 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / March 20075 Months to young to neuter??
Hi all, My 5 month old kitten has begun to spray around the house. I have contacted my vet to set up a time to have him neutered and they are REFUSING to do it. They have indicated that he is too young as he is not yet 6 months old and that it will be too hard on his body (note: he's a big kitten. he weighs almost 9lbs - all muscle). My kitten turns "6 months" on Feb 26 but is turning "24 weeks" this Saturday (Feb 3)... I've told the vet this and STILL they refuse to do it until after Feb 26. I'm going to seek another vets opinion but thought I would also check with all of you as you were so helpful with my last posting "Kitten Shiver/Tremours while Sleeping". Thanks! > Hi all, > > My 5 month old kitten has begun to spray around the house. I have > contacted my vet to set up a time to have him neutered and they are > REFUSING to do it. New vet.  SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com > New vet. TELL ME ABOUT!!! I'm on the hunt for one! You could try contacting rescue groups or shelters. They frequently deal with vets who are more comfortable and experienced doing younger s/n. My vet doesn't like doing boys until they are 7 months. I like him for everything else so when it came time for my Diego to get neutered (he was mature at 5 months) I took him to the vet that the rescue group I volunteer for uses and had him snipped with no ill effects. W >> New vet. > > TELL ME ABOUT!!! I'm on the hunt for one! I wouldn't do it till he was 6 months. There is too much risk to a cat who isn't mature enough for the surgery. Celeste > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Thanks! My two guys were neutered at 3 months at the shelter. They're happy and healthy. > My two guys were neutered at 3 months at the shelter. They're happy > and healthy. Wow, that's young. I like your nym, whatever it really means. Stick Waver? what does that mean >>My two guys were neutered at 3 months at the shelter. They're happy >>and healthy. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Stick Waver? what does that mean It's more fun to guess ;-) > I'm going to seek another vets opinion This is what I would do. Kittens are often neutered much younger than 6 months of age, though I prefer to wait. Your kitten is pretty large and so I wouldn't hesitate to have him done now. Call your local animal shelter. They often have vets either on staff or affiliated with the shelter who perform services for fees and who are very experienced in early spay/neuter, though I wouldn't even consider your kitten "early" given his size and his age. SignatureLynne Thanks that's great advise. I have one other question: He has not yet received his 3rd booster shot as the vet thought that his shiver symptom was a reaction to his 2nd booster shot and advised me not to give him the rabies shot. Well I've since discovered (on my own I might add), that it wasn't the booster shot at all that caused the shiver, it was an allergy to the food he was eating. I've changed his food and now he's fine. Does he have to have the rabies shot prior to being neutered or can the vet do the shot and the neutering in the same visit??? > > I'm going to seek another vets opinion > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > -- > Lynne > He has not yet received his 3rd booster shot as the vet thought that > his shiver symptom was a reaction to his 2nd booster shot and advised [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > prior to being neutered or can the vet do the shot and the neutering > in the same visit??? I would not do them all at once, no, though a vet may want to do so. I would get the shots now and schedule the neuter for a week later if you can stand the wait. You could do it the other way around, but the vet may refuse. It wouldn't hurt to ask. Also, you can call around to vets and ask if they will neuter him at his current age. You don't have to go in for a visit until you find one who will. If you get the shots with the same vet first, you can take him in for that and make sure you are comfortable with the vet and the facilities before you have him neutered there. SignatureLynne > > He has not yet received his 3rd booster shot as the vet thought that > > his shiver symptom was a reaction to his 2nd booster shot and advised [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > -- > Lynne Thanks Lynne, You've been a great help! >Thanks that's great advise. > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >prior to being neutered or can the vet do the shot and the neutering >in the same visit??? The vet I work with for our rescue shelter spays and neuters our kittens at 3 pounds. Some groups do it even earlier, primarily because not all adopters can be trusted to get their animals neutered. We have never had any problem with neutering early but it does take a skilled vet to do spay surgery on a tiny animal. The only difference I have noticed is that the younger cats recover much faster. Males particularly are seldom slowed in the slightest. He gives the rabies vaccine at the same time. The vets I know will not do any type of surgery on an unvaccinated animal. Perhaps that's a law just in Texas though. BarB Thank you to all... your help is much appreciated. I found a new vet today... She's GREAT and agreed that my old vet was being irrational. Buddy (the kitten), got his rabies shot today and will be neutered next week! I'm so glad I found this group... it's so handy to get advise from all of you! Pam No, 5 months is not too young. We had our kittens (a girl and 3 boys) done at 4 months. You do have to find a vet who is experienced with spaying younger kittens. Usually a cat or feral rescue group will have the name of someone. I would not wait on your cat. He will leave his scent everywhere in the house and it will be hard to break him of it after the neuter. Rhonda > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Thanks! > No, 5 months is not too young. We had our kittens (a girl and 3 boys) > done at 4 months. You do have to find a vet who is experienced with [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Sorry to drag this one back up again folks, but I really would be interested to know why vets don't like to fix cats any younger than 6months old? Is it because it is a delicate operation (ie:anaesthesia), their size or simply because they feel it is wrong to do? I can't figure it out because surely it is the right thing to do? If a cat is old enough to be sexually active, and spray to mark it's territory, then what is the point of waiting until the cat is well practised at marking an sexual maturity issues, which is why you want them done? Sounds Mad to me!!! S;o) > > No, 5 months is not too young. We had our kittens (a girl and 3 boys) > > done at 4 months. You do have to find a vet who is experienced with [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > Sounds Mad to me!!! > S;o) I totally agree with you. > > > No, 5 months is not too young. We had our kittens (a girl and 3 boys) > > > done at 4 months. You do have to find a vet who is experienced with [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Another thought that came to mind was that this also raises the issue that it could/ might tempt some people to lie simply in order to get their vet to complete a procedure out of desperation! How is a vet to know whether or not a cat is six months old? Cats vary in size and weight according to sex & breeding, therefore raising the temptation for clients to tell untruths to vets, just to get a procedure that they want done, completed. Imagine the complications that "could arise", through the potential owner who "would" tell an untruth reasons out of need/ ignorance? I think that there should be wider guidelines about this issue for both vet & cat owner. ie: Most cat owners know that you DON'T get a kitty vaccinated until they reach 12 weeks because of the dangers. Because some vets *do*, & some vets *don't*, It leaves room for fatal error on both owner & vets- Initiated by this no hard or fast rule. This was what triggered my question in the 1st place. In the UK, it is almost unheard of to find a vet that will consider practising this procedure. I happen to have a vet that will consider doing it anytime from 3months onwards, but not everyone would agree with this on this side of the pond. It seems to be a bit of a taboo subject here too, & I wondered why that would be? S;o) > In the UK, it is almost unheard of to find a vet that will consider > practising this procedure. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > that would be? > S;o) That's because it's too soon. I think 8 months should be the minimum. P My new vet based her decision on whether or not my kitten was ready to be neutered on the following: Were his testicles descended? Does he have his adult teeth? Is he a healthy weight? Has he matured physically? If all these are "yes" then he was ready for the procedure. If a vet is solely basing their decision on whether the animal has reached the magical 6 months number then I don't believe they are taking into account the whole picture. Just like people, each animal is an individual and matures at different rates. 5 months isn't too young. I had one of my cat's spayed at that age. SignatureCat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs! www.panthertekit.com > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Thanks! |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.