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| Spaying & Neutering |
There is often considerable confusion as to the ideal age to spay or neuter your new pet. Cats
can be altered as young as eight weeks of age and many shelters will now perform the surgery at
this age to ensure that all animals adopted cannot reproduce. For the average pet owner
however, there really isn’t any reason to perform surgery at this age so six months is usually a
good time. Years ago the recommendation was that they had to be at least six months of age to
perform these surgeries. Anesthetics used at that time were part of the reasoning behind these
recommendation. Today, modern anesthetics are much safer and can be used in very young
animals without undue harm.
The exception to this rule is if you decide to declaw your kitten. Declawing, if possible, should be
done by twelve weeks of age to avoid complications. If you have a male kitten, neutering and
declawing can be done at the same time. Typically we like to have this done again by twelve weeks
of age. While females can be spayed at eight-twelve weeks, we prefer to do their spaying and
declawing as separate surgeries. The reasoning is that young female kittens are under anesthetic
for a longer time period being altered than a male kitten. If you wish to have a female kitten
spayed and declawed at the same time, the earliest we will do this is four months of age.
Spaying removes both the uterus and ovaries in the female. Not only can these cats not get
pregnant, they also will not go into estrus or “heat” a decidedly unpleasant experience for an
owner. Neutering removes the testicles, but the penis is left intact. These neutered males cats
can sometimes display mating behavior at a low level, but will not be able to impregnate a female.
can be altered as young as eight weeks of age and many shelters will now perform the surgery at
this age to ensure that all animals adopted cannot reproduce. For the average pet owner
however, there really isn’t any reason to perform surgery at this age so six months is usually a
good time. Years ago the recommendation was that they had to be at least six months of age to
perform these surgeries. Anesthetics used at that time were part of the reasoning behind these
recommendation. Today, modern anesthetics are much safer and can be used in very young
animals without undue harm.
The exception to this rule is if you decide to declaw your kitten. Declawing, if possible, should be
done by twelve weeks of age to avoid complications. If you have a male kitten, neutering and
declawing can be done at the same time. Typically we like to have this done again by twelve weeks
of age. While females can be spayed at eight-twelve weeks, we prefer to do their spaying and
declawing as separate surgeries. The reasoning is that young female kittens are under anesthetic
for a longer time period being altered than a male kitten. If you wish to have a female kitten
spayed and declawed at the same time, the earliest we will do this is four months of age.
Spaying removes both the uterus and ovaries in the female. Not only can these cats not get
pregnant, they also will not go into estrus or “heat” a decidedly unpleasant experience for an
owner. Neutering removes the testicles, but the penis is left intact. These neutered males cats
can sometimes display mating behavior at a low level, but will not be able to impregnate a female.
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