When to desex my female kitten?

[Ardentwhispers]

I've got a bit of a dillemma.

My kitten is about 4 months old and as of yet she's not desexed. The pet shop & vet have both recommended desexing her at 6 months. The problem is...6 months is a little after Christmas time, and we're going away for Christmas for at least a week. I'll have a friend coming in to feed and play with them & change the litter during that time. But what if she goes into heat while I'm gone??? Is it too early if I desex her in early December when she's 5 months old?

I plan on asking the vet (different from last time) when we go soon what they think, but I don't want to go off one opinion alone. Any advice?

ETA: What is the recovery like from being desexed? All the cats I've had in the past were desexed already, so this is my first time dealing with all of this!

[SassyMummy]

They recover really quickly - sometimes they're a little sleepy when you get them back from the vet, but then it's a struggle to keep them quiet. They act pretty much the same as always.

Is your cat an indoor cat? If so, I'd just leave it a bit longer. My kitten is a 7 month old, and not yet desexed. She's purely an indoor cat though, and so I'm waiting until I have a bit more money (maybe after Christmas). If she goes into heat, it might be annoying to deal with, but it's not going to be the end of the world, as she's indoors and therefore not going to fall pregnant.

If it were MY cat, I'd just keep it indoors until you can get her desexed.

[nothanksbye]

I would chat to the vet but probably get her done before you go.

Cats can get pregnant at 5 months old.
You would hate it f she got out and came back pregnant.

You can contact the RSPCA or the cat protection society for advice too.

[alpacamum]

You can have them done at 5 months.

Probably better to be safe than sorry.
You want to be around for at least 10 days after the op if she is to have stitches that need removing.

But yes, they recover v.quickly. Keep her inside anyway to make sure the stitches are kept clean and she doesn't go leaping up tall trees, etc.

K

[Mum2Tyla]

I would get her done at 5 months, there is nothing more annoying than a female in season and they will do anything to get out to mate, hey recover very quickly, main thing to watch for is them licking at their stiches if this occurs put a bucket on her head, the RSPCA desex at 8 weeks old, they will not sell a pet u nless it is desexed.

[dreamtobeamummy]

My cat was done at about 10 months old, just after her first season. I was not putting up with that sound every few months :laughing:

[meme]

Why do you have to wait so long? my kitten was desexed at the rspca before adoption and had to be a certain weight for the op but was under 12 weeks old.

she does however now have a floppy tummy bit and I think that must be from the op.

[Jakois]

I would get her done asd soon as you can.

Our darling little kitty was 7 months and an inside cat. She got out and went walkabout for a couple of days. She Was booked in to get fixed a couple of weeks later, but by then we thought she may be pregnant. We were right as we currently have three 7 week old kittens running around:dizzy::dizzy::dizzy:. Needless to say she is getting fixed as soon as they go to their new homes.

[Ardentwhispers]

Thanks everyone.

I think the RSPCA desexes before is ideal because it's better to send them off desexed than not to, kwim? I've had 12 week cats from the RSPCA too and they were desexed - I was a bit surprised too that you wait until 6 months.

She's an indoor cat, and I'm not so worried about her getting out - more so ruining the house or causing trouble for my friend who'll be looking after them!

I think I will look into getting it done at 5 months - I'll still be here til late december so I'll see if I can do it on the early end!

[MummaBear03]

One of mine was done at 4 months, she came on heat early so the vet did her early, the other was 6 months old. The vet said she doesn't like to do them before 6 months but if there's a reason for it she'll do it as early as 16 weeks, but no earlier.

[Lastcenturymum]

Yep I wouldn't leave it and it's a responsibility for your friends incase she does escape and also having Tom cats around spraying and carrying on - nah you do not want that!!

[bronny-jane]

dont wait;)
one of our kittens is knocked up:rolleyes:
anyone want a manx:D

[mimsie]

I'd say go for it before hand if you're worried about the chances of her getting out while you're gone :) I worked in cat rescue for a while, and have an inside cat. She got done at 12 months and was fine by the next day when we picked her up, but did have stitches to come out 10 days later, which she didn't take out on her own, at all (she didn't have a collar on either). She had only just started showing signs her first heat might have been coming, getting a bit psycho at night, rougher with our desexed male cat, a bit hyper and cabin feverish lol. She never got to the stage of calling or anything like that but her behaviour was slowly changing.

Most places do prefer to wait until 6 months if possible, but as someone mentioned the RSPCA does every animal before it's rehomed as standard, mostly because they don't want the litters being sent straight back to the RSPCA!

PS as a tip if your cat is picking at stitches without a collar, put some vicks on their tummy roughly near (but NOT on) the area and they won't like it, so they should stay away from the stitches.