when is the best time to fix a kitten
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Neutering a cat any younger than FOUR months can be dangerous. Shelter kittens are only neutered to reduce the pet population, even though it is against the kitten or puppies health. A lot of vets refuse to neuter an animal under 4 months of age.
I'd say 4-6 months would be perfect. Old enough to survive the surgery, yet young enough to not go into heat or develop bad spraying.
I'd say 4-6 months would be perfect. Old enough to survive the surgery, yet young enough to not go into heat or develop bad spraying.
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I agree with Aonir.
4-6 months is perfect. I do agree with early spay and neuter as well though but some people are not comfortable with it. I say as early as your vet is trained to do so. Not all vets are trained with the new anesthesia methods for the earlier alterations. Seek a local vet that you feel comfy with and see when she thinks would be best for your cat.
4-6 months is perfect. I do agree with early spay and neuter as well though but some people are not comfortable with it. I say as early as your vet is trained to do so. Not all vets are trained with the new anesthesia methods for the earlier alterations. Seek a local vet that you feel comfy with and see when she thinks would be best for your cat.
There have been *many* studies of early (8 week old) spay/neuter that show absolutely no negative effects.
That said, I personally prefer to wait until they are 4-6 months, especially for males, to make sure their urinary tracts are fully developed.
Cheers,
Dr. Jean
That said, I personally prefer to wait until they are 4-6 months, especially for males, to make sure their urinary tracts are fully developed.
Cheers,
Dr. Jean
Dr Jean, got a followup there...
I'm also taking a brother and sister. I'm unsure if we're going to "desex" both kittens at the same time since we might want to take one litter from the female first (the breeder wanted us to consider it). So that would mean that we should have to put her on "the pill". At what age can you start putting her on the pill? I want to fix him as soon as possible (well as soon as the vet says it's ok) but I don't want any "accidents" since she won't be fixed until maybe next year.
Any advice?
I'm also taking a brother and sister. I'm unsure if we're going to "desex" both kittens at the same time since we might want to take one litter from the female first (the breeder wanted us to consider it). So that would mean that we should have to put her on "the pill". At what age can you start putting her on the pill? I want to fix him as soon as possible (well as soon as the vet says it's ok) but I don't want any "accidents" since she won't be fixed until maybe next year.
Any advice?
There is no "pill" for cats, at least there isn't one that's safe.
Definitely you should get the male fixed so there are no "accidents." However, an unspayed female is not easy to live with. She will yowl, spray urine, and be generally obnoxious when she's in heat. She'll also become very sneaky about trying to get outside; and if she does happen to sneak out, she will be ruined for breeding, you will not be able to guarantee purebred kittens, and there goes that idea!
Unless you are prepared for a lot of annoyance and sleepless nights, not to mention the normal expenses of top-notch food and vet care, and a good padding of funds should anything go wrong, breeding is not such a terrific idea. A lot of people think "Oh sure, one litter, I'll make a little money and all will be great." That is a myth. Breeding is an extremely expensive hobby!
I don't know what the pet population is like in Sweden, but if it's remotely like here, there is not really a good reason to bring more kittens into the world.
Cheers,
Dr. Jean
Definitely you should get the male fixed so there are no "accidents." However, an unspayed female is not easy to live with. She will yowl, spray urine, and be generally obnoxious when she's in heat. She'll also become very sneaky about trying to get outside; and if she does happen to sneak out, she will be ruined for breeding, you will not be able to guarantee purebred kittens, and there goes that idea!
Unless you are prepared for a lot of annoyance and sleepless nights, not to mention the normal expenses of top-notch food and vet care, and a good padding of funds should anything go wrong, breeding is not such a terrific idea. A lot of people think "Oh sure, one litter, I'll make a little money and all will be great." That is a myth. Breeding is an extremely expensive hobby!
I don't know what the pet population is like in Sweden, but if it's remotely like here, there is not really a good reason to bring more kittens into the world.
Cheers,
Dr. Jean
Thanks for your reply Dr. Jean.
Well, we do live in an area where there's not many stray cats around (down town in a city) and we live on the 3rd floor. The risk of the cat to sneak out is very slim to none. The risk for a cross breed is very slim in other words.
The breeder to these kittens (pure bred Siamese) asked if I would consider to have a litter with her newly aquired Siamese stud next year. I said I'd think about it. There's no thoughts about having a litter for the sake of making money, there's none to make.
As for cat pouplation in Sweden. Sure, there's a few strays, but it's not as bad as in Northern america and I have no intention to owerflow the population with non pure breed kittens. At the most one litter and that wold be done together with the breeder who will teach me everything.
You say there's no "pill" for cats... but I heard about a pill you give your cat once a week. If so, what pill is that if you say there's no such pill? Sugar pills? My breeder has two queens, both on "the pill", she has a nutured male and now this new stud and I'm sure she doesn't want "accidents" either.
Well, we do live in an area where there's not many stray cats around (down town in a city) and we live on the 3rd floor. The risk of the cat to sneak out is very slim to none. The risk for a cross breed is very slim in other words.
The breeder to these kittens (pure bred Siamese) asked if I would consider to have a litter with her newly aquired Siamese stud next year. I said I'd think about it. There's no thoughts about having a litter for the sake of making money, there's none to make.
As for cat pouplation in Sweden. Sure, there's a few strays, but it's not as bad as in Northern america and I have no intention to owerflow the population with non pure breed kittens. At the most one litter and that wold be done together with the breeder who will teach me everything.
You say there's no "pill" for cats... but I heard about a pill you give your cat once a week. If so, what pill is that if you say there's no such pill? Sugar pills? My breeder has two queens, both on "the pill", she has a nutured male and now this new stud and I'm sure she doesn't want "accidents" either.
I said there's no *safe* pill for cats. There are pills available which contain powerful hormones that will affect the heat cycle, but they have many side effects, and they are not completely reliable.
Cheers,
Dr. Jean
PS I'm heading out of town in a little bit here, so I'll talk to y'all in July!
Cheers,
Dr. Jean
PS I'm heading out of town in a little bit here, so I'll talk to y'all in July!
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