How Old Do Kitties Have To Be To Be Neutered
Kitties should be bred as soon as they are no longer being bred, or when their peak reproductive health is over, which occurs at around age 7 or 8, according to Maxs House. Cats can be neutered at only a few months old, although you can put the operation off until about 5 or 6 months of age without problems.
As we all know, neutering is very successful in cats at eliminating male-typical behaviors, curtailing most of these behaviors with something like 90 percent efficacy. Many of these male-typical behaviors disappear soon after neutering, though some may persist for weeks, months or even years.
Early Spay/neuter In Animal Shelters
Ensuring that all cats are spayed or neutered before adoption eliminates the risk of adopted animals producing more kittens. Many shelters will not spay/neuter kittens that weigh less than 2 pounds or are younger than 8 weeks other shelters, however, will do so provided that the kittens are healthy, active, and in good body condition .
At What Age Should You Spay Or Neuter Your Cat
The American Veterinary Medical Association recently published their guidelines on the age to spay or neuter cats. The official title of the document is Veterinary Task Force on Feline Sterilization Recommendations for Age of Spay and Neuter Surgery.
This is a highly controversial and debatedtopic . There are many opinions out there.
Most people have an opinion on the subject,often based on dogma or personal beliefs more than science.
The AVMA put together a group of variousveterinarians .
They also included non-veterinarians: SteveDale , a lady from the Philanthropy forAnimal Advocates and the Chair of the Cat Fanciers Association.
So I think its fair to say that there weremany cat lovers and cat advocates on the team. So what are theirconclusions? I quote :
Current recommendations for the age tosterilize cats are arbitrary and inconsistent.
Adoption of evidence-based guidelines isexpected to limit confusion among cat owners, reduce the risk ofunwanted litters, and maximize health and welfare benefits.
The following key findings and proposalsemerged from a review of the currently available scientificliterature and group discussion:
1. Recommendations for the optimal age tosterilize cats may differ from the age to sterilize dogs.
2. Current scientific evidence documentsbenefits of spaying kittens before the first estrous cycle, includingthe following:
. Decreased risk for mammary carcinoma .
. Elimination of reproductive emergencies suchas pyometra and dystocia .
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At What Age Should You Neuter Or Spay Your Cat
Over the years, the recommended age for spaying or neutering cats has changed. There are still varying opinions, but most veterinarians agree that the best time to do it is before a cats first heat. The standard age is around 6 months, though more and more vets are advocating for early spay/neuter, which can occur in kittens as young as 8 weeks old.
Keep reading to find out more about early spay/neuter and the benefits of neutering or spaying your cat.
What If I Dont Spay Or Neuter My Cat
Some people choose not to neuter their cats. If you decide to keep your cat intact, bear the following points in mind:
- Unneutered cats roam away from home more often, so theyre at increased risk of being hurt in a traffic accident if you let your cat outdoors.
- Male unneutered cats are more aggressive than their neutered counterparts.
- Female cats go into season once every three months. While in season, theyre noisier, more anxious and far more demanding.
- Unspayed female cats have up to three litters per year, with as many as six kittens in each litter and that can get expensive.
- Many unspayed female cats develop mammary cancers by the time theyre six or seven years old. If you decide to leave your female cat intact, check her regularly for lumps and speak to your vet if youre concerned.
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Should My Cat Have A Litter Before I Neuter Her
No, there is no evidence to show that having a litter of kittens benefits cats. Pregnancy/giving birth can come with complications and looking after a litter of kittens is hard work, expensive, and time-consuming – certainly not something to enter into without a great deal of thought and planning. If you want to breed from your cat, its best speak to your vet for advice to find out how you can do it responsibly and safely.
Getting Your Female Cat Spayed
To stop your female cat from having kittens, she’ll need to have a simple operation known as ‘spaying’ before she turns four months old. This is also known as ‘fixing’, ‘neutering’ or ‘being done’.
When your cat is about four months old, she’ll start to attract the attention of tomcats, who’ll want to mate with her. This is why it’s important to have her spayed before she reaches four months, so she doesn’t get pregnant while she’s still a kitten herself.
You may have heard that it’s good for female cats to have a litter of kittens before they are spayed, but this isn’t true. Once she’s been spayed, your kitten will be able to do all the things cats enjoy doing, like going outdoors, climbing trees and playing.
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What Does Neutering And Spaying Mean
During a neutering procedure, your cats sexual reproductive organs are removed. Neutering prevents unplanned pregnancies from happening, and it also stops a lot of undesirable tomcat and intact queen behaviour spraying, calling and anxiousness, for example. After theyre neutered, cats are often more affectionate, less restless and less prone to roam.
