Is the rule 6 months?
Michelangelo is 6 months Jan 2, or maybe he will be 7 months.

Is it time?

Vets can do spays and neuters as young as 8 weeks, provided the kitten is more than 2 pounds. I usually wait for Persians until they are about 3.5 months old. I never want a male to reach anything close to sexual maturity, so I get them neutered as soon as possible so they never get any urges to spray.

Vets can do spays and neuters as young as 8 weeks, provided the kitten is more than 2 pounds. I usually wait for Persians until they are about 3.5 months old. I never want a male to reach anything close to sexual maturity, so I get them neutered as soon as possible so they never get any urges to spray.

My vet's rule is 2lbs. I spay and neuter every pet I place before they leave. That is usually 12 wks of age. Younger kittens recover from the surgery quicker than older ones. I would advise neutering your boy now.

While it can be done that early, I personally feel it's too young. I read somewhere that allowing a cat to remain intact until 6-8 months is better as it allows the cat's body to develop more normally in terms of hormonal balances. It makes sense to me and it would be interesting to see if some of the adult behavior problems are related to early spaying/neutering. Or maybe the behaviour is related to late spaying/neutering?

Anyway, what I did was wait for the males to start doing the shaky tail thing. It's like they are spraying, but nothing comes out. Once I saw that, I called the vet and they had The Big Snip. The ages for this were 6-8 months.

Thanks, I am making an appoinment today.

CFA and the Winn Foundation support early spay/neuter and the Winn Foundation has done several studies on the subject. Since CFA's site seems to be having some problems, I'm providing this link which sites the study's findings:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pediatric_spaying

I have been breeding for over 20 yrs and most of my own pets were neutered at 12 wks of age. I have never witnessed any behavior or health problems from it. In fact, the behavior problems in males comes from neutering too late and there are health benifits in early spaying for females (decreased incidence of mammary cancer).

I feel stongly about not contributing to the pet overpopulation and would never want any of the pets I place to be used by a pet owner for breeding (something that is very common). I have even refused to sell to people who want to keep their pets intact, and have found that there is usually an ulterior motive...

Appointment made, Michelangleo gets snipped on Wednesday.

Now why do I worry so?

Thanks Tracy, I appreciate knowledgeable breeders, who know what they are doing.

Tracy -- Thanks for the link on early spaying/neutering. I read the report (linked from wiki) from the Illinois vet school and it sounds convincing. If there is no difference and the youngster heals faster, then younger is better. I still grimace at the idea of anesthestizing a 6 week (or younger!) old kitten, but I guess I'm not the one having to do it. Although, considering the cats I rescue, I don't usually have to worry about spaying/neutering of kittens.

But I totally agree with you on the neutering/spaying and would never encourage leaving a cat intact. I just had thought it was better to do it at an older age. Live and learn!



Because you can?

I don't think it is necessary to spay/neuter a 6 wk or younger kitten and I am not advocating that. Kittens that young are rarely 2lbs- but I routinely have 11 wk old kittens spay/neutered and so far have seen no downfalls. In the rare instance that a 12 wk old isn't 2 lbs, I wait until they are before letting them go.
The pet buyer usually appreciates this being done in advance- one less thing to have to worry about, and I get the piece of mind that my kittens will not be used for breeding. Honestly, 12 wks of age is the proper age for Persians to go to new homes- not 8 wks.