AIBU to think that cat groups should get their facts right.

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AIBU to think that cat groups on Facebook should get their facts right before they go round spouting rubbish. I had to take my 17 month old cat to the vets today because I thought their was something seriously wrong with her because she wants using her back legs turns out it's just her first ever season the vet said to take her in when it's finished and they will spay her and my youngest kitten can be done at 6 months old. This girl from a cat group told me that the vet is wrong and old fashioned and that cats should be done at 4 months old. I would like to think that a trained vet with years of experience knows more than some cat warrior.

So that cat group woman had her facts right then OP.

Oh thank you wolfiefan they are beautiful but I am biased but please don't let the cuteness fool you they can be right little monkeys when they want to be. I will be asking for the cone of shame I know what my little monsters are like we will be half way home and they will of chewed through the stitches and I will look in to those vouchers. Anxiety is the worst but it's my kitties that get me through each day. Your cats are absoutley beautiful.

Oh thank you thecatneuterer they are cute do you think they are a bit on the small side or is it just me that thinks that because I see them every day. Thank you I will find out about them.

wolfiefan they are buggers aren't they I love my 3 all the world but oh my god just once I would like to go the toilet on my own without an audience or even just have a shower without them watching me.

Ha. No chance. And torties are the worst. Though worryingly I'm missing one of mine tonight. She is normally on the bed. I am going to have to crawl round my house on my hands and knees and see where she's shut in aren't I?
Hmmmm. Torties!

We neuter our rescues/strays at 2mo/2lbs. Never had an issue. We've done gravid spays on a couple of strays that couldn't have been more than 3/4mo old 😕.

Pyometra can be deadly. I see no reason to let a cat come into season at all if they're not destined to be bred from.

wolfiefan haha lol nope no chance of that ever happening oh yeah my tortie is the worst for she fell in the sink the other week while I was the middle of shaving I've had my male cat fall in the bath while I was in it. If we ever got a bit of peace and alone time we would think we had gone mad. It's like having kids. Yeah I think you will have to go on a hands and knees search good luck I hope you find the little monkey.

orangebird69 neither of my girls are for breeding they are far too small to have kittens they are still only kittens themselves. They are getting done after today they are getting booked and I will probably get scratched to all hell trying to get them there but they will thank me for it.

Glad to hear it OP. Wishing your girls a speedy recovery and long, healthy lives

In the States it's quite standard for kittens to be altered at 2-3 months, and very few reputable rescues will adopt out a kitten that has not been altered in my area.

Our vet said they prefer to wait til 6 months but they can do it younger if necessary. Also depends on size of cat

She is right though, 6 mo thanks old fashioned now

Current guidelines dictate earlier slaying is safe and preferential

Thank you orangebird69

Really WooooooOfOnesGroan see now that seems pretty young to me but it really does all depend on the cat and their size.

Exactly HornyTortoise I always thought that it was 6 months I never knew that it had been changed all out animals where done at 6 months but I know they go more by weight than age.

Thank you Zenasfuck I've always known it to be 6 months and that's what I go by but if the rules have changed then I didn't know that and the vets that I've spoken to have said 6 months as well.

6 Months has been the 'accepted practise' for many years but some vets are doing it sooner. Cats' Protection actually sponsor PhD students and some other research and one area they have looked into is early spaying.

I've not fostered for a few years now but I know one vet in Wales was doing 2 week old kittens.

British Veterinary Association guidelines: 16 weeks. www.bva.co.uk/News-campaigns-and-policy/Policy/Companion-animals/Neutering/

Six months is outdated and vets should not be saying it.

And as I said above there is a lot of research to suggest that cats recover even quicker when it is done younger still.

OP to answer your question. It's hard to see the size of your cats from the photos, but they look normal to me. All cats are naturally different sizes anyway - it's nothing to worry about.

I do have doors and windows but how many cats do you know that would be willing to run down 4 flights of stairs just get outside or jump out of a 3rd floor window.

Are you trying to suggest cats won't run down a few stairs to go outside?!

I used to have one that would do just this ... well the running down 14 flights of stairs from our top floor apartment not jumping off a balcony although she did like to lie on the very narrow wall of our 14th floor balconies and scare the shit out of me

Our cat when I lived in Spain was a house cat and more than happy to be inside 99% of the time but every so often when we came home or went out she'd bolt out of the door and leg it down the 14 flights of stairs to the ground floor and try and get out of the main door ... she rarely went further than our building's gardens or car park but she was more than happy to run down a few flights of stairs (though she wasn't so interested in going back up the stairs and would happily follow us into the lift and then back into our apartment)

Now I live in a terraced house and I have two house cats ... the window in DD's bedroom overlooks the roof of our downstairs bathroom - in the summer the cats love to go out of the open window and "bask" in the flat roof in the sun and then they will use the walls and various garden furniture to make their way down to the back door to cry to be let in for food. Just because you're on a high floor doesn't mean there aren't ways that the cat can safely get down to the ground from your floor.

See if you have a PDSA in your area. They help people on low income with vet costs.
They only need to be 1 Kg / 2lb to spay / neuter and both cats on that photo are bigger than that.

Cats can and do jump out of high flat windows. One of my friends cats escaped from a 5th storey flat that way. @allroadsleadbacktoradley did he ever find his way home btw??

So OP you are shocked to discover that people are allowed to post on the Internet about subjects which they aren't experts in, or on matters where there is more than one legitimate opinion? Bless.

It is impossible to be a responsible owner of an unspayed 17 month old cat. Getting her spayed, whether at 4 months or 6 months, would have been an intrinsic part of taking her on when she first arrived. You didn't do anything about this so cannot be a responsible pet owner. Not having the money is no excuse - if you can't afford basic care like this you can't afford a pet.

Thank you everyone for your help and advice my cats are booked in for Friday to have their operations.

My vet recommends 4 to 6 months as ideal. My girl was done at 5 months.

Good news OP. Oh and I finally found the tortie terror. At about 1:30am!!! Shut in the study!!

Any vet recommending 6 months needs to do some professional development training!

The 4months recommendation has been standard for ages www.bva.co.uk/News-campaigns-and-policy/Policy/Companion-animals/Neutering/

spangles1963 my youngest is 5 months old.

wolfiefan thank you and am glad you found the little monkey. They can be such buggers when they want to be but we couldn't be without them.

Veterinari I didn't realise it had changed. But they are both booked in for Friday and I will be glad when it's all over with my poor male cat is getting harrased something terrible good thing is that he's already been done.