Neutering too early......is it a good idea?

[DiddyDawn]

My vet has always maintained that neutering a cat before 6 months can cause the Urethra to be too narrow because they are not fully developed. I never get any of mine done before this because I trust my vet and to me, this would make sense. Some people dispute this being the case and I wonder now with a lot of tom cats suffering blockages whether they have in fact been neutered too early

I should add, this isn't a debate on neutering but whether it can cause problems if done to young.....everyone knows my views on neutering, or at least they should do

[dandysmom]

My only experience with this was years ago when all the vets reccommended neutering males at 6 months: all four of the boys I've had (moggy, Siamese, Aby, Singapura) never had any blockge problems at all. I understand that it's being done very early now; if I get another boy I'd personally rather wait till they were older. Hope someone with more knowledge will respond...

[Booktigger]

I have read a lot of reports stating that it doesn't affect the males uretha, and last time I was at one of the local rescues, I had a chat with the woman who runs it and foudn tehy spay and neuter all kittens and puppies at 8 weeks old. They have been doign this for over 14 years and have had no health probs - and they kept one of the first males to be neutered, and he never had any issues. I wonder if dry food has more to do with males blocking than early neutering, as I dont think it is that widely practiced in teh UK - the local rescue have 3 vets, as the one closest to them doesn't do early spay, so they go to a different one for that (third is for horses). Cats can be genetically disposed towards cystitis/crystals though, so in those kind of cats, I don't think it would matter what you did.

[DiddyDawn]

You'll have to root some of the reports out Des. I think common sense would tell you though that it has to affect the development because of the reduction in hormones. It's not something I would want to risk with any of mine but I'm more concerned about their bodies not being mature enough, to me it's like having a pre teen child done but then in this day and age, that might not be such a bad idea

Does the rescue keep in touch with people they've rehomed to Des? Some cats as you've said are going to more prone to it than others but is the percentage higher on the one's done younger.

[Booktigger]

I think I have tried posting them before but they are too long - and to do a link would be linking to another forum which isnt allowed. I think on the mature enough angle, it is more important to get females done early - as they can come into heat really young, and also they are 200 times less likely to get mammary cancer if spayed before their first heat. I would rather spay a female early than risk them getting pregnant too young.

I dont know if they keep in touch with owners, as there are two branches of the rescue - it is the one I gave you details for for the ferals, if you kept the address you could e-mail her and ask. They might also do early spay on all the ferals they release on their farm, but I don't know 100% about that. One of their main reasons is cos of reproduction - they have had less cats/dogs returned since doing it (Esp as a few of theirs were returned complete with litters) - they did go to a seminar about it before doing it though.

[DiddyDawn]

You can send me the links via email if you want and I'll have a read.

[LMC]

I agree with Dawn - I worry that neutering a kitten too young will screw up their hormones/adult development.

Having kittens definitely makes a cat 'grow up' more IMO - the two of mine (I have four) that have been mothers are generally calmer (and lazier and fatter!). I'm not saying that a cat "should" have kittens to be fulfilled - just commenting that I reckon that the hormonal changes have an effect on their character. I would be concerned that neutering before puberty could have an adverse effect on a cat's physical health as well as preventing it from 'growing up' psychologically. It would be interesting to get hold of a study on health problems in later life related to age of neutering - perhaps a PhD project for someone? You'd need a fairly large sample for valid evidence, but I sometimes wonder whether 12-year old Snowy's occasional cystitis and generally "kittenish" (still) behaviour is related to her having been spayed at only 4-5 months of age...

[Elaine]

Any of mine have always been done at the 6 month mark. I too would be concerned about having them done earlier than this, not just from the the physical maturity point but also I would be afraid to have them put under anesthetic at such an early age. We know its a risky business at any age but surely it would be more risky to have them put through this so young.

[DiddyDawn]

This is something else I would worry about Elaine. My shepherd was spayed at 5 months before I got her and I've had all sorts of behavioural issues with her plus numourous problems down below. I'm not saying this is down to spaying her too young but I wouldn't be surprised in the least if it was......I do feel that although spaying and neutering is a must, it does have a negative side to it if done too young.

I would still be interested in reading the links Des if you don't mind sending them to me......the only time I would agree to earlier spaying and neutering is with the feral cats but even then, I would leave them as near to 6 months as possible unless any were showing an interests in the opposite sex Other than that, I would rather stick to my vets advice and wait until they are older.

[LMC]

Just as an aside - women who have hysterectomies early are more prone to brittle bones in later life...

Quite apart from the risks of the anaesthetic, removing sexual organs early HAS to have an impact on development because neutering alters the cat's hormones (just witness the changed behaviour of a tom cat neutered at any age!)