Early Neutering

[momofmany]

Originally Posted by Mairi II

What was the vet's reasoning on the "at least 6 months old"?

It's old school practice. Early spay and neuter practices (2 pounds, 8 weeks) have been around for about 20 years and there are really no documented problems associated with the procedure. It has become more prevelant as attitudes change within rescue groups. There are more and more no-kill type groups, and when you run a business where you would actually like to be out of that business one day, early spay and neuter makes sense. There is never a guarantee that a person adopting an animal from a shelter will have their pets fixed and it perpetuates the need for that shelter. Early spay/neuter breaks the euthanasia cycle.

 

[gloriajh]

Originally Posted by FamilytimeRags

If you do a search on pediatric spay and neuter, you will find many posts in favor of this type of altering. It is very, very common amongst Ragdoll breeders to spay and neuter early, and to keep our kittens at least 10-12 weeks of age.
Most or all of the myths around early alter have been disfounded. There are 2 articles that I always like to reference, and they are very helpful.
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org//hea...ay-neuter.html

http://www.winnfelinehealth.org//rep...ly-neuter.html


As well, we have had all of our kittens early altered before they go home without ever having a problem. Here is a picture of our 4 year old altered male Ragdoll, who has NEVER had a health issue, and never any surrounding pediatric spay or neuter. I hope that it becomes more and more common and all kittens and puppies will begin being altered early by breeders, rescue organizations, and pet owners.
Here is Toulouse a 4 year old altered male in all his glory!!

He isn't fat at all, but 18 lbs of Raggie love.

Thanks for this post! I especially am grateful for the links. Education is a wonderful thing!

My daughter adopted a Ragdoll from the SPCA in San Bernadino CA - they didn't identify her breed correctly - but after my daughter did a little research she identified her as a Ragdoll. She's beautiful, and is grooming herself, and others, all of the time :-)

Thanks, again -- I'll be looking for other informative posts from you :-)

Gloria

 

[jen]

Originally Posted by kittyluver27

My kitties were neutered when they were 2 months old. Was that too early? One of my cats doesnt always pee in his litterbox. Could being neutered too early be the cause?

Not always peeing in the litterbox I think would be more likely from a cat that was neutered later and more likely he is marking. I cannot imagine how neutering at 2 months would have any effect on the cat's litterbox behaviors.

Going outside the box is more likely from a UTI or crystals where it is actually painful for the cat to go in the box and therefore it sometimes chooses to go elsewhere. BTW you most likely will have no idea of the pain a cat is in when it has a UTI, sometimes they will cry when going but a lot of times they don't so it is left untreated or thought to be that the cat is acting out which is not true.

 

[sarahp]

Our shelter has a low cost spay and neuter clinic, and all the vet does is spay and neuter, and I believe is an absolutely wonderful vet. They also do the 8 week/2 pound thing, for the same reasons others are saying - less problems down the track. As long as the kitten is healthy, it shouldn't be a problem at all.

 

[familytimerags]

Originally Posted by Jen

Not always peeing in the litterbox I think would be more likely from a cat that was neutered later and more likely he is marking. I cannot imagine how neutering at 2 months would have any effect on the cat's litterbox behaviors.

Going outside the box is more likely from a UTI or crystals where it is actually painful for the cat to go in the box and therefore it sometimes chooses to go elsewhere. BTW you most likely will have no idea of the pain a cat is in when it has a UTI, sometimes they will cry when going but a lot of times they don't so it is left untreated or thought to be that the cat is acting out which is not true.

Jen, I couldn't agree with you more. Although, typically a whole male neutered later will usually stop spraying after the hormones have left and leveled, not always the case, but most of the time.
I would assume a possible UTI as well, and cats aren't too great at letting us know when they are in pain. It is worth a check at least.

 

[arlyn]

4 of our 6 were altered at 8 weeks/2 pounds.
The oldest of our pediatric neuter kitties is 7 and he's a very svelt (foreign body type), but very 'manly' 13 pound boy.

My twelve year old NFC was spayed at 4 months, but only 2.5 pounds, the only reason she wasn't done earlier was her size and malnurishment.

Both of these cats have never had a medical issue of any kind.

 

[gloriajh]

Originally Posted by Arlyn

4 of our 6 were altered at 8 weeks/2 pounds.
The oldest of our pediatric neuter kitties is 7 and he's a very svelt (foreign body type), but very 'manly' 13 pound boy.

My twelve year old NFC was spayed at 4 months, but only 2.5 pounds, the only reason she wasn't done earlier was her size and malnurishment.

Both of these cats have never had a medical issue of any kind.

Thanks, Arlyn -
Whew! they were so small!, It's wonderful to hear the good report about how healthy they are!

Thanks for taking the time to help me by providing this information.

Gloria