Ideal age for spaying/neutering kitten

[Cricketsmom]

We have a newly caught feral kitten, and we are pro spay/neuter and want to get him done as soon as possible after he is tame enough to be handled by the vets, also to get him chipped and vaccinated at the same visit. We estimated age to be 2 to 3 months. Don't know the gender, so I don't know if s/he'll be a spay or neuter.
I hear some sites say as young as 3 months, some 4-5 months and some 6 months minimum, I'm honestly not sure what is right.

 

[noani]

If you can bring him in a in a cage type carrier, some vets just sedate them in there. So you wouldn't need to wait however long it will take for this particular kitty.

Weight is also a factor. In many cases it's the deciding factor, I e. Many vets will do the procedure on a kitten of 2-3 months but the question of weight and overall health would play a role.

At that age, it should be easy to determine gender visually usually.

What's the situation currently with him at your home? How is he adjusting? How much interaction does he allow? He may still be young enough to be socialized to humans fairly easily and quickly.

Any obvious signs of parasites?

A check up would be good to rule out parasites or treat them asap. Many vets won't vaccinate if there are parasites present.

 

[Norachan]

If you're not sure of his/her exact age you can go by his/her weight. The first vaccines can be given at 600 grams and spay/neuter surgery can be done at 1 kilo.

2 to 3 months is the ideal time to start socialising the kitten though. How is that going?

 

[Cricketsmom]

If you can bring him in a in a cage type carrier, some vets just sedate them in there. So you wouldn't need to wait however long it will take for this particular kitty.

Weight is also a factor. In many cases it's the deciding factor, I e. Many vets will do the procedure on a kitten of 2-3 months but the question of weight and overall health would play a role.

At that age, it should be easy to determine gender visually usually.

What's the situation currently with him at your home? How is he adjusting? How much interaction does he allow? He may still be young enough to be socialized to humans fairly easily and quickly.

Any obvious signs of parasites?

A check up would be good to rule out parasites or treat them asap. Many vets won't vaccinate if there are parasites present.

I could, I just don't have a cage type carrier currently. Something I will look into buying though.

I should get his weight, I have never weighed him yet.
Does checking his gender involve picking him up? I don't think he is that tame just yet.
He's in a large cage (not a carrier, much bigger than a carrier) currently. He looks to be adjusting well, has not tried to escape his cage or attack people, and is eating and drinking from dishes as well as using his litter tray, doesn't mind being in the open around people. He will let me stroke him and touch him without being aggressive, I haven't attempted to pick him up, if you make eye contact with him he does hiss though.
No obvious signs of parasites, I will probably try worm him sometime though, considering he's a feral and probably has not been eating the most sanitary things.
He does have a minor URI, he's quickly recovering with warmth and food and I would estimate will be cleared up completely in a few days. Would him having a cold recently, but recovered, be a reason they would not want to spay/neuter?

 

[Cricketsmom]

If you're not sure of his/her exact age you can go by his/her weight. The first vaccines can be given at 600 grams and spay/neuter surgery can be done at 1 kilo.

2 to 3 months is the ideal time to start socialising the kitten though. How is that going?

I will get his weight soon, I have no idea at the moment.
With limited experience I would say he's doing okay, I can touch his whole body and he looks to enjoy being stroked (I'm not sure, does purring and closing eyes mean he's enjoying it?), but he does hiss sometimes if you make eye contact. That's in two and a 1/2 days of being caught.

 

[My Buddy Mikey]

My kitties were 1 spayed and 1 neutered at 6 months.

 

[Norachan]

I should get his weight, I have never weighed him yet.

An easy way to do this is get the bathroom scales, tape a cardboard box onto it, reset the scales to zero and wait until the cat jumps into the box. A low-sided, open-top cardboard crate is irresistible to most cats

Does checking his gender involve picking him up?

If he puts his tail up while you are petting him try to get a picture of his rear end. We'll be able to help tell what his gender is.

Purring and closing his eyes is a wonderful sign! It sounds like he/she is very happy to be with you.