Kittens are being neutered and chipped on Friday - any advice?

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

Poor little boys are going to have their bits cut off, but it's for their own good, right?
I have a couple of questions:
How long will it take them to get over the OP?
Will they roam less once they are done?
Does it mean they won't spray?
I've never had boy cats before!

ooooo just about to get a boy cat !!! Will watch with interest !! How old are they when they can come away from their Mum, and how old are they when they have their first jabs LGP.

The litter I am getting mine from are only 3 weeks old and I am going to meet him on Friday

1. About 5 minutes if you're not looking. Three weeks if you are. (They like to make you feel baaaaad!)

1. Yes, as a general rule. But obviously not a certainty.

1. They will still mark their territory (the garden, not the house) but it won't smell much.

My boy cat only had one bit to remove!

They come away from their mum at 8 or 9 weeks and can have their first jabs straight away. When we got ours I thought you had to wait until 12 weeks, but the vet said no, 8 weeks is fine. Then they have boosters four weeks later.
Do you know what colour yours is, VS?

1. My boy cat was wailing for his dinner when I picked him up from the vet. He wasn't affected in the least
2. Possibly. Depends a bit
3. They can spray, but it takes more effort

Thanks BFB. One of ours disappeared on Sunday night and DD1 found him roaming in her school grounds the next morning. So we brought forward the op date because I realised that if he goes missing again there is no way of identifying him if he's not chipped. I just hope they stop going quite so far afield until they've figured out how to find their way back home.

From the pictures I have seen he is black with a white flash down his nose. The DC's don't know we are getting him. What about yours ?

Have been toying with the "pet" idea for a while and just so happens this friend of a friends cat had kittens so the decision was made.

Thank you for your help, I am sure I will be visiting the pet threads alot when I am a new mummy owner !!

I am sure they will be fine really quickly. Our old boy had the chop when he was a baby and can't remember any ill effects. He used to roam a lot though, but as he's got older he likes to be at home more.

Our new babies are arriving on Sunday, I can hardly wait, put all their toys out for them this evening. Sad or what?

I mean babies kittens of course

VS - we kept it completely secret until we collected the kittens. Then we called them into the living room and brought the cat box in. When we opened it and two little kittens peeped out they were stunned. After about 10 minutes they plucked up the courage to ask if they were really theirs to keep. It was so sweet.

My kittens were 'done' 5 months ago. I had not let mine out until they were 'done'. being i had a male and a female.

She was shaved he wasnt, excpet for the leg area on both cats. They were fine when collected just hungry. We were advised to keep them in for 10 - 14 days following the op. TBH it didnt seem to affect or bother them in the slightest.

They were also chipped at the same time. again they were fine.

I used to be a vet nurse, it is far less of a traumatic op for boy cats than girls, the op itself takes less than 10 mins to perform. They will be fine after a day or two, they may still be a bit groggy after you bring them home so I wouldn't let them out for a couple of days after. If they chip them whilst under anaesthetic they won't even feel it.
It may not stop from spraying completely but they are less likely to be doing all the time. They are less likely to be aggressive to other cats so won't fight as much (although they may still have the odd scrap). They won't be going round shagging all the backstreet dirty feral cats that are diseased. Trust me they will be fine and it is by far the kindest thing you can do for them in terms of benefits to their health and life expectancy (even though you feel evil at the time).

Another ex-vet nurse here: Wigglesworth has said it all really.

Very very straightforward and very much the bst thing for them.

Yes, my boy cat was bouncing around the living room like nothing had ever happened within half an hour of getting home from the snip. Poor old girl cat was not so happy but even she was fine the next day.

They're both fat, happy, lazy adults now My boy has never roamed, although I think tbh that's just idleness, and is too chicken to fight unless cornered

Well they had the op on Friday and don't seem at all bothered. We let them out today for the first time and they were very pleased. One of them is obsessed by dogs - loads of people walk their dogs down our road to the park at the end of the street and he kept walking right up to strange dogs and sniffing their noses - bizarre behaviour in a cat. The other one is a normal cat - he sits on the gatepost and hisses!