Can You Spay A Kitten At 6 Weeks
Research shows that pediatric spay and neutering is safe in kittens, and the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ 2016 Medical Care Guidelines for Spay-Neuter Programs as well as the American Association of Feline Practitioners support the spaying and neutering of animals as young as 6 weeks of age.
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How Long Does My Cat Have To Wear A Cone After Neutering
Most cats should wear their cone for 5-7 days after neutering to avoid licking the incision. Most scrotal incisions heal very quickly. If an abdominal incision was necessary to remove retained testicle, then the cone should remain on for 10-14 days or until your cats recheck examination to assess healing.
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Should I Get My Cat Spayed
Its up to you whether you decide to get your queen spayed, or whether you want them to have kittens in the future. There are a number of benefits to spaying/neutering your cat the most important is that it can significantly increase their lifespan.
Spaying can also:
- Reduce the likelihood of your queen fighting with other cats
- Reduce the likelihood of STIs spreading
- Limit the number of stray cats that occur with unwanted litters
- Reduce the signs of being in heat, which can be noisy and irritating for owners
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How Can Pet Insurance Help
While spaying or neutering your cat can reduce the risk of certain illnesses like uterine and testicular cancer, theres still a chance they can get sick. And if that day comes, having pet insurance can help you say yes to the best care even when its costly.
Learn how Pumpkins cat insurance plans can help protect your kittys health when it matters most.
*Pumpkin Pet Insurance policies do not cover pre-existing conditions. Waiting periods, annual deductible, co-insurance, benefit limits and exclusions may apply. For full terms, visit pumpkin.care/insurancepolicy.Products, discounts, and rates may vary and are subject to change. Pumpkin Insurance Services Inc. is a licensed insurance agency, not an insurer. Insurance is underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company , a Crum & Forster Company and produced by Pumpkin. Pumpkin receives compensation based on the premiums for the insurance policies it sells. For more details visit pumpkin.care/underwriting-information and pumpkin.care/insurance-licenses.
What Is The Difference Between Spaying And Neutering
When we discuss getting a companion animal ‘fixed’, we are using a blanket term that refers to both the spaying of femal animals and the neutering of male animals.
Spaying Female Cats
When we spay a cat, the uterus and ovaries, or occasionally just the ovaries, of the female cat are surgically removed.
After the spaying procedure has been done, she will not be able to have kittens.
Neutering Male Cats
Neutering involves removing the male cat’s testicles.
When your male cat is neutered, he will be unable to father kittens.
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Information And Services To Spay And Neuter Cats
Since 1993, the dedicated and compassionate veterinary team at Indian Trail Animal Hospital have safely and successfully performed spay and neuter procedures on thousands of male and female cats of all breeds and ages. We have also helped educate cat owners throughout NC about spay and neuter procedures. These include when to spay or neuter a cat, what to expect during and after surgery, and why cat spaying and cat neutering is essential to helping control the pet population problem in the state of NC.
We strongly believe that responsible cat ownership is synonymous with spay and neuter procedures. Therefore we have compiled some of the most frequently asked questions here to help you learn more about this important service.
What Is The Best Age To Spay A Kitten
So when can a kitten be spayed? There is debate among veterinarians about the time to spay/neuter your cat.
There are three different times in which you can spay a kitten.
First, Early or pediatric spay/neuter is done at six to eight weeks of age.
Second, Standard spay and neuter at five to six months. Finally, waiting until after the first heat, somewhere between eight to twelve months of age.
As someone who has had kittens neutered at nearly all the ages, I want to give you guys my opinion.
Phoebe, was spayed after her first time in heat. And honestly, I do not recommend it! At the time I had just found her and did not realize she was about to go into heat. But knowing what I know now, I would definitely spay my cats prior to their first time in heat. This allows them to not have to go through the stress of being in heat.
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What Is The Recovery Time For A Spay/neuter Surgery
Although all surgeries have some degree of discomfort associated with them, recovery from spaying and neutering, especially in cats, is usually very fast. Youd be amazed at how fast your cat seems to bounce back and return to his/her usual self.
After surgery, pain and inflammation relief medications can be maintained as long as necessary.
Therefore, its normal that during the first 24-48 hours they appear a little drowsy or more unstable, but they tend to return to normal behavior and activity in just a few days. And total recovery, including complete healing, usually takes less than 10 days, although it varies between cats.
What Is The Right Age To Spay A Cat According To Santa Cruz Pet Clinic
Before we get into the right age to spay a cat. Its essential to know the entire reason behind doing so. Spaying your cat aids in reducing the number of homeless pets on the streets. So, in essence, spaying is a form of birth control. Spayed cats also exhibit different behaviors after the treatment.
In terms of overall benefits, spaying has been proven to extend the lifespan of cats. You also wont have to worry about your cat going into heat. The cost of caring for a kitten or a litter is way higher than the cost of spaying. Which is another main benefit of the procedure.
