# Are my kittens old enough to reproduce?



## mazzyruss (Dec 14, 2007)

Hi, I have two kittens, brother and sister. They are 4 and a half months old and the male has started mounting his sister. I've phoned lots of vets and the youngest I can have them neutered is 5 and a half to 6 months. Are they capable of reproducing at this age or is it just 'practising'? The only advice the vet could give me is to keep them apart - not very practical.


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## Guest (Dec 14, 2007)

Hi Muzzy!
It depends on what the breed is? Some of them ( females) could be capable to get pregnant at 5 months. Considering that you/ve got a very close related kittens - its better not to risk as kittens from such as mating could be brain damaged or something else....and you will be facing a very hard decision to PTS them. Most Vets do early neutering to stray cats. If your vet will refuse - tell him that there many others who will; plus - the boy kitten is easies to neuter at this age (at least one of them will be done.)


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## Lintama (Nov 2, 2007)

I would insist your vet has your female spayed now. They can do it although they migh be reluctant. I know it can be done as young as 14 weeks. If your vet won't do it, find another that will. Also get your boy done at the same time.


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## Dawny (Nov 26, 2007)

There are reasons why vets won't spay this early. The kitten is growing at a very fast rate at this age and it is also very risky to put such a young animal under anaesthetic... I would rather keep mine apart than risk this although I agree it will be difficult.


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## may (Nov 2, 2007)

I have a girl age 17 weeks and she is having her first call 
YES 17 WEEKS  Siamese are oversexed


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## Siamese Kelly (Jan 6, 2008)

As others have said it depends on the breed,although it is unlikely she would get pregnant it's not impossible as i myself know of a 5 1/2mth old male getting a girl pregnant. Also it could be stressing your girl as well as him getting frustrated which could and usually does lead to other problems, spraying and aggravation, which would not be good for you or them as it could damage/change a really good tempered cat into an aggressive cat brought about through fear,annoyance, bullying etc. So if it were me i would definitely have them neutered


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## kittykat (Nov 2, 2007)

Personally I would go get the boy fixed as Elena said earlier its a much less intrusive procedure for males. If you plan on keeping them indoors I wouldnt get the female fixed either but thats just my personal view.

Im all for neutering in the right circumstances, I have a female cat who is neutered because shes an outdoor cat but I wont get my boy done as I know he will never be let outside and therefore feel its uneccesary.


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## Lintama (Nov 2, 2007)

OMG! Kittykat you are in for a shock.  Keeping an entire male indoors is definitely madness. I presume he is only a kitten as present. Once his hormones kick in, he will almost certainly start spraying everywhere and unless your sense of smell is non-existant, your house will stink and you will never get rid of the smell from carpets, floorboards, etc. no matter how much you clean. 
Why on earth also would you not neuter a female. Would you be prepared to put up with the howling and screeching from her when she is in season? She will 'call' almost constantly for about a week so you would have to have very good ear muffs and what about the neighbours!! It is positively wrong to keep her entire and not mate her. It is stressful for her to call on a regular basis and not be mated. Neutering any pet cat is by far the kindest thing you can do for them. They become much more content and happy without hormones raging through their body.


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## kittykat (Nov 2, 2007)

Ok I expected this.

First my girl was an indoor cat for well over a year before I neutered her, she never "wailed" to go out, was quite content. She is an outdoor/indoor cat now.

I had a male who is no longer with us but the vet told me to get him neutered as well as health reasons (if he was allowed outside) - he would also not roam too far.
Well I took the advice and since the op he left home and I didnt see him again for 3 months!!! I thought he had an accident but over the next year he would resort to this pattern of behaviour. I would not see him for a few weeks at a time.

I have unfortunately smelt a cat spraying and yes it is the most horrid smell I could imagine and IF my indoor boy started spraying then I would get him done but if that doesnt happen then I wouldnt just for the sake of it.

You cant generalise about cats, I am sure this has happened to yourself or people you know but every cat is not the same. I have had 7 so far (only 2 now though sadly) and I have never had any of these problems.


