Not at all.  Kittens can be and are done as early as 8 weeks.

    Once a cat starts spryaing, it's very difficult to get him to
stop, neutered or no.  IMO, get it done now.

    Um.  Can I get you to reconsider declawing?  It's the
amputation of the first joint of your cat's toes (the distal phalanx)
and apart from the physical and psychological effects on a cat, the
surgery itself has an unacceptably high rate of complications (50% of
cats immediately after the surgery, 20% of cats at a year or more
out).

    Here's a link to a very factual site about declawing:

http://www.maxshouse.com/facts_about_declawing.htm

Orchid
See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage
Want a Purebred Cat?  Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid

Please take a few minutes to read some of the following articles to learn
more about declawing:
http://www.maxshouse.com/Truth%20About%20Declawing.htm
http://www.declawing.com/
http://amby.com/cat_site/declaw.html (this site provides tons of links)
http://www.cfainc.org/health/declawing.html
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Please don't declaw your cats! It's cruel and inhumane. Most industrialized
countries ban this procedure as part of their animal protection laws.

Here's a description of how the declawing procedure is done. Judge by
yourlself:

"The claw is extended by pushing up under the footpad or by grasping it with
Allis tissue forceps. A scalpel blade is used to sharply dissect between the
second and third phalanx over the top of the ungual crest . The distal
interphalangeal joint is disarticulated (disjointed), and the deep digital
flexor tendon is incised (severed). The digital footpad, is not incised. If
a nail trimmer is used, the ring of the instrument is placed in the
groove between the second phalanx and the ungual crest. The blade is
positioned just in front of the footpad. The blade is pushed through the
soft tissues over the flexor process. With the ring of the nail trimmer
in position behind the ungual crest, the blade is released just slightly
so that traction applied to the claw causes the flexor process to slip
out and above the blade. At this point, the flexor tendon can be incised
and disarticulation of the joint (disjointing) completed. Both techniques
effectively remove the entire third phalanx. If a larger segment of the
third phalanx is left, it should be dissected out with a scalpel blade. A
surgeon's knot of absorbable suture material is sometimes used to
decrease hemorrhage and to act as a "guiding suture" for second intention
wound healing in large cats. " Slatter D; Textbook of Small Animal
Surgery 2nd ed vol I, p.352 W.B. Saunders Company Philadelphia.

The following is a clinical report published in the journal of Veterinary
Surgery:

Vet Surg 1994 Jul-Aug;23(4):274-80
Feline Onychectomy at a Teaching Institution: A
Retrospective Study of 163 Cases.

Tobias KS
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences,
Washington State University, College of Veterinary Medicine,
Pullman 99164-6610.

"One hundred sixty-three cats underwent onychectomy from January 1985 to
November 1992. Fifty percent of the cats had one or more complications
immediately after surgery. Early postoperative complications included
pain (38.1%), hemorrhage (31.9%), lameness (26.9%), swelling (6.3%), or
non-weight-bearing( 5.6%).

Follow-up was available in 121 cats;

19.8% developed complications after release. Late postoperative
complications included infection (11.6%), regrowth (7.4%), P2 protrusion
(1.7%), palmagrade stance (1.7%), and prolonged, intermittent lameness
(0.8%)".

The following clinical report was published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association:

J Am Vet Med Assoc 1998 Aug 1;213(3):370-3
Comparison of Effects of Elective Tenectomy or Onychectomy in Cats.

Jankowski AJ, Brown DC, Duval J, Gregor TP, Strine LE, Ksiazek LM, Ott AH
Department of Clinical Studies, Veterinary Teaching Hospital,
School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia 19104, USA.

"OBJECTIVE: To compare short- and long-term complications after Tenectomy of
the deep digital flexor tendons or onychectomy.
ANIMALS: 20 cats undergoing Tenectomy and 18 cats undergoing onychectomy.
PROCEDURE: Cats undergoing Tenectomy or onychectomy were monitored for a
minimum of 5 months to enable comparison of type and frequency of
complications. Type and frequency of complications did not differ between
procedures.
CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Owners should be aware of the high complication rate
for both procedures."