For most kittens, you should spay them at eight weeks old. Doing so provides a safeguard against any potential problems that could arise during the process. But, keep in mind cats can be spayed at older ages too.
When spaying older cats, you should always get them inspected before doing so. This will protect your cat from developing any potential medical problems as a result of the procedure.
Once the spaying process is complete, you need to care for your feline correctly.
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What Age Can Cats Be Neutered
Cats become sexually mature from the age of around five months. In order to prevent unwanted pregnancies, its recommended that cats are neutered at around four months old, after they have completed their primary vaccinations. Some vets still recommend spaying at five or six months and its quite safe to neuter older cats.
Dr Jennifer Coates Dvm
Dr. Jennifer Coates, DVM, serves on the advisory board for Cat Life Today. Dr. Coates believes neutering is best.
Heres what she said, Kitten neuters are simple surgeries. Kittens only need to be anesthetized for a few minutes and recover quickly.
Veterinarians may perform vasectomies as part of the management of feral cat colonies, but for pet cats neutering is best.
Dr. Jennifer Coates, DVM
According to Dr. Coates, Post-operative complications are rare. For owned cats, the benefits of neutering include not only stopping reproduction but also problematic reproductive behaviors like spraying, yowling, aggression, and roaming. Alternatives to neutering, like vasectomies, will prevent unwanted litters but not these problematic behaviors. Veterinarians may perform vasectomies as part of the management of feral cat colonies, but for pet cats neutering is best. For interested owners, testicular implants are available that maintain the look of an intact male cats scrotum.
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The Importance Of Early Age Spay And Neuter Of Ragdoll Kittens
Originally published Jan 13, 2012 running it again because this continues to be an ongoing problem for me through email.
Sometimes it can be hard to have a site that supports purebred cats. I receive nasty emails from people that do not support breeding and there are strong reasons why they dont support breeding. Sometimes, I struggle with supporting breeding because of the emails I receive about irresponsible breeders.
Even breeders who think they are being responsible, end up causing irresponsible breeding. How does this happen? They release a kitten that has not been altered to a pet owner who signs a contract that they will spay or neuter the kitten, however, something comes up financial strain or the pet owner changes his or her mind and wants to breed the cat. Even if they sign a contract, it doesnt stop them. Some people dont care about contracts and in fact, the original breeder doesnt have much control once the kitten is released. Sure, they can sue, etc. But once the damage has been done, its been done. No court of law can take away the fact that the cat has produced a new litter of kittens, irresponsibly.
However, I do support responsible breeders who do not release their kittens without early age spay and neuter.
When my parents got Rags and Cosby in 1989, they signed a contract that they would neuter the two kittens and they did when they were 6 months old. Its just that not everyone does this.
Can You Spey A Cat In Heat
Yes, although speying a cat in heat isnt quite as simple as a routine spey, its done regularly by most vets. Speying during a heat is a little more risky is because the blood vessels around their womb tend to be a bit larger and more likely to bleed. This means the operation is slightly more risky and can take a little longer.
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I Have Unneutered Female And Male Cats In My Household What Should I Do To Avoid Unwanted Pregnancies
If you have an unneutered male and female in the same household, have them neutered as soon as they reach 4 months old. If this isnt possible, and your female cat comes on heat, its essential to keep your cats apart at all times to stop them from mating. Please remember that related cats will mate, including brothers, sisters, fathers and daughters.
Neutering Your Cat Key Facts
- Neutering means surgically preventing cats from reproducing
- Its recommended that cats are neutered at around four months old
- Neutered animals might have slightly lower food requirements so you just need to feed them a little less
Neutering your cat can have really great benefits, both to them and to you! Plus youll be helping to tackle the growing crisis of pets being abandoned, dumped and given away because there arent enough homes to go around.
What is cat neutering?
Neutering means surgically preventing cats from reproducing. In males, the operation is called castration and in females its called spaying.
With castration both testicles are removed which takes away the main source of the male hormone testosterone. With spaying, both the ovaries and the uterus are removed which means the female is unable to become pregnant.
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Why Should You Spay Or Neuter Your Cat
There are many valid reasons to spay or neuter your cat. According to AmericanHumane.org approximately 3.7 million animals are euthanized at shelters annually because there just are not enough willing and able adopters for them. Spay and neuter procedures ensure that you are not adding to this number, and that no offspring your cat has ends up a fatal statistic.
To support this unpleasant reality, consider the fact that, according to Feral Cat Project, a non-spayed female cat can be responsible for producing up to 100 other cats throughout her lifetime, including the litters of kittens her un-spayed kittens will eventually go on to have. This incredible number can be prevented though, simply by caring enough to spay or neuter your cat.