What Age Do Kittens Have To Be Neutered
You can safely have a male kitten neutered at eight weeks of age if your veterinarian determines the cat is sufficiently healthy.
What age do kittens have to be neutered. This means they are now fully capable of reproduction. Early or pediatric spay neuter is done at six to eight weeks of age. Standard spay and neuter at five to six months. Becky robinson the founder of alley cat allies cites research that kittens neutered prior to reaching 12 weeks of age have fewer complications from surgery than kittens older than 12 weeks.
Our report tackling the cat crisis. Kittens can be neutered as soon as they are man enough meaning that both testicles have descended. In general a kitten that is two months old should weigh approximately two pounds as long as it has had proper nutrition and care. Cats become sexually mature from the age of around five months.
If their mother returns leave them be. Learn more about kittens and their needs as they grow in our kitten guide. Thus the best age for a kitten to get neutered or spayed is before it reaches the age of 6 months. You can find out more about what cpcg are doing and access a database of vets who will neuter cats under four months old on the kitten neutering database website.
The pets are a good size the owners have already trained and accepted them and the anesthesia and surgery are usually safe. It needn t be an early neuter. Any lighter than that and the veterinarian performing the surgery may be worried about the kitten s ability to survive the surgery. If you bathe your cat don t wash him for at least two weeks after the operation so the incision can completely heal.
Since one of the inherent aims of neutering is to induce infertility or sterility in the cat neutering should be done before the kitten achieves full sexual maturity. Before you do anything remember never separate kittens from their mother cat. As a vet who has done thousands of spays and neuters i still perform them at five months of age. Traditionally male cats were neutered between the ages of six to eight months old and it was not considered appropriate for them to be neutered before this time due to concerns that they were potentially too small or not fully developed.
Finally waiting until after the first heat somewhere between eight to twelve months of age he says. If you want to get your kitten spayed or neutered when it is two months old then look for signs that it is that age. Learn what to do when you find kittens outdoors. Recovery for kittens is usually minimal your boy may not realize he s missing anything and he s home from surgery the same day.
A collaborative approach to neutering pdf 2 73mb found that owners delay neutering because of the myth that cats should be allowed to have a litter of kittens. Best age to neuter a kitten. There are three general options. What age can cats be neutered.
On the average kittens reach sexual maturity around 6 to 9 months of age. In order to prevent unwanted pregnancies it s recommended that cats are neutered at around four months old after they have completed their primary vaccinations. Two pounds is the weight that is required for your kitten to get desexing surgery.