The Cat Fanciers' Association unanimously approved this guidance statement
on the declawing of cats:
"CFA perceives the declawing of cats (onychectomy ) and the severing of
digital tendons (tendonectomy) to be elective surgical procedures which are
without benefit to the cat. Because of post operative discomfort or pain,
and potential future behavioral or physical effects, CFA disapproves of
declawing or tendonectomy surgery."

Dr. Nicholas Dodman, Professor of Behavioral Pharmacology and Director of
the Behavior Clinic at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and
internationally known specialist in domestic animal behavioral research,
explains declawing:

"The inhumanity of the procedure is clearly demonstrated by the nature of
cats' recovery from anesthesia following the surgery. Unlike routine
recoveries, including recovery from neutering surgeries, which are fairly
peaceful, declawing surgery results in cats bouncing off the walls of the
recovery cage because of excruciating pain. Cats that are more stoic
huddle in the corner of the recovery cage, immobilized in a state of
helplessness, presumably by overwhelming pain.
Declawing fits the dictionary definition of mutilation to a tee. Words such
as deform, disfigure, disjoint, and dismember all apply to this surgery.
Partial digital amputation is so horrible that it has been employed for
torture of prisoners of war, and in veterinary medicine, the clinical
procedure serves as model of severe pain for testing the efficacy of
analgesic drugs. Even though analgesic drugs can be used postoperatively,
they rarely are, and their effects are incomplete and transient anyway, so
sooner or later the pain will emerge."

No - my vet neutered a hand raised (mamacat abandoned it) kitten at 12
weeks.

Not at all.  Better sooner than later.  

It can be unlearned, but save yourself the trouble.

Claws?  You mean you want to declaw him?  If so, then here is the *real*
information about such egregious mutilation:

http://www.stopdeclaw.com/
http://www.maxshouse.com/facts_about_declawing.htm

If your vet is one who declaws routinely, find another vet.  One who
doesn't condone butchery.

The only thing I know is many vets don't recommend putting them under
anethesia until after 6 months....

I did have a friend who's cat passed away during a spayign surgery at 5
months - all because of the anesthesia complications.

And, of course, I'll jump on the declawing bandwagon...  Please reconsider.
Although Sabrina is declawed, I adopted her as an adult cat who had been
declawed by her previous owner who passed away.   If I ever have another
cat, the only way it would be declawed would be thru adoption of an adult
cat, I wouldn't do it myself to a cat that had claws when I adopted him/her.

Ok snip time it is I guess , I shudder to think of what it'll be like if he
started sprayin!

At one time, the concensus was that we should wait until 6-8 months of age
to neuter a male cat.  However, that was *years* ago.  Cats are now
routinely spayed and neutered at much younger ages, and there should be no
problem as long as your vet is trained to use the procedure in young cats
(and your cat at 5 months has almost reached the "former" guideline).  You
would be much better off to have your cat neutered *before* he begins to
spray.

Please, please, please *do not have your cat declawed.*  Many people do not
realize what a devastating surgery this is -- it is actually a form of
amputation.  Ironically, most people who have their cats declawed think they
will save their furniture.  However, about one-third of declawed cats
develop behavioral and/or medical problems, including biting, inappropriate
urination, spraying, and early onset of arthritis.  Not all declawed cats
develop problems, but the statistics are much higher for declawed cats than
for cats that retain their claws.  Visit almost any animal shelter, and you
will find many declawed cats that have been dumped because of "behavioral"
problems.  Your cat can be trained to use a scratching post, but imagine the
cost (and the stench!) if your cat starts to spray indoors.  Therefore,
there are many good reasons not to declaw:  most important, the fact that
the cat needs his claws and will face unnecessary pain and possibly
emotional problems if you go forward with the procedure; next, it simply
isn't necessary because cats can be trained to use a scratching post (I have
done it with each of mine, and it was not difficult -- just *ask,* and you
will find that we can give you help on how to do it); finally, you mentioned
some concerns about finances, but you could buy some very sturdy scratching
posts for what declawing would costs.

MaryL
(take out the litter to reply)

Photos of Duffy and Holly:      >'o'<
http://tinyurl.com/8y54 (Introducing Duffy to Holly)
http://tinyurl.com/8y56 (Duffy and Holly "settle in")