[Plain Talker]

Originally Posted by shoppingmad

like i said up untill recentley

No, for the longest time, (20 or 30 years) veterinary advice, and pleas from the rescues, who get swamped with unwanted "just the one litter" kittens has been:-

"Neither cats nor dogs need to have 'just one litter'. Get them spayed or neutered at about six months".

The consensus is agreed, it's best to spay / neuter, as soon as practical. The only conflict of advice is that some vets say it's ok to spay before the first season in bitches, others say wait till the female has had the first season.

Spaying and neutering cats and dogs makes for a happier, healthier and (generally) a longer-lived pet. Male dogs and cats do not need their testes, and the hormonal drives the testosterone creates. You also don't get your dog running off after females in season, and camping out on the females' doorsteps. they are also protected from testicular cancer. Male cats don't get into fights over queens, and don't get the same risk of abscesses after scratches and bites as an entire tom would.

Female dogs are protected from pyometra, phantom pregnancies, uterine and mammary cancers, and the benefits of cleanliness when they do not come into season (not to mention the lack of grumpiness because they do not have the doggy equivalent of PMT!) Female cats when spayed do not start screaming and wailing because they are in season. and don't produce litters after litters.

[magsie]

Six months is far too late to have cats neutered, as kits can come into season at four months old. To see kittens giving birth, or trying to, is a terrible thing to witness. Everyone involved at the sharp end of cat rescue is shell shocked by the numbers of unwanted cats and kittens on the streets with no one to help them.
Please everyone do the responsible thing, neuter and chip.