Age to neuter/spay Birmans?
 

I'm getting 2 Birman littermates. The breeder recommends not getting them altered until 8-10 months of age since this breed is slow to mature. They aren't old enough to leave Mom yet, but can come home at about 12 weeks of age. Since it's a boy & a girl I'm getting, I'm afraid of leaving it that long in case they decide to mate! I'd like to get at least one of them altered a little earlier than that. I live in an apartment & don't really have enough room to keep them separate. Is this a breed thing as far as the slow maturing goes & what harm, if any, may come with getting one of them done earlier than 8-10 months? Likely the boy, as territory marking would not smell very nice either.

I would get them done much earlier than that. I would say 4 - 5 months. Both my girls were done a little to early. I got them from the rescue at 7-8 weeks old, and they had already been spayed.

Cindy

I agree with clm,even though I don't know about maturing in Birmans,only know they are beautiful cats.:cat:
My boys(cat)were all neutered at 6 months and one of them still spray on occasion.
You know we HAVE to see pics wen you get them,ok...

I would not wait until 8 months to get my cat fixed, you risk your male cat will start the habit of spraying and your female going into heat. Depending upon your vet and the equipment they are using, they will spay/neuter at 2 lbs, many like to wait until they are at least 4lbs. As for slow to maturing, is your breeder talking about the males, because it is possible that the male's testicles will fall at a later date than other cats. In my foster mutts, they fell at about 3 months (12 weeks) and were neutered at 14 wks (they were between 3 and 4 lbs).

[QUOTE=Love4himies;541749]I would not wait until 8 months to get my cat fixed, you risk your male cat will start the habit of spraying and your female going into heat. Depending upon your vet and the equipment they are using, they will spay/neuter at 2 lbs, many like to wait until they are at least 4lbs. As for slow to maturing, is your breeder talking about the males, because it is possible that the male's testicles will fall at a later date than other cats. In my foster mutts, they fell at about 3 months (12 weeks) and were neutered at 14 wks (they were between 3 and 4 lbs).[/QUOTE]

I agree with love, I waited until 4 lbs and then snip, snip.

I would think 8 to 10 months is risking a pregnancy. Male cats can sire kittens as early as 5 months. Another book I read says sexual maturity is reached at 8 to 10 months. From what I have been reading it doesn't seem like any vet can make up their mind as to when sexual maturity actually happens.
I just know from experience with mine. Some of my girls are in heat now and they are 7 and 8 months.
I know my vet won't spay a male before 6 months because of the increased risk of developing kidney stones if done earlier. IME it has always been 6 months for spays and neutures. I don't think breeds make any difference as far as being able to reproduce. A cat is a cat is a cat???

I believe that breed does make a difference, I have read in more then one book that it is not unusual for certain breeds of cats (specifically the books i was reading were persian, ragdoll and Himi books) to not go into heat, until sometimes up to 2 years of age, I recall one professional breeders website (she showed and bred, i think it was persians) where she even had a clause in the agreement if a cat was purchased with the intent to breed, that the new owners could not say the cat was unbreedable (not sure if thats a word or not lol) until the cat was 3 years of age, and still had not reproduced. As to whether you should wait that long to neuter/spay, that is a different story, on another forum there was an article in regards to early spay/neuters on puppies that suggested that those who show their dogs, not due an early spay neuter as the development of particularly male dogs, would not be the same, therefor the dog might not have the appropriate conformation for the breed. There was a study done that showed a thinner head structure compared to dogs neutered at a later age, and just an overall slimmer build to the body, as well as some brain development retardation (nothing major, but they also suggested not doing early spay/neuters for dogs involved in things like tracking, search/rescue etc.) I would suspect that the same could hold true with cats as well, although i haven't read any studies in regards to that.

A pediatric s/n has always been a contravercy.But I have done some research on it for some time.And remember cats and dogs can come into heat at 4 months.

Here is some reading.Pediatric s/n has been going on for quite a LONG time.
[url]http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=adopt_earlyspayneuter:[/url]

[QUOTE][url]http://www.thewagway.com/Behviour%20Tip%20Sheets/pediatric_spay_and_neuter.htm[/url][/QUOTE]

Both my cats were adopted at 8 weeks.They are 3 1/2 and 4.And they were both done at 8 weeks.There is no difference between them and my other that was done at 6 months who is 6 now.My vet has been doing it for quite some time.

[QUOTE=tonkamcd]was an article in regards to early spay/neuters on puppies that suggested that those who show their dogs, not due an early spay neuter as the development of particularly male dogs,[/QUOTE]

I see the writer of this article has no idea about conformation.In conformation your dog can't be s/n.;)

[QUOTE=tonkamcd]There was a study done that showed a thinner head structure compared to dogs neutered at a later age, and just an overall slimmer build to the body, as well as some brain development retardation (nothing major, but they also suggested not doing early spay/neuters for dogs involved in things like tracking, search/rescue etc.)[/QUOTE]


This is so not true.:rolleyes:

I have 3 co-workers who have GSD's.All 3 were done at 12 weeks.2 are now SchH III titled,the other SchH II...Tracking is involved in this sport.You can sit these dogs with any other that was done later(like mine) and you would never tell the difference.I will have to try and get some pics.:)

Here is the link for the information that I was mentioning,

[url]http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/01/08/spayneuter-what-does-the-science-say/[/url]


In so far as the statement

You cannot show your dog for conformation if it has been s/n. You can under two circumstances

1) Junior Handlers can show a spayed/neutered dog for conformation

2) Specialty shows you are allowed to show s/n dogs


As for the whole working dog brain developement thing, although my choice of words (brain development retardation) was perhaps a poor choice of words, and did not accurately describe what I was trying to say, neither did I say that it would be impossible to train a dog for working "stuff" schutz, tracking, herding etc. The proper choice of words, would probably have been more along the lines of cognitivie function may be decreased etc. I was working without having the article directly on hand, so it was all having to come out of my memory ; ) which isn't perfect suffice to say lol

[QUOTE=tonkamcd;542554]
1) Junior Handlers can show a spayed/neutered dog for conformation.[/QUOTE]

Yes.Because it's the junior handlers being judged,not the dogs.;)

This is just teaching them what the conformation shows are all about.It's practice for them.:)

There are a few comments I'd like to make in regards to something mentioned in that link.But that's going off topic..I stopped being a thread jacker quite some time ago.........:D


canuckgirl,personally I wouldn't wait till 8-10 months.Cats can go into heat at 4 months.:eek:

Pediatric s/n are so much easier on the kittens.They heal much quicker.And I have seen that with my guys.My two that were done at 8 weeks were bouncing around in no time.With my male Casper,they actually used a glue and not stitches.That was different.Winnie had about 3-4 stitches.All my cats are happy and healthy.:thumbs up