# Early Neutering- put my mind at ease please



## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

I found a vet who is experienced in neutering kittens at a young age. She suggests vaccinating at 9 and 12 weeks old, neutering at 14 weeks and going to their new homes at 16 weeks. That would be ideal although vaccinating at 9 and 12 weeks old, neutering at 12 weeks and leaving the nest at 14 weeks old would be okay too. 

Now that I found someone decent, I'm scared to take the plunge. What if my poor kittens die? What if they are stressed and get FIP? What if no one wants to buy my kittens because they are so expensive (she quoted me 75 for boys, 139 for girls)? I want the best for the kittens :/


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## jaycee05 (Sep 24, 2012)

That sounds an awful lot for neutering,£139 for girls &£75 for boys, [is that each?] how on earth can you manage besides putting the prices up a *lot 
I am sure i read on here that the price for early neutering was the same as for doing it when about 5-6 months old
As i have no experience of early neutering, [which i was also thinking about] but no vets here will do it,i hope someone will soon let you know their opinion
What breed are they, just out of interest?*


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## Taylorbaby (Jan 10, 2009)

£139??? WHAT?! Id look into those prices, that cant be right, doesn't even cost that to neuter a adult dog at the vet near me!

Its always nerve racking the first time round! So glad I do it and did it though


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## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

They are BSHs and the prices(in euro) are normal for here. It's actually cheaper than the vets in my area (vets in my city are stupidly expensive). 

The peace of mind might be worth it though but I'd hate myself if a kitten were to be affected somehow:/


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## jaycee05 (Sep 24, 2012)

If i remember rightly you are in the Netherlands arent you pipje? i wonder if that is the reason its so expensive, are your vet prices usually very expensive, 
Whatever country it is in it still seems a lot


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

i have all the rescue kittens neutered at 12 weeks. in fact some have been done today at 9 weeks old. i've never had a problem and they get over it so quickly it's unbelievable. my vet charges £49.50 for a spay and £27 for a castrate no matter what age they are


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

I'm not a breeder, but two of mine were neutered at about 8 or 9 weeks. They bounced back more quickly than any of them done at 6 months (and the rest bounced back really fast anyway). Both were done by the shelter vet and I was terrified I'd get a call that they'd died since they were just wee babies, but I swear, you couldn't even tell with Pippin, since he was a boy and very small--he had the teeniest little spot where they'd gone in. And Gwennie hardly seemed to notice either.


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## Steverags (Jul 19, 2010)

We neuter/spay at 14 weeks old, never had a problem and as others the kittens bounce back so quickly


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## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

What about stress? Do you think it's too much (vaccinations, surgery, leaving mummy& litter mates, new home)?


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

As a punter I was ok with the extra cost being built in to the price because I too wanted the best for my kittens. Operations are always going to be worrying no matter what the age I think, and doing something new is always scary.
For the kittens, there was less stress I would say because the litter all went in together and then went home together, and it all seemed very easy for them. 

I have to say this breeder also used early neutering as a test of my intentions. She watched my reaction really carefully when she introduced the subject, and like many on here, later said she had lost/refused people at that point!


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## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

Indeed. By early neutering, the bybs and people who think a nest once would be filtered out


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## Quarissamin (Jun 9, 2014)

My gosh thats a lot of money we had Archie done at ( you're vets ) he was given his jabs both sets , given advocate for fleas and worms and neutered at twelve weeks and free microchip for around £60. It was a kitten bundle they have a lot od practices maybe they have one near you, there a big company


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## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

jaycee05 said:


> If i remember rightly you are in the Netherlands arent you pipje? i wonder if that is the reason its so expensive, are your vet prices usually very expensive,
> Whatever country it is in it still seems a lot


Yes, it can be. Vaccinations are 53-67 each(No kitten discount is given by any vet) in my city BUT in certain areas, some breeders only pay 20 euro per kitten per vaccination so it really depends.

That's one reason I'm hesitating. I an afraid no one can afford my kittens anymore (even though the neutering is priced quite normally but it is still a rather large sum to pay in one go)


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## Ceiling Kitty (Mar 7, 2010)

Kittens bounce back a lot quicker from surgery than older cats - a recent study found that the amount of pain they feel is the same, but the kittens cope with it much better the younger they are.

Like all of these things, it's risks vs benefits. I think the peace of mind you will have from selling them neutered, the benefits for the kittens of going to their new homes neutered and the decreased pain perception they feel outweigh the downsides you have mentioned - namely stress.


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## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

Unfortunately, it looks like I will have to give up this early neutering thing. None of my kittens are reserved because they are too expensive (eventhough it's cheaper than if the new owners were to pay the normal amount +get the kitten neutered later at a vet) and some people even think I'm abusive or something.


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

Take heart, Pipje  I'm sure it's not too different in your country with kitten enquiries - it's very quiet at this time of year. I can't comment on the early neutering issue because it's not something I plan to do; thought about it, but no.

You only need a few enquiries from lovely, genuine people and that WILL happen. They're lovely kittens.


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## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

It is very quiet which I'm surprised about since my previous nest was gone in a week and the colours I have now are more 'popular', I live in a more central area plus the kittens have better pedigrees now (although most owners don't really care about this). I only get really weird emails (people who can't spell-not just a few words but almost every word-, who ask for kittens from my previous nest by name rather than the current one), sometimes even mean ones like " That's a crazy amount! ARE YOU NUTS?". 

Crossing my fingers that they get really good homes. I do not want to compromise Actually, I've already decided to continue with early neutering (at least the boys) anyway and just take the hit myself (thank goodness I have a job now but I am not telling my husband about this plan of mine hehe He already thinks my hobby is getting out of hand)


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## Steverags (Jul 19, 2010)

We had a year where it was quiet for selling kittens, but it eventually picked up, those who say you are abusing the kittens need to read up on early neutering and are not worthy of one of your kittens, they probably want to BYB the kitten.


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## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

Well surprise surprise, I decreased my price so that early neutering is free and someone is coming to see a kitten next weekend. I guess the fact that I don't have to worry about the no -breeding part is worth what i am paying for it


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

I had a lot of abuse from some people - I've even put the phone down on some. 

But the ones that have come forward have been pleased that my kittens are early neutered as it takes away the worry for them.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

pipje said:


> <snip>
> Actually, I've already decided to continue with early neutering (at least the boys)
> <snip>


If I was going to neuter just one sex I'd neuter the girls. They are the bottleneck in reproduction - the number of entire girls governs how many kittens can be born.


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