Two questions...How soon can a kitten be spayed or neutered? ?

Question

The kittens are a month old now, and I know it's too soon yet...could the mother be spayed if she is still nursing? When is the appropriate time to get it done?

Answer 1

Yes, MOM can be spayed NOW.  She'll still be able to nurse her kittens, and you won't have to worry about her coming back into heat, which she COULD do any time.

Kittens can be spayed as early as 2 months, but most vets recommend doing it around 4 months.  Some kittens mature earlier than others, and if "fixed" by 4 months, you can usually be sure that they aren't ready to breed, yet.

Ask your vet when you make the appointment to have your mama cat spayed, when he/she advises having the kittens "done".  Then, make the appointment to have it done, and you'll be "all set"!

Enjoy your babies, and be sure to be feeding ALL of them (mom, too) KITTEN FOOD........at least for the first year, for the kittens.

Good luck............

Answer 2

wild mother cat had kittens and in 6 weeks we had her caught and fixed.  The vet said bring the 2 female kittens in at 6 months.

From reading this can they get pregnant before that?  We do not want more cats.

Living in the country everyone drops off cats here.  The females we get spayed.  The males we don't even try to catch.

Answer 3

It depends on the vet.  Some will fix them as soon as 3 mo., others will make you wait as long as 6 mo.  If I am remembering correctly my vet spayed my kitten at 4 mo. which kept her from going into heat at all.  I would wait to spay the mama cat until the kittens are weened that way you don't have to worry about trying to bottle feed them when she is gone.

Answer 4

Female cats reach sexual maturity at 6 months. Males I think are around 7 or 8. But I would get your cats spayed or neutered at 5 months. Before they reach maturity. I'm sure that spaying the mother will not interrupt nursing, but I would get her spayed after the kittens are weaned. Then they can live on their own. They should be weaned around 5 weeks. They can be taken away from their mothers and be sold at 6 weeks. But it is a lot better to sell them at 6 months or more. Or if you want to keep them that is fine.

Answer 5

First of all, thank you for wanting to do the responsible thing with your mother cat and get her spayed. :)  I think with the kittens at just 4 weeks, it's a little too soon, though.  When I had a rescued mother cat spayed in late June, the vet techs advised me not to let her return (to the kittens' nursing) or the pressure from the kittens' "kneading" could pop her stitches. :(  The kittens were between 6 to 8 weeks old by this time, and were already eating some solid food (including hard dry kitten food), so they did okay with the mother cat being present and visible (just not accessible) until her incision healed.

As for not neutering male cats (as one respondent suggested earlier), I say it takes two to tango, as the old saying goes; plus the males will be better tempered and behaved after altering.  Nor should kittens be adopted out or weaned at 5 weeks.  That's just irresponsible and impatient, because not only is that too soon for weaning, but the kittens need to mature more, and there are things (social skills, hunting skills, grooming, etc.) that can only be taught (or are best taught) by the momma cat.  Ideally kittens should not leave the mother and go to new homes until they are 2 - 3 months old; although sometimes there are extenuating circumstances (such as orphaned kittens) that makes this difficult or impossible.  You do the best you can within the situation you have.  Generally, the older your kittens are (from about 8 weeks up to around 12 - 14 weeks) the better socialized and healthier they will be when they go to new homes.

Many years ago, I had rescued a kitten who was born outside to a feral mom.  She had one sister sibling (sadly the male had died prior to rescue from an accidental fall), and the vet who examined them estimated them to be around 5 weeks old.  The one I kept lived for the next 18+ yrs.; but all her life she had a persistent habit of sucking and l*****g on your arms or hands and "slurping" water from her dish.  It was due in part to being taken from her mother too soon and not being weaned properly.  That's another reason I say wait if at all possible.

I will say though it seems that the mother cats are still capable of nursing after spaying.  The kittens resumed nursing on occasion for a while after ours were reunited. Not sure if they were actually getting nutrition or if it was just emotionally reassuring to them, but whatever. :)  If your mother cat is being kept indoors and is continuing to nurse her babies, although she technically *could* still go back into heat it is much less likely than if she were being left (or let) outside where she could roam and possibly encounter intact male cats. As long as she is busy and happy with you and her kits, I think it would be safe to wait another couple weeks or so.

As for spaying and neutering the kittens, they can be altered as early as 8 wks. of age and 2 lbs.  I would definitely recommend spaying or neutering before they go to their new homes; because not all new owners are responsible (good intentioned or not) and you don't want to depend on them following through.  The pet overpopulation problem is too serious already for that.  It's better to ask a small adoption fee to help offset the medical costs, than to adopt them out intact and have them produce yet another unwanted litter of kittens in six months. :(  Two of my cats were spayed and neutered at just under 4 months old (born 11/2/03, altered on 2/24/04), which I believe is closer to the *ideal* time; but if you can't wait that long to adopt them out, better to be safe than sorry.

The best thing in the final analysis is to carefully consider whatever your veterinarian recommends.  They're experienced and knowledgeable and should know best how to advise you.

  

Answer 6

My vet says Mom anytime after birth and kittens at 12 weeks.