When do little boy cats need the snip?

[dippica]

Picked up my two new gorgeous and cute kittens a couple of weeks ago from RSPCA. Been told they need to wait til their 6 months old before they're given the snip. Is this right?
In theory this means that they can't go outside until April which is a real shame. I want to be responsible and not let them out to procreate and make more unwanted kittens, but its a very long time, and they're already gazing out into the garden longingly. Obviously they will be all vaccinated etc - had two lots already - last lot in January.

Yes, six months is best.

I have two cats here that will never be allowed outside and they are perfectly happy.

You can get kitten harnesses and leads from pet shops, if you want them to explore a bit without running off.

Yep, I remember attaching a bit of shoe lace with my older cat when she was a kitten and exploring round the garden with her! Might try that although they're such maniacs I'm sure they'd wriggle away anyway.
I got precisely one Christmas present wrapped last night because they were "helping" - it sent them completely loopy - all wild eyed and totally frantic.

Thanks.

my vet will do it at 5 months if the kitten is big enough and is mature enough but most vets wait until 6 months

My two were done at 4.5 months - they were easily big enough, and the vet said (of their teeny tiny kitten balls) 'if we can feel them we can remove them'. Having seen more than I ever wanted to of their rear ends, I wasn't surprised that she could feel them ... That said, the vets all seemed to assume they would go outside once they were fully vaxed, not after they were neutered - mine don't go out (it's too dark, and they're black, and it's too cold, and they're too silly, we have no catflap and I worry FAR too much), but is there a period when they're not sexually mature so aren't going to be impregnating any lady cats, when you could let them out if you wanted? I don't know if it's obvious when they mature, ie do they start spraying etc immediately, mine not having got anywhere near that before being done.

They were supposed to be indoor cats - but one in particular has other ideas. He practically clamps himself to your leg if you're about to leave the house. They went out in the garden yesterday, and while he was tempted in with a bit of cheese, his home-loving brother had to have a blanket thrown over him in order to be returned to the house.

I would call your local vet for their advice - many vets are neutering earlier than 6 months these days. If you want them done early and your own vet is not doing them before 6mth old then worth ringing around to find a practice that will.

Tag on question to this...we have two male cats who are now 8 months old - who are house cats, for now. I planned to get them neutered at 6 months and then just never had time. Will the delay cause any negative effects of any kind? With our first two kittens, despite neutering at 6 months, they still 'sprayed' around the house. So far, these two seem more placid and have done nothing apart from the usual mischief of cats. Should we be running to the vets asap to get them done?

Secondly, with our old cats, they stayed in the house for their first year and then went out and this seemed to stop them wandering off too far. This time round, I've got two sons who have one cat each and would be incredibly upset if anything happened to them. We live somewhere else now, where there are fields backing onto our garden at the back but a very nasty, busy main road at the front and I'm worried about the cats getting killed on the road.

Can someone tell me if cats can be OK living indoors lifelong?

Solo2, get them done asap before they start peeing everywhere and fighting.

Yes, cats can live lifeling as completely indoors cats. Mine are only allowed out under supervision becasue of really bad roads with lots of speeding drivers. They do seem to want to investigate but quickly get bored and run back in.

I have a 3 month old kitty - when I asked the vet he said that they wait until they're 6 months old because the urinary tract needs to be fully developed. He says that if they are snipped too early they find that there can be problems if they have crystals in the urine - if the urinary tract is too small they won't pass. Anyway, it sounded plausible to me, so we're waiting.....

Yes, there is a reason some vets won't neuter until six months, they don't want to wait for your money on a whim...

Solo, yes, cats can and do live indoors for their whole lives perfectly happily. We have a Ragdoll, who must not go out, as the Ragdoll breed are far too trusting and will not protect themselves if needed. We also have a moggy kitten (6 months almost) and she stays in as the Ragdoll stays in, and it suits them both. They are both perfectly happy.

I let my kittens out once they were vacinated.

I had planned to wait till the male kitten was 6mo for the snip but he was getting too friendly with his sister so he was done quite a bit earlier.