What age is the very earliest I can have my Tom neutered??

[Bazsmum]

OOps I did sound a bit harsh there but it was'nt intended! 

Its just loads of peeps seem to be going for females because of this....

[Christie]

Why do people still assume that they will do this before 6 months?

Well, perhaps some "people" don't all have the expert experience others have.

[Kirst]

Poor Baz - no man likes being told they're not big enough!!

[Bazsmum]

I took my Baz in when he was only 5 months old (I wasnt sure of his age as he was huge) but the vet said he is a big boy but not in "that" dept and to bring him back when he had enough to grab a hold of! 

[Yvonne]

I have just had my male and female spayed and neutered and they are brother and sister Parrot and Cody, they were just over six months.  The Vet was reluctant because they were quite small for their age, but agreed because they are brother and sister.  As Blackcat said the testicles will need to be descended or the Vet will be reluctant to carry out the operation.  Parrot came into season at four months which took me by surprise.

[Desley (booktigger)]

Thanks for that article Susanne. Here is one of the US ones done

http://www.cfa.org/articles/health/early-neuter.html

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

she said she feels very strongly that for males it should be as close to around 6 months as possible. When I asked why, she explained at length about feline urinary tract issues in males; she said before 6 months or so, the penis and urinary tract isn't completely developed, and so if the male is neutered too soon, it can lead later on to those types of problems.

That used to be one of the reasons put forward against early neutering, but I I'm not sure it is supported by any evidence.  There have been a few studies carried out in the US and they do not indicate this.  Over here, The Cat Group (consisting of FAB, Blue Cross, British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Cats Protection. GCCF, RSPCA and a few other organisations) are in favour of early neutering

http://www.fabcats.org/cat_group/policy_statements/neut.html

If you feel like raising the issue again (and I would understand if you don't!), I would be interested to know whether your vet has access to some research indicating that cats neutered young have more urinary problems than those neutered later, or whether she's just repeating what she's been told or basing it on anecdotal evidence.

Both my boys were done at 5 months.  Mosi was barely 5 months and Jaffa was a little over.  With Jaffa (and his brother Magpie) they asked me to go in and let the nurse take a look at them to see if they thought he was ready, but with Mosi I just told them I wanted him doing then.  When I spoke to the actual vet who was doing it to check what time I could drop him off, she did suggest I might like to wait until he was 7-8 months!  She was from overseas (I'm not sure where but somewhere in Europe I think) so maybe it's the norm to do it later there.  I just said no I didn't want to wait and wanted it doing then as I felt Mosi was ready and that both he and Jaffa were dominant cats so I felt it was best to get it done before his hormones started kicking in.  She was fine with doing it then.


Link to some research for anyone who is interested

http://www.ivis.org/advances/Concannon/olson/IVIS.pdf#search=%22Early%20spay-neuter%3A%20clinical%20considerations.%22

[Desley (booktigger)]

Good point - Shadow was done at 6 months cos that is what the receptionist said, when we went back for the follow up, my vet said she is happy to do them in line with CP's guidelines, which is 4 months. I might have made her wait till 5 months purely cos she was a month small for her age.
I also agree about flutd being more likely to diet. I will try and find links to the research done in the US

[Millys Mum]

Lolly, make sure you ask your vet and not the reception as they are programmed with certain responses! My youngest lot were done at 4 months (the boys were getting interested in their sisters  ) and have no problems,Taz has bladder issues due to anxiety 

I think the increase of flutd cases is more likely to do with diet - more and more people feed only dry for cost and convenience issues. V.easy to link increasing flutd to more people early neutering.

