Ideal age/weight to neuter kittens - discount/free cat neuter thread

For information

Both the Cat Protection and the RSPCA say the best and ideal time to neuter kittens is

1 KILO IN WEIGHT, regardless of age. Many would be older or some will be younger than 6 months - but its the weight thats more important than the age.

At this optimum weight there is less damage to the kitten, smaller scar, less anaesthetic AND ensures they don't get pregnant.

Dore and Totley vets and Balby vets are the cheapest ones that we know of at £30.00 - even cheaper than the PDSA .

People have to realise that cats are at Epidemic proportions and breeding beyond belief on the streets. Its almost unstoppable now - with kittens being ra**ed and having to give birth to kittens - believe me - something you shouldn't be seeing in this day and age. The larger cat rescues need to be spending every penny that they have in resources to neuter all these cats and kittens - before its too late.

If you own a cat you have a moral responsibility to get it neutered

be it MALE OR FEMALE - no more kittens until this explosion is under control.

Magsie has buried nearly 30 kittens in this last month alone - all died on the streets - too young and cold to survive.

Phone the vets NOW and get it done please

As the person who started this thread - can I ask that it is NOT taken personally by any rescue as a slur or what is/isn't happening.

This should be seen as an educational thread, in the hope that people will get their cats neutered BEFORE they get pregnant. If the RSPCA and CP and Cat Shelter all say its safer to get them done at 1kg than to allow them to get pregnant at 4-8 months of age - then people need to be aware of that - which is why I asked people to have a scout around for any veterinary facts to the contrary or to back it up.

Its being done anyway now - so must be ok.

Lets not slate anyone off for what local branches of animal rescues are doing - everyone involved in rescue is totally over burdened and trying their hardest to stop the epidemic - we need the public to join forces and help with this problem - or it will just get worse.

My only suggestion is that this is something that HAS to be sorted from the top. The Cat Protection is the largest Cat Charity that I personally know of - and they do WONDERFUL work helping cats - but - like in dog rescue - you have to sometimes look outside of the box.

NEUTERING NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED AND MORE OF IT - and only those big rescues are the ones that can do the educational campaigns to try to get it done, not local branches or tiny small fry rescues like us either.

Can we get back on track of spreading the word please.

---------- Post added 09-12-2012 at 00:08 ----------

Here is an article taken from the Cats Protection recent published accounts - where they are showing just how many cats they are neutering each year - and an increase of 15,000 in 2011 - and STILL we are in an epidemic but they clearly show here - that they advocate EARLY neutering - I would appreciate any more info where vets can argue against this and for what reasons.

Maybe next time - they should be the ones to go out and try to trap in the feral colonies and say its too young? its maybe not needed in cats being responsible owned and homed - but where there is any possible risk they could get pregnant - then get them neutered.

I'm amazed at the figures shown and frightened at the volumes still to be done out there, and wonder what the answer is - but above all else shows we HAVE TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT EARLY NEUTERING before its too late.

"Neutering

Neutering is extremely important to cat population management and it actively prevents unplanned litters being born so they do not become the unwanted cats of tomorrow. We achieve our objectives in this area by working with veterinary practices, other animal welfare organisations and cat owners to support and promote the benefits of neutering and responsible pet ownership. Financial assistance is also provided to enable owners who are in genuine need to have their cats neutered.

Research shows that it is not just the percentage of cats neutered that is important to control the feline population; the timing of neutering is vital if we are going to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Neutering before puberty is crucial and as cats can become sexually active from four months of age, CP is trying to get four months to be accepted as the norm rather than the traditional age of six months. In circumstances such as trapped feral kittens and cats being re homed it is often appropriate to neuter them younger than this so CP’s policy is to neuter any time after weaning for feral cats and after the first vaccination for domestic cats to be rehomed.

To promote early neutering, CP launched its Early Neutering Register in 2011. This is a facility on our website where veterinary practices that are prepared to neuter cats before six months can register and then members of the public or animal welfare workers can locate practices in their area using a postcode search. At the end of the year 742 practices all over the UK had signed up.

In line with our strategy we continued to increase the number of cats neutered to a total of 191,000 in 2011. This is an increase of 15,000 (8.5 per cent) compared to 2010. We were not only responsible for funding an estimated 22 per cent of all neutering carried out (source: University of Bristol) but also retained our position of having the largest single companion animal neutering programme in the world.

Significant progress was also made towards our goal of more joint working with other animal charities by sharing cost and therefore making schemes more viable and sustainable, currently through four joint schemes with national charities such as PDSA and as part of the C4 neutering consortium in London. Our joint neutering and microchipping scheme with Wood Green, the animals charity, was extended to further postcodes with over 2,000 cats benefitting – 1,823 of these being microchipped at the time of neutering. In November our intensive joint neutering scheme with the RSPCA in Stoke-On-Trent and the surrounding towns was launched – this will be accompanied by a long-term university-led study of the cat population in the campaign area over several years. In total, around 30,000 cats were neutered through our joint charity schemes in 2011.

Our relationships with animal welfare and housing staff in over 70 local authorities continued to flourish, building on the foundations established in previous years, with the National Dog Wardens’ Association choosing to hold their annual conference at the National Cat Centre.

In 2011, through our homing and neutering work, we helped over 235,000 cats, an increase of around 5,000 compared to 2010."