Wendy wrote:
Well this woman cat owner doesn't fit your stereotype. I wait till my
girls
are 6 mos and the boys 7 (or obviously sexually mature earlier)
before
getting them neutered. I had never heard of very young kittens being
neutered until just recently so I guess it's a case of old dogs, new
tricks
and all that.

Nope, you're just out of the loop.

I'll wait for a generation of cats to be neutered young and
see what the long term effects are before risking my own.

It's been done for 25+ years, IIRC. Study after study has shown early
S/N to be safe. Here are just a few:

Kustritz MV. Early spay-neuter: clinical considerations.
Clin Tech Small Anim Pract. 2002 Aug;17(3):124-8.

Kustritz MV. Early spay-neuter in the dog and cat.
Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 1999 Jul;29(4):935-43, vii.

Hoskins JD. Pediatric health care and management.
Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 1999 Jul;29(4):837-52, v.

Stubbs WP, Bloomberg MS. Implications of early neutering in the dog
and cat. Semin Vet Med Surg (Small Anim). 1995 Feb;10(1):8-12.

Howe LM. Short-term results and complications of prepubertal
gonadectomy in cats and dogs.J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1997 Jul
1;211(1):57-62.

Johnston SD. Questions and answers on the effects of surgically
neutering dogs and cats. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1991 Apr 1;198(7):1206-14.

Kahler S. Spaying/neutering comes of age. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1993 Sep
1;203(5):591-3.

Lieberman LL. A case for neutering pups and kittens at two months of
age.
J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1987 Sep 1;191(5):518-21. Erratum in: J Am Vet Med
Assoc 1987 Nov 1;191(9):1118.

Phillips I. In favor of pediatric neutering.
Can Vet J. 1998 Jul;39(7):397.

Lieberman LL. The optimum time for neutering surgery of dogs and cats.
Vet Rec. 1988 Apr 9;122(15):369.

Gourley J. When to spay. Vet Rec. 1987 Oct 17;121(16):384.

Okkens AC, Kooistra HS, Nickel RF. [Comparison of long term side
effects of ovariectomy versus ovariohisterectomy in the bitch]
Tijdschr Diergeneeskd. 2002 Jun 1;127(11):369-72. Dutch.


There is no reason to wait until a puppy or kitten is sexually mature.
In fact, some types of cancers such as mammary and ovarian cancer are
thought to be triggered or exascerbated by gonadotrophins.


-L.