Not necessarily -- it isn't recommended to do it too early for the cat's sake. Usually 4-6 months is a good time to do it. But then again you don't want to wait too long...the cat might start spraying, and once it does, the habit isn't always broken by the simple act of neutering. You might need to resort to behavioral measures then.Kitty's Mom said:Also, I had heard (not sure if this is correct), that they are finding that the earlier a cat is neutered, the longer, leaner, and less aggressive he will be later in life.
Longer long bones isn't necessarily good for the cat. I know that some Swedish vets are concerned about longer legs and heavier bodies (since cats do become more and more obese), not a good combination according to some. But since few cats are neutered before the age of 7-8 months in Sweden we don't really have the research material needed for more research on the subject.artemisa said:I found this very interesting article, it's quite long but they did an experiment neutering cats at 7 weeks, 7 months and adult cats. Seems the differences weren't that great.
But check this:
"Increased long bone length was observed in both males and females in Groups 1 and 2 (7 week and 7 month old). This appeared to be due to the fact that physeal closing (closure of the bone growth plate) was delayed in Groups 1 & 2. This explains why cats neutered and spayed as kittens are frequently larger (longer and taller) than unaltered cats or cats altered later in life. This seems to be particularly true for males. "
That is so cool. I had been told neutering before he was 1 year old would stunt his growth! I want a big cat
Link to the article: http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/reports/early-neuter.html