with getting it done as early as possible. 2 of my boys were done at 12 weeks and they came home from the vet like nothing had happened.

another fan here of early spay/neuter!

Why risk waiting until 6 months when females can become pregnant, males can impregnate and both can spray all over your house?

I agree too! Napolean was done at 4.5 months old, we were really booked at the time, otherwise I would have done it earlier.

Wow! I am really glad I wnet through this thread! I always believed in before they got into heat but had no idea it was possible to neuter so early!

My boys were done at eight weeks and are the smooshiest, most lovable boys ever. The less testosterone the better!

I prefer to wait till 6-8 months for males unless you have unspayed females in your house. Same for the females - 6-8 months.

But this is a controlled breeding or non-breeding program. No reason for me to have them done earlier. I can see the early neutering done on mixed breeds. But I like to show in the kitten class before deciding if the cat will go into premier or championship showing.