# Maine Coons and neutering



## missye87 (Apr 4, 2011)

Hi all,

I know quite a few of us here on PF have MC's. Now as most of us MC owners have heard, they should be neutered later than e.g. moggies as they mature slower and it could affect the size of their head in comparison to their body.

Now I'm actually wondering if anybody has had any experience in having their males neutered at different ages and what the difference in growth and head size has been, if any? My breeder told me 9-10 months unless he starts showing signs of maturing before he starts spraying, such as stud tail or getting more territorial.

The reason why this question has come up is because Benji's urine has started smelling a bit stronger, not as strong as Storm's after he was neutered but enough to be able to tell that we have an unneutered boy, as it doesn't smell much stronger it just smells different and it's obviously down to the hormones starting. His behaviour hasn't changed, he is still a naughty kitten and loves pouncing on his brother, but he has been like this since we got him. Another reason is because he is growing like a weed and his head isn't really keeping up as it is, and I would be concerned that if these rumours do turn out to be true or at least have some foundation, that he could be further affected.

Sorry long post but he is such a beautiful boy and I'd just like to hear what others have experienced! Obviously if he needs to be done then he needs to be done, I won't draw it out for the sake of it, but if it's only that his urine smells a bit more and no other signs of yet I would be inclined to leave it for a while longer. He has no contact with females and the few cats that do come in to our garden are all males, I know that from speaking to our neighbours so he wouldn't be getting any whiffs of females!

xxx


----------



## gloworm*mushroom (Mar 4, 2011)

Honestly I have read up on this with my cats being a large breed. Some people say it slows the growth, and doesnt let them reach maximum size. Some say it doesnt matter one jot. Some people say early neutering makes them get bigger! No one seems have any sort of proof either way, so to me it seems that it depends on the cat whether it gets big or not, not whether it is neutered.

For example the BSH chunky face. I know someone with the most insanely chunky BSH and he was neutered at 3 months. My boys were both neutered at 6 month, one has a slight face, Mush has a very chunky face.

Apparently some people compared ones neutered at 3 months and ones at 8 months with growth and there was no difference.

I read through here and theres just so much conflicting opinion and 'evidence'

Does the age of neutering/spaying affect size of Maine Coons?

If he needs going, I would get him done. He's not going to turn a pinhead


----------



## kirstabubble (Jan 15, 2011)

gloworm*mushroom said:


> If he needs going, I would get him done. He's not going to turn a pinhead


Haha, this made me laugh.

The breeder of my BSH's told me to get them done later (9 months or so) to 'bring out' their faces. However, I have a boy and a girl, and play was starting to get frisky so they both were done at 7 months. Personally, I wouldn't wait - the health and happiness of the cat is more important than the size of it.

And like glowworm said, none of these theories have been proved really anyway 

Kirsty


----------



## Dally Banjo (Oct 22, 2009)

I would have preferd to wait for thses two to be a bit older but  Louie started marking :incazzato: just before he was 9 months & we had Tango done at 4 months  to try & ease the situation with Louie  that helped :frown2: I do think it stunted Tango's growth a little but he's makeing up for it now 

I wanted to wait as long as possible with MC's as believe there is a conection between neutering at a young age & urinary problems  but our vet is still on the fence on that one.

I would'nt worry about Benji's head Im sure it will go puff over night when your least expecting it :lol:


----------



## raggs (Aug 3, 2008)

I really dont think it makes the slightest ddifference to the cat whether he's 6 months or 10 months, every cat is different . Our boy was neutered when he was 6 months old and he is huge and has a very big head, i certainly dont think that waiting another 3 or 4 months would affect the way the cat is going to be as an adult . For me , all the talk about he will be bigger if you wait etc is just chit chat, for me to say Ozzy is very big because i had him neutered at 6 months is just plain silly. Every male cat will mature differently, and some 6 month old cats will be far more mature for that age than others, if the signs are there at 6 months of age then get him neutered. The big dissadvantage of waiting is he may start to mark his territory, spraying anywhere and everywhere and we all know what an entire male cats urine smells like and once they do start to spray it can be very difficult to stop them from spraying. So my advice would be to say , if he is showing signs of maturing then get him done.....good luck withhim........Chris.


----------



## Wendy1969 (Jun 4, 2010)

With my three boys, two were done at the same time (5.5 months and 6 months respectively) and one at 7 months. I can't honestly say it made any difference to their development, they are all different and have developed differently. Alfie was done at 7 months, purely because that was how it worked out. I show him and have never had any adverse comments about the size of his head compared to his body. He is currently around 7.5kgs at 2 and a half years old, and I think he will continue to mature for about another year. Although he isn't growing much now, his face is looking 'older'. I have a four month old MC kitten and I'm thinking about getting him done sooner rather than later as his 'boy smell' is upsetting the other three somewhat. He is also growing like a weed. I think they do all tend to go through an adolescent phase, and this doesn't seemed to be linked to when they are neutered/spayed. Hope this helps


----------



## gloworm*mushroom (Mar 4, 2011)

I think to get any sort of accurate idea you would need to clone a cat and neuter it at different stages, feed it the same etc. Its so impossible to tell, my boys are so different despite being the same breed.


