Spaying

[KinsyWinsy]

I've got 4 girl kittens.

They are 12 weeks. Indoor cats so far. Tiny and cute.

What is the best age to spay them?

Most vets say between 4-6 months I think. Have you got a vet in mind? If you ask when you go for their vaccinations they can advise you.

Oh, and it is the MN law that kitten threads have pictures

We do those in our care at 10 weeks. For clients though we recommend four months. Six months is much, much to late.

Why what happens after 6 months if it's much much too late?

She'll be pregnant by then. She may also go missing as when cats come into heat they get chased by often a large number of tomcats (in a sort of V formation - it's horribly fascinating) over large distances. Female cats are often chased so far they can't find their way home, or they get run over as they cross busy roads in their panic to escape.

just noticed my spelling *too late duh ...

My cats will be house cats until they're spayed. But will get them done at four months. Next couple of weeks.

How much do we expect to pay please?

Thanks so much for the info.

Don't underestimate the persistent of a horny cat in heat in escaping from a house. We had a hell of a time with our one when she came into season just before her appointment.

I think we paid 60 quidish to get her done, maybe slightly less.

I was about to say the same as Gamer. Cats in heat have amazing abilities to escape as well as no fear - happily throwing themselves off 5th floor balconies for example.

Anyway you're doing it in good time so that's fine. Average cost is £50 to £60 I think. If you're in London we do it for £25. And of course if you haven't already done it you will also need vaccinations and a microchip.

We had ours spayed at six months as one had medical issues before that and the vet recommended doing it at the same time. They are indoor cats though so wouldn't have got pregnant.

We were going to get Splodge done at six months old. We had the appointment booked with the vet. She came into heat at 4 1/2 months and her brother, Nev, discovered he knew what to do with his bits too .

Cue desperate separation (not the easiest of things in a mainly open-plan flat) of two cats who had never been apart who needed to be together for reasons neither of them properly understood, until we could get our vet appointment rescheduled. Fortunately the vet was Very Understanding and moved our appointment forward (by two paydays!) so we only had to do this for 36 hours. Not sure how much it would've cost on its own as we had bought the vet's "Kitten Package" which was £75 but gave us all the injections needed in the first year, spaying, some food, a month's insurance and a half-price microchipping.

In the USA, a lot of the rescue charities (including the one Foster Dad John of Kitten Cam fame rescues for, Purrfect Pals) say that as long as the kitten is healthy, over 2lbs in weight and 2 months in age, it's OK to spay.

Late spaying of female cats is one of the biggest reasons contributing to cat overpopulation.

12 weeks is when they should be done

www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2013/9406.html

Slightly different to a pet I guess but l get my tnr cats done as long as they weigh over 2lbs. I really don't know why vets still insist on wait til 4/5/6 months. It's crazy. I got 14 week old kittens spayed that have been in the early stages of pregnancy. And as pp's have said, do not underestimate the houdini skills of a girl in heat.