how old do kittens/cats need to be before you can get them 'fixed' by the vet? Male? Female?

Most vets who are "up" on current research now advocate early spay and neuter. It's called a pediatric spay or neuter, and can be done in males as soon as both testicles descend (generally around 8 weeks). Some vets prefer that females be just a bit bigger - around 2 1/2 pounds. Vets who refuse to do it at an early age often don't have the skill to perform surgery on such a little one, or don't use the latest in anethesias.

There is NO health benefit with allowing a female cat to breed prior to spaying her - that is just such "old school" thinking. It just puts them at increased risk of mammary cancer and pyometria, not to mention bringing more unneeded kittens into the world.

I personnally like to fix them at about 6 months (or just under).

Some people prefer to wait with females. They allow the cat to have it's first heat, then breed her on the second heat. This allows her to have a litteer of kittens. After she has a litter then they get her spayed. The logic behind this is that it allows the cat to go through the full range of development and is better for her health. It also seems to help with the problem of weight gain after spaying is done.

Some will tell you that this is not the case, but the one cat I have who did have a litter before I got her is still slim and trim after spaying while her daughter and another cat I have that were spayed as kittens are large, tubby and, I have to admit, slightly overweight. they would be much worse if I fed them anything other than dry cat food.

With males you definitely want to get them neutered BEFORE they start to spray (urinating to mark terrritory), unless they are going to be strictly outdoor cats. Once they start spraying they can't be broken from the behavior, and your house and your life will be miserable. You'll either have to live with the smell, the germs, the total change in lifestyle from the extent of the odor and mess or you'll need to part with an animal you have already bonded with.

Kittens can be spayed or neutered once they're eight weeks of age, healthy and two pounds in weight.

Sadly a lot of vets - and shelters - are behind the times and wait until the animals are six months old. Considering kittens can be sexual mature and capable of breeding at four months this is very bad as they can often mate and make more unwanted kittens. So please get your kittens done early - don't wait.

Around 4 months usually, but some people will do it sooner. The shelter where we are getting our kitten will do it at any age as long as they're 2 pounds.

my vet, and I personally believe that we should wait til around 5 months old for male cats to be nuetered.

I have had at least, at least 25 cats in my life because we would take in pregnant strays and we hated getting rid of kittens so we kept the males and the mothers, fixed the mothers and found homes for the females. We found through experience that the males never started spraying until around 5-6 months and our vet talked to us about it and said that it was good to wait til close to that time because it helped their hormones develop more.

My friend told me recently that she prefered 5 months as opposed to 6 months because thats what her professor told her as far as behavior and hormones (vet school).

I do not personally know besides what was told to me and what I experienced in my cats.

As far as pregnancy worries, our cats were indoor once we took them in with few exceptions when we had fewer cats because we live in a small neighborhood in a small town. my cats now (2 males 1 female) have all been "fixed" the eldest at 5.5 months (male), the youngest (male) at 5 months, and the middle one (female) at one year and 1 month ( i got her at almost a year) and none of them have had any problems. they are also all strictly indoor so mating was never any concern for me, just that they develop how my vet said they would.

I think its a personal decision in what you want with your pet. just like wet vs. dry food, and claws vs. soft paws vs. declaw

:) so good luck with all your cat adventures

Keep her indoors. This is one of the many reasons I keep my 3 cats indoors - costly vet bills.

females 3 mos. of age males after their testicales have come down

i would say 3-4 months.

heres the answer