[Desley (booktigger)]

I have actually been doing follow ups of people who have adopted kittens from us, and so far, only 2 out of the 15 i rang haven't had it done yet - both have said they will have it done, and I will be ringing back up in a few weeks to make sure - I would be surprised if the one I spoke to this week didn't get it done though, with the scare tactics I used. We couldn't keep them all until our vets will do them at 5 months, 4 and 5 month old kittens can already be hard to home, as for some unknown reason, they aren't seen as cute and cuddly as 2-3mo's. Also, we dont have the space, and by keeping them all till that age means that other litters will have to stay on the street, and we can't do that, I would much rather do follow ups to ensure it has been done - we do pay for the neutering of kittens though, they only have to use our vet and show their adoption paper, so it does seem to be working.

[blackcat]

I think I have mentioned before that Australian rescues generally neuter kittens and puppies prior to adoption as they found that people were not doing it despite their earnest promises and the availability of vouchers for discounts. While it means keeping the kittens longer, it does also get past that 'I want a kitten' type of potential adopter, and gives the kittens more time to be socialised by their mothers etc. I realise that costs and 'cage vs home' come into this discussion also, but to me it seems eminently sensible approach when so many adopted kittens are being allowed to breed (and I refer to Fluffy furballs acquaintance as an example of this sort of mentality ...

[Desley (booktigger)]

IT is interesting that vets over here still say that, as studies have been done in America on that problem, and I think they have been doing them for 20 years now. There are some rescues in the UK who will neuter at 8-12 weeks old, there are 3 near me who do it. One has been doing it for about 16 years now and they did keep one of the first kittens, who hasn't had any issues. While kittens might not start spraying at 6 months, their urine does start to smell, I had 2 10mo's in this year, and we were lucky that they weren't very smelly or spray (there was someone on CC with 10mo's who were spraying) - it didn't stop Rolo going in and spraying in the room they had been in though, so he must have been able to pick up on something. I have had 2/3yo unneutered toms in, and while they didn't spray, again the smell is awful.

[Bazsmum]

I asked how soon Sammy could be done, to avoid the dreaded spraying;

I have never had a cat spray before or around 6 months old! Why do people still assume that they will do this before 6 months? 

Mind you I cannot say that there has never been a cat who did'nt but its not a problem that I have commonly came across. 

[Bazsmum]

Scary but very interesting also! Thanks for that.....

All my boys have been done the earliest 6 months old as have my females! 

[Christie]

I talked with my vet about this exact subject on Thursday, when Sammy went in for his first tip-to-tail check. I'm American, and in the states they neuter both males and females substantially younger (especially if they're at a rescue, as you can't unfortunately count on adopters getting them neutered). I asked how soon Sammy could be done, to avoid the dreaded spraying; she said she feels very strongly that for males it should be as close to around 6 months as possible. When I asked why, she explained at length about feline urinary tract issues in males; she said before 6 months or so, the penis and urinary tract isn't completely developed, and so if the male is neutered too soon, it can lead later on to those types of problems. I had never thought of that. My husband's cat Sox was neutered at about 4 months, and has had several episodes of FUTD which were pretty scary. So it made sense to me.

[lollylou]

oh right thats interesting, I didn't realise that girls could be done so young, thought at least 6 months...cool, well they are in soon for first injections so I will speak to vet and get them booked in.

Thankyou

[Desley (booktigger)]

Each vet is different, the rescues vet say 5 months, but my vet is happy to do it at 4. I would actually recommend getting your female done first though, as males can still produce sperm up to 6 weeks after being done, unless of course you have them done at the same time, that way they have the vet smell on them at teh same time, and it will be easier on restrictig their food. It is also healthier for females to be done before their first season.

[lollylou]

ok, will do....as you can understand I am terrified of anything happening!!

[blackcat]

most vets will recommend 6 months still. However technically speaking the operation can be performed any time after their testicles have descended fully. You may need to discuss this with your vet when you take them in for their vaccinations.

[lollylou]

 

I know it used to be around 5/6mths to get a tom done, but if poss I want mine done sooner
as I also have his sister...you do the math!! 

I am sure I read somewhere once that these days vets could do it alot earlier?

Then I can get Matilda done later, as I am assuming its later fo her as its a more
complicated operation?

Thanks