-L. wrote:
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.

Yeah and the American Medical Association goes hot and cold on everything
from aspirin to cholesterol to coffee to Zynax. ;^) I for one am not
buying the 2 pound rule (crap) about when to neuter a cat. Yeah I've read
here it is more about the anesthesia safety than the castration so .... were
it not for the anesthesia issue, vets would neuter earlier? Why not just
bring about sterile cats! Guess that could be the next thing with cloning.