----------



## missye87 (Apr 4, 2011)

Thanks all just wanted confirmation of my own thoughts really to make sure I was making the right decision! We will probably aim for when he is six months in that case, he is only four months at the moment and the only sign so far is that his urine smells different, obviously if he starts showing other signs he will get shipped straight in  As I obviously think all your babies are absolute stunners I also wanted the reassurance that he wouldn't pretty much look like a "pinhead" (thanks GWM ) with a forever kitten-like face  :thumbup:


----------



## gloworm*mushroom (Mar 4, 2011)

You could always go with the 'pea on a barrel' comparison my friend used to make about herself! lol She was obsessed with her small head


----------



## raggs (Aug 3, 2008)

From what ive seen a lot of MC's have quite narrow heads as very young kittens and at the other end of the cat their tails are usually like pipe cleaners but they wont stay like that, in no time at all you will see him developing into a gorgeous young man. do you have any pics of him ? best wishes.....Chris


----------



## missye87 (Apr 4, 2011)

Yes his head is quite narrow, and he does have a pipecleaner for a tail! It is a nice and long tail though  I think the prominence of the size of his head at the moment hasn't helped with his latest growthspurt, over the past six weeks he has grown by 6 inches, am a very proud mummy. Storm is now filling out too so is looking more sturdy 

Chris you can find piccies of the two of them here, but Benji has grown even more since!  http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-chat/175940-updates-my-little-boys.html


----------



## Dally Banjo (Oct 22, 2009)

Is he going through the wheel barrow stage yet :lol: Louie seemed to take ages for his front legs to catch up to his back ones  Tango is just looooooooooong & tall but his tail & maine are growing now although he looks like he's going through a punk stage :blink: I finally manged to mem to get some batteries for the Wii board so will round them up & weight them later  that'l be fun  :lol:

I think at the end of the day it all comes down to parents Louie's mum is very large for a lady & so is Tango's where as are old MC's :001_wub: mum was'nt but then he was loooooooooooong & had a nice broad muzzel 

About 6months


----------



## Peter Galbavy (Apr 29, 2010)

Well, my three boys are all going in together on Thursday. 2 days shy of 8 months. They are starting to get a little rough and interested in each others rear smell ... plus they and their wee is getting a little stronger. Was willing to wait a couple more weeks to see how they develop but as I am off this week before starting a new job it seemed the right time for all of us.


----------



## missye87 (Apr 4, 2011)

I'm not too worried about the size bit, it's their faces that I love about the breed and would like for him to have a nice muzzle, having seen his dad he isn't very big for a MC but has this strong very grumpy looking face 
Storm who in my opinion has a really handsome face would be nice to show just to see if it's just my opinion or if others think he is a handsome brute too!  

Peter your boys are so handsome though, lovely big fluffy boys with great faces (and they are soo cuddly too!). I took inspiration and bought them some mice which they love, but they don't drown them, they have started taking a huge interest in the bathtub and sink though and spend ages in there .

DB: You have managed to put it in words! His back legs are much longer, so when he sits down it makes his head look so much smaller as his legs make him look so chubby and round! Storm is mroe long than tall but I would expect him to continue growing for a while regardless, he is only 16 months  He is very silky though and not very bushy but he has tufted paws, tail and ears and I haven't yet seen him during autumn/winter so he could very well poof out then!


----------



## nattymariax (Sep 1, 2010)

Wolfie was neutered at around 5 and a half months, earlier due to the fact he had a retained testacle and the vet decided it would be best to operate earlier to avoid any complications. It definitely has not affected his growth and at 9 months is already absolutely huge (especially his tail - see earlier threads)


----------



## missye87 (Apr 4, 2011)

nattymariax said:


> Wolfie was neutered at around 5 and a half months, earlier due to the fact he had a retained testacle and the vet decided it would be best to operate earlier to avoid any complications. It definitely has not affected his growth and at 9 months is already absolutely huge (especially his tail - see earlier threads)


Your Wolfie is a very handsome boy!  It's good to hear from people who have had their MC's neutered at different ages that have all turned out to be lovely MC's  It's going to be interesting to see what Benji looks like when he gets his adult face, it's quite exciting. He is such a naughty tinker though, this morning he decided he wanted lots of attention, so he gets up on my pillow, switches on the engine and paws my face, very gently. It was so cute I thought I was going to burst even though I was half asleep


----------

