Absolutely spay the female before first heat to prevent mammary cancer when she is older. First heat can be as young as 5 months, so 4 months is a good goal. Young animals actually do better with anesthesia, recover faster, have a shorter surgery time, etc. I would not have an animal go under anesthesia at the same time as being vaccinated- separate vaccines and surgery by a couple of weeks. So if she finishes vaccines at 12 weeks, 14-16 weeks works out. I would also have them tested for FeLV prior to surgery and more vaccines, and to make sure their lifestyle is compatible with their FeLV status. For the male there is no rush health-wise, but tom cat urine stinks! At the shelter and operation catnip, I've neutered kittens any time above 2#. Neutering is super-quick unless there are retained testicles (even then I did one in 12 minutes- first time!), so the males don't seem the least bit phased by the ordeal. Congrats on your kitties!

I owned a female dog seven years old that had never been spayded. Why did I wait so long? well, she was a purebred and i had this "fantasy" that I might breed her and sell the puppies. One night,when she was in heat, I was walking her on a leash and she got loose. I ran all over the neighborhood, flagging down cars. "Did you see a little white dog...?" I finally found her about a mile away. I knew she ran because she was seeking sex. That taught me, no matter how careful the owner is, a pet can have difficulty resisting the call of nature. I got her spayed shortly after that experience, and never had any more problems with her running away. She had a long healthy life. I know from experience with many pet, dogs and cats of both sexes, that you have to be extremely watchful ,even of "indoor" pets. Anything can happen in the blink of an eye.

Tell them: go to my neighbor's house, during spring, when she is fostering dumped 4 day old kittens. Sit with her while she hand feeds them every four hours round the clock. Help her manually express their 'pee/poop' since that's something the momma cat normally does. Then you won't think 'how great it is for my cat to know the joys of motherhood'. Go to the local no-kill shelter and volunteer for a day. Then skip spaying and neutering. There is no reason and no excuse. Your cat is no more special or cute than any of the thousands of cats of all ages, sitting in shelters. My daughter is only 9 and she gets it. Two litters in two days of 5 day old dumped kittens dumped at a vet in a very affluent part of town. These are not feral, they obviously come from domestic cats. I have posted this before. My vet tells the story of calls she gets. Cat Owner: "I need to get my cat spayed." Vet: "Has she recently given birth?" Cat Owner: "yes, this week." Vet: "we cant spay until the kittens are weaned." Cat Owner: dumps kittens, and then shows up with cat to be spayed.

According to this, studies found no difference between animals s/n at 7 wks or 7 mo. The only difference was between those s/n older than one year as opposed to younger than a year. Early Spays & Neuters Holly Nash, DVM, MS Veterinary Services Department, Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc. In the United States, most dogs and cats are spayed/neutered between 5 and 8 months of age. To try to control pet overpopulation, many humane shelters have started to spay/neuter all animals before they are adopted. This means they are spaying/neutering animals at a younger age, even 6-14 weeks of age. Many veterinarians in private practice have started early spaying/neutering as well. Questions have arisen regarding the safety of this procedure and possible effects on the animals when they become older. Some people were especially concerned that early neutering could make cats more prone to urinary tract disease. As more studies have been done, and veterinarians have followed early spayed/neutered animals into older age, these concerns have been shown to be unfounded. Groups of cats spayed/neutered at 7 weeks of age, 7 months of age, and after 12 months of age were followed in a large study. The cats were all placed in homes and followed for years. When comparing the groups of cats it was found that: Cats spayed/neutered before 12 months of age were generally longer and taller than those spayed/neutered at 12 months. Cats who were not spayed/neutered until 12 months of age or older were noticeably less affectionate and more aggressive. There were no significant differences in the development of the urinary tract among the three age groups. A similar study was performed with dogs. There were no significant differences in growth rate, food intake, or weight gain in the three groups of dogs spayed/neutered at different ages. Early spaying/neutering has been shown to be safe in multiple studies. It must be remembered that younger animals may need different anesthetics and are more prone to hypothermia (lower than normal body temperature) during surgery. But as long as procedures are modified to account for these differences, early spaying/neutering is very safe. In fact, animals spayed/neutered at a younger age, often have faster recoveries than those spayed/neutered when they are older.