07/01/2023
🐈🐈 DID YOU KNOW KITTENS CAN BE NEUTERED AT 4 MONTHS 🐈🐈
WHY NEUTER?
Neutering offers many benefits. For male cats, this includes reducing the spread of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), which is transmitted through cat bites, often when fighting over a female mate. It also reduces the risk of injury through fighting and of road traffic accidents from straying, as a neutered tomcat is less likely to wander far from home. An unneutered tomcat may be more likely to spray in the home, which can leave an unpleasant odour and ruin carpets and furnishings. Castration can decrease this spraying behaviour, making a neutered tomcat much more pleasant to live with.
The main benefit for neutering female cats is that it protects them from getting pregnant and, consequently, the owner from having to deal with the aftermath of unplanned litters of kittens.
WHEN TO NEUTER?
The Cat Group (www.thecatgroup.org.uk), comprising animal welfare and veterinary organisations, recommends that:
• •
This policy is supported by both the British Veterinary Association and the British Small Animal Veterinary Association.
OWNED CATS:
Historically, the timing of neutering has been six months for owned cats. However, many cats reach sexual maturity at four months. Therefore, neutering before the first season is vital to reduce the number of unplanned litters.
While there are a growing number of vets who support neutering at four months (pre-pubertal) and who have signed to Cats Protection’s Early Neutering Register (www.cats.org.uk/early-neutering), the number who actively promote and practise four-month neutering
is still low.
For example, a recent survey of vets who participate in the London Cat Care & Control Consortium (C4) to provide free neutering to cat owners on low incomes in the greater London area, revealed that the average age for neutering was six months.
owned cats are neutered at four months
rescue kittens are neutered prior to rehoming as early as eight weeks.