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## Siamese Kelly (Jan 6, 2008)

The problem is that once other cats start spraying around your cats territory,thats just what it becomes a territoral/dominance battle. This can for varied reasons lead the most well behaved boy/girl to react as this is how as a general rule of thumb cats assert their rankAll cats imho are not all the same, however they are first and foremost cats(no matter how domesticated we tell ourselves they are-it's they who have trained us) and their are as we know are basic elements of behaviour that naturally follow suit but in the interest and well being of your cat/kitts if your not going to breed and don't want any unnecessary "problems/kitts" the earlier, the better, otherwise the longer you leave it and any spraying, upset,aggrevation will at some point occur as the cats get older and then gets neutered, they still may behave as if entire from memoryWhich is frustrating and confusing for them and not very nice for yours and their home


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## Esined (Nov 2, 2007)

may said:


> I have a girl age 17 weeks and she is having her first call
> YES 17 WEEKS  Siamese are oversexed


wow thats something


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## Lintama (Nov 2, 2007)

Well said Esined. I thought I had said enough in my post but perhaps Kittykat does need this explained to her.
There are a couple of books that are worth reading -
Vicky Halls - Cat Confidential and also her new book Cat Detective. I have both of these and they are very good at explaining how cats behave and why they do what they do. Perhaps Kittykat could read these. It may change her mind about not neutering.


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## kittykat (Nov 2, 2007)

Lintama said:


> Well said Esined. I thought I had said enough in my post but perhaps Kittykat does need this explained to her.
> There are a couple of books that are worth reading -
> Vicky Halls - Cat Confidential and also her new book Cat Detective. I have both of these and they are very good at explaining how cats behave and why they do what they do. Perhaps Kittykat could read these. It may change her mind about not neutering.


_I have read and own both of these books and I still stand by what I believe. If I encounter any problems due to him being entire then I would get him neutered.

Vicky Halls also feels that cats shouldnt be exclusively kept indoors and although I enjoy her books I have my own opinion._


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## SavannahKitten (Mar 9, 2008)

Late in, but I thought I would add that I have a 14 WEEK old kitten and she's already presenting!


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## Kay73 (Mar 26, 2008)

prevention is better, ive had my cats neuterd, i wouldn't want my boy spraying!


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## binxycat (Mar 15, 2008)

My tiny little cat Tiggy has been spayed today at the age of approx 5 1/2 months. She was a rescue kitten so we were'nt exactly sure of her age but I don't think she had come into season yet (going by the information gained on this forum). The vet checked her first and suspected that she may have been pregnant already which was rather surprising as she hasn't been out of the house, our two others are neutered and the dog certainly wouldn't have allowed an extra cat in!!. However even if there had been any doubt that she may have been expecting I would still have gone ahead with the op (rightly or wrongly) because I would have been frightened to death for her - She's so very small and just a baby still herself. By the way for a cat that's just had an op she's exteremely lively, I just had to stop her going up the curtains!!!


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## Katherna (Feb 20, 2008)

My old boy was neutered at a very young age (I adoped him and use the same vets so they have his full history). I did have an entire male that was about 3 before he was neutered, he never strayed, never sprayed and when he went in his tray even his pee didn't smell - dunno why, I got him done when he had an accident with his back leg and had to have his leg set in plaster, the vet 'did' him for free! My female cat was in season when she was spayed (both my other cats were seen to so she was safe). All of my cats have been neutered, my latest cat (we've had him for 6 or so years now) was rescued, he stank of tom spray, he was confined until he was well enough for his operation (RSPCA and the CPL paid for him to have tests as he'd had a unfixed broken pelvis, and his neutering as well as blood tests for the usual as he was a stray that I'd taken in as he was so poorly). If you aren't going to breed from them then you should neuter them theres enough unwanted kittens in the rescue centres as it is.


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## Guest (Apr 9, 2008)

Lintama said:


> OMG! Kittykat you are in for a shock.  Keeping an entire male indoors is definitely madness. I presume he is only a kitten as present. Once his hormones kick in, he will almost certainly start spraying everywhere and unless your sense of smell is non-existant, your house will stink and you will never get rid of the smell from carpets, floorboards, etc. no matter how much you clean.
> Why on earth also would you not neuter a female. Would you be prepared to put up with the howling and screeching from her when she is in season? She will 'call' almost constantly for about a week so you would have to have very good ear muffs and what about the neighbours!! It is positively wrong to keep her entire and not mate her. It is stressful for her to call on a regular basis and not be mated. Neutering any pet cat is by far the kindest thing you can do for them. They become much more content and happy without hormones raging through their body.


