Will a brother and sister (same litter) mate?
:-), yep, I have one of each alrighty - but they are only 13 weeks right now, and will be getting them altered when the time comes, planning on waiting as long as the vet thinks is safe :-). I had our first (and only cat) male neutered around 4 months, but I'm sort of leaning on more like 5 or 6 months for these two ??.Originally Posted by KatKisses
Yes, they don't know the difference. So you have two unaltered cats that were littermates? If so I strongly encourage you to seperate them and get them altered!
YIKES! I thought I had plenty of time! Now that I've read your reply, well, let's just say I'M AWAKE NOW! So, when I take them back at the end of this month for their boosters I should schedule the surgery because they'll be 16 weeks, or 4 months, and at 4 months, I'm living on the edge!!! Okay, thanks for the help regarding the altering.Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45
Any unneutered male and unneutered female will mate - they don't know they are brother/sister. Some males and females are ready to mate and get pregnant at 4-5 months of age. Its best to get them both done as soon as possible. If you feel you must wait, then one will have to be neutered/spayed before the other. Its best to do the male first as he could start spraying in the house. But keep in mind that as soon (or before) she comes into heat, she will try to get outside.
If your vet will do them at 3-4 months of age, get them done OR keep them separated so they don't mate.
Genetically, brother/sister matings can produce unwanted traits and possible deformities, etc. So its never a good thing to let a brother/sister mating to occur.
Well, I sure don't want any surprises! I'm not one to "live on the edge". :-)Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45
Thank you for getting them done as soon as possible. I know a siamese breeder who let their 5 month old little boy run with adult females thinking he didn't know anything............well that 5 month old was a "daddy" at 7 months old!
Don't underestimate!
This information is very interesting, and informative - just what I'm looking for to make an "educated" decision.Originally Posted by semiferal
Yes, absolutely they will mate with siblings!
It is more important to get the female spayed early. There are two reasons for this. First, the surgery is more invasive for a girl and young animals recover much, much more quickly. My experience is that girls who are 2-4 months old are running around a few hours after surgery and playing as if nothing ever happened. Any older than 5 months and they take a day or two to feel like playing and doing their normal stuff again. So it just seems fair to me to do the surgery when the recovery will be easiest on them. But more importantly, it is not unusual for female kittens to have their first heat cycle at 4-5 months old. They can get pregnant at that point. Even if her brother is not mature enough to be up to "the task", there is always the possibility that she could get out and another male could impregnate her.
For boys, the surgery is very minor and recovery is very fast no matter the age. Plus boys mature sexually a bit later than girls - at around 7-9 months of age. So while there is certainly no reason to put off neutering a boy, there is also less risk in waiting a bit if, say, money is tight and you can only afford to have one done at a time. Always, the rule should be to fix the girls first. But having them done at the same time is definitely a good option, and in general the sooner the better!
Interestingly, I know of some vets who say that 13 weeks is actually the absolute ideal age to spay a female cat. I'm not completely informed on all their reasons for saying so, but I can definitely say that it correlates with my personal experience.
Well, I'd say that a 12-year old is an example of a pretty good life span of a spayed cat, and is helpful in gathering information to understand the long-term "risks" of spaying - what age was your cat spayed?Originally Posted by kitytize
My oldest female cat will be 12 years old this year and has no health problems from being spayed. I dont think I have even heard of an older cat having health problems from being spayed but I could be wrong.
Hey, JenOriginally Posted by Jen
Cats have health problems from NOT being spayed, not from BEING spayed. Without it they can get all sorts of cancers and a really nasty disease.
Anyways, cats can be altered at 2lbs, vets who insist on waiting until 6 months are sort of old fashioned and I would personally want a vet who is a little more up to date with things.
Debbie, your contribution is yet another good testimonial to add to my "comfort level" of getting the little girl (Phoebe)l and the little boy (Simon) altered around the 4-5 months of age.Originally Posted by mistys mum
Gloria, our original cat Sach was 5months old when she was sterilized and she lived a long and healthy life she died when she was 19 years old. My other cat Smokey the 1st, was 6 months old when she was done and she died a the age of 16 and a half. My other cats are all sterilized and they are well and happy but still fairly young in our years. (Between 2 years and 5 years) I feel it is only in your cats best interest to be sterilized. All the best to you and your cats. Debbie
Whoa! I bet that experience was kinda frightening! I'm glad she's doing well.Originally Posted by sharky
Kandie is 18 and was spayed in heat at about 4.5 months ... she has suffered no ill effects and hers was done in less than Idealic conditions... she can keep up with my wild two year old Zoey ... she has CRF( about 4 yrs)and some arthitis but otherwise very healthy
Dobies have issues later in life and they seem to all be simliar
No you shouldnt erase...Originally Posted by GloriaJH
Whoa! I bet that experience was kinda frightening! I'm glad she's doing well.
Help me, please - what do the initials CRF stand for? What do you think about using Glucosamine for her arthritis (Flexicose has a liquid form for animals) ??
Dobies: yes, we had on-going issues after she reached an older stage of life, and she was over 80#'s, toward the end I had a terrible time loading her into the car to take her to the vet, she couldn't walk any longer - I had to lift her and she weighed almost as much as me, the whole end of her life was pretty tramatic for me even tho' I had the absolute best vet who was very tender towards her and me. Sorry for this ....really, very sorry, I probably should erase this part, eh?
Thanks, again for your post.
Gloria