How Much Does Early Spay And Neuter Affect Growth?

Lari

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I've read that early s/n can cause cats to become bigger/longer/taller than they might have been otherwise because the energy that went into puberty development just goes into growth. I was wondering if there's sort of like an average of by how much?

Example: my girl is long and lean. Tail is about 12/13 inches long if I've measured right. She was spayed at 13 weeks. I assume some body type is just genetics, but pretending she was born in a home instead of outside and had been spayed at 6 months instead, how much shorter might she be? Like a couple inches? More/less?

It doesn't really affect anything for me, just a topic I was curious about!
 

Daisy6

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I have not exactly read about that, but some people say spay/neuter causes a cat to gain weight. So I am curious too.
 

Kieka

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Edit: I just noticed this was in the expert forum. Removing my response for the experts to answer. Opps. :thud:
 
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Lari

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Edit: I just noticed this was in the expert forum. Removing my response for the experts to answer. Opps. :thud:
Hee! Yeah, we've discussed it in terms of your cats. I just wanted to see what the experts might say or if there was research about it.

It's a low priority question, though!
 

msaimee

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Funny, I had heard the opposite--that early neuter interrupts puberty and (at least for males) the cats are smaller. I noticed this with my 4 month old feral boy--after his neuter he retained a kitten-like face and did not grow very big. Looking forward to the expert's response.
 

Dr. Phil Bushby

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I've read that early s/n can cause cats to become bigger/longer/taller than they might have been otherwise because the energy that went into puberty development just goes into growth. I was wondering if there's sort of like an average of by how much?

Example: my girl is long and lean. Tail is about 12/13 inches long if I've measured right. She was spayed at 13 weeks. I assume some body type is just genetics, but pretending she was born in a home instead of outside and had been spayed at 6 months instead, how much shorter might she be? Like a couple inches? More/less?

It doesn't really affect anything for me, just a topic I was curious about!
Gonadal hormones do influence the closure of growth plates in long bones. What does that mean. If a cat is spayed or neutered before it has stopped growing (generally 9 - 12 months) then the cat's long bones (tibia, femur, radius, ulna, humerus) will continue to grow for a longer period of time than if the cat is left intact. Put into practical terms this might mean that a cat grows to be as much as ½ to 1 cm (0.2 to 0.4 inches) taller. Not enough that anyone would ever notice.
 

Daisy6

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How does this influence occur, Dr. Bushby? I would think it is the opposite.
 

Willowy

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Odd fact: human males castrated before puberty (eunuchs, castrati, etc.) showed similar gangly growth. It used to be done quite frequently so there has been a lot of research into the effects on humans. Castrati also live longer. But I don't think a lot of men would volunteer for it anyway ;).
 
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Lari

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Gonadal hormones do influence the closure of growth plates in long bones. What does that mean. If a cat is spayed or neutered before it has stopped growing (generally 9 - 12 months) then the cat's long bones (tibia, femur, radius, ulna, humerus) will continue to grow for a longer period of time than if the cat is left intact. Put into practical terms this might mean that a cat grows to be as much as ½ to 1 cm (0.2 to 0.4 inches) taller. Not enough that anyone would ever notice.
Thanks for the response! I guess that means most of Lelia's "I'm so tall!" is just her genetics.
 

Dr. Phil Bushby

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How does this influence occur, Dr. Bushby? I would think it is the opposite.
There are "growth plates" in long bones. Gonadal hormones influence when those growth plates cease to function, therefore when the long bones stop growing. Removal of gonadal hormones by spay or neuter allows the growth plates to function a few months longer. So the long bones grow a little longer.
 

denice

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I know we have occasionally run into issues here with people who have read about the benefits of delaying neutering in large dogs and then believing that it is also beneficial for cats.
 

lavishsqualor

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Odd fact: human males castrated before puberty (eunuchs, castrati, etc.) showed similar gangly growth. It used to be done quite frequently so there has been a lot of research into the effects on humans. Castrati also live longer. But I don't think a lot of men would volunteer for it anyway ;).
You're right! I learned all that when I read Anne Rice's A Cry to Heaven. It never dawned on me to make the parallel with animals.
 

silkenpaw

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Castrati also live longer. But I don't think a lot of men would volunteer for it anywa
So do mice that live on severely restricted caloric intake live longer. I hear that several of the scientists that did the study took that to heart but I wouldn’t want to live that way. :)
 
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