Also un spayed girls tend to wee on your beds and sofas aswell!!!I had my boy done at 5 months old with no probs,speak to another vet.


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## Laloba (Apr 12, 2008)

We routinely have any male cats in our litters, who are not going to be used in our breeding program, neutered at the age of 3 months. Having it done this early, it is before they begin spraying, since once they do, they will continue to. This is probably what happened to your male who wasn't neutered until he was a year old. It's also very possible that there is a person living nearby who thinks your male is 'their' cat, and is feeding him, and letting him in, while he's away from you that long.
If people would be more open to having their cats (and dogs) spayed or neutered, unless they will be intentionally bred, there would be far less precious little animals used in medical testing, or humanely (hopefully) put 'down' by animal control agencies. 
Please remember that if you're looking for a kitten or puppy, to always check at your nearby shelter for one, unless you want a specific breed. If you know what breed you want, please do not buy from pet stores, but go to a reputable and responsible breeder. Honest, the prices can be much less from breeders who often are looking for good homes for the little ones (and sometimes adults). Believe me, we have a few purebred Burmese currently, that if I could find them a good home, I would *give* them to people. They won't be used for breeding, they're already trained and their personalities are developed, but they will (I've seen this) adopt a new owner willingly, and be just as affectionate as if they had been gotten when they were kittens.
BTW, all of our cats are strictly indoor cats, and will in fact, avoid open doors.


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## Saynamore (Feb 28, 2008)

Lintama said:


> OMG! Kittykat you are in for a shock.  Keeping an entire male indoors is definitely madness. I presume he is only a kitten as present. Once his hormones kick in, he will almost certainly start spraying everywhere and unless your sense of smell is non-existant, your house will stink and you will never get rid of the smell from carpets, floorboards, etc. no matter how much you clean.
> Why on earth also would you not neuter a female. Would you be prepared to put up with the howling and screeching from her when she is in season? She will 'call' almost constantly for about a week so you would have to have very good ear muffs and what about the neighbours!! It is positively wrong to keep her entire and not mate her. It is stressful for her to call on a regular basis and not be mated. Neutering any pet cat is by far the kindest thing you can do for them. They become much more content and happy without hormones raging through their body.


You may be interested to know, Lintama, that I have four entire boys permanently indoors in their own rooms. Out of the four only ONE boy sprays and yes it is possible to keep on top of that with cleaning and general hygiene practices. Also I am pleased to confirm that my house does not 'stink', not just on my say so but that of family and other visitors


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## Rraa (Apr 15, 2008)

Hi Mazzyruss - like others, I think it does depend on the breed. Siamese and orientals do tend to be rather precocious. 

IMHO, however, as Anele correctly says, if you get the male neutered as soon as you can arrange it, that would help avoid potential problems. 

There are vets who will do this even if your nearest one disagrees. The male operation is a more straightforward one for a vet to perform and is not so risky because it is quicker to complete. The female can be spayed at the right time, whenever you consider it right/the vet advises. 

Please let us know how you get on ... good wishes


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## mazzyruss (Dec 14, 2007)

Hello, I just though that I'd let you all know that I had both cats neutered a couple of months ago. I waited until they were 6 months old because the male calmed down and I had no further problems. Both cats are now doing very well, I think I just panicked!!

Thanks for all your replies.


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## alicia (Oct 12, 2009)

Hi, I have 9 cats all together right now, 3 of which are only a month old. Out of all 9 there are only 3 girls. one of which is a baby. Not once has any of my unneutered males sprayed, and we foster alot because my hubby works with the animal shelter. so really it just depends on YOU specific cat. Dont stress to hard about spraying because ive never had a sprayer. but You should get your cats fixed, i learned the hard way with my kittens, and now i have a blood brother mounting his sister by blood so shes gettng fixed this month.


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## ccarriee (Sep 24, 2009)

I have a pair of 13 week old kittens. When they were younger, Bettie was much more dominant during play-fighting, but the balance seems to have tipped and now Johnny attacks her. Although it's still only play, she appears genuinely distressed when he does this. He pays no attention to her cries, which probably mean that she wants him to stop.

I took them for their boosters last week and asked how early I could get him neutered because I know that it's less intrusive than spaying, but the vet insisted that I had to wait until he was at least five-and-a-half months old. Johnny weighs more than 1.6kg and I read that male kittens can be safely neutered when they weigh even less...is that right?


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