Expert: Ali - 10/29/2009

Question
How old does a male cat have to be to have it neutered?

Answer
Larry,

Some vets will perform the procedure as early as 8 weeks of age or when the kitten reaches a weight of at least 2 lbs. Essentially it's completely up to your veterinarian so I recommend speaking with local vet clinics and spay/neuter clinics to find out when the veterinarian feels comfortable neutering your little guy. Male cats should be neutered prior to reaching sexual maturity to reduce the likelihood that they'll start marking their territory by spraying pungent smelling urine against furniture, walls, etc, prevent serious behavioral issues and of course to ensure that your pet doesn't contribute to the incredibly serious pet overpopulation problem by siring offspring. Be forewarned, before a cat can be spayed/neutered in the majority of cases vets will not perform the surgery unless the cat has been examined and his/her vaccinations are current so that the cat isn't at risk of contracting potentially life threatening infections that are routinely vaccinated against. After the initial kitten vaccines and the one year booster it's important to know that for the majority of vaccines you have a choice about whether or not you want to vaccinate although most jurisdictions require current rabies vaccines on all pets. There are significant health issues that are thought to be related to over vaccinating our cats including an increased incidence in allergies, auto-immune conditions, kidney failure, certain types of cancer, etc. I'd recommend that you consider checking out viewpoints provided by holistic vets on this topic as they tend to be less biased than many veterinarians who practice conventional medicine exclusively.

You don't necessarily have to go to either extreme of A: vaccinating at every opportunity because your vet says so or B: not vaccinating at all because you're afraid of health problems showing up later in that cat's life, there is the middle ground option of cycling regular vaccines and using a 3 year rabies rather than exposing your kitty to the rabies vaccine annually (this vaccine carries serious risks, the less exposure the better in my opinion). Recent scientific studies by different veterinary teaching hospitals have proven that some cats retain immunity for extended periods of time, possibly throughout their lives if they've been vaccinated properly as a kitten then received their booster at a year old - if you want to be certain that you're not harming your cat by giving too many vaccines too frequently there is the option of asking your vet to draw blood and test the levels of immunity for each condition that's normally vaccinated against, if your kitty's levels of immunity are within the accepted range or better then you don't have to vaccinate but there is a drawback to these tests - they are more expensive than administering the vaccines, in my opinion the extra expense is worth it to ensure the long term health and safety of my cats, but that's a decision you'll have to make on your own.