| At the clinic we reccomend the
concept of early Neutering, full details are shown below.
For More Information on The Spay or Castration procedure performed
see our Pet Healthcare section
Introduction
• Early neutering is the neutering of kittens and puppies
earlier than the commonly recommended and accepted ages
• The neutering is performed before the animal becomes sexually
mature (as early as 6 months in puppies and 4 months in kittens)
• The current recommendation from most vets in the UK is to
neuter both kittens and puppies at 6 months of age. Early neutering
is performed from 6-14 weeks of age. In practice it would most likely
be done at 12-14 weeks of age after the initial vaccination course
has been given.
• There is increasing interest in this concept in the UK,
and it is already widely practiced in countries such as the USA,
New Zealand and Australia
History
• Historically, the concept of waiting to neuter until 6 months
came about in a rather illogical manner – there is certainly
no scientific basis for selecting this age
• Initially it was decided that neutering for female animals
should happen after the animal had had its first litter. Since the
male obviously did not have litters it was ignored.
• It was then found that spaying a female animal before it
had its first season reduced the risk of mammary (breast) cancer
later in life. Consequently it was decided to neuter females at
about 6 months of age. There was still reluctance to neuter male
animals.
• With an increasing number of cats and dogs being kept as
pets, and despite the recommendation of neutering at 6 months of
age, the numbers of unwanted kittens and puppies rose. Animal rescue
organisations became overcrowded and not all were able to neuter
their animals before they went to a new home. It appears that only
about 50% of the new owners neutered their rescue animals –
again contributing to the overcrowding.
• About 30 years ago a few animal rescue organisations began
early neutering with consistent success. The rationale was that
if the animals were neutered before leaving the organisation they
could not then contribute to overcrowding.
Supporters
• These organisations in the UK support early neutering:
• Cats Protection
• The Blue Cross
• RSPCA
• Feline Advisory Bureau
• British Small Animal Veterinary Association
• The Animal Health Trust
• The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy
Scientific Studies
• Various scientific studies have been performed comparing
unneutered adult animals, adult animals neutered early (7 weeks)
and adult animals neutered at the standard age of 6-7 months.
• The following factors were looked at:
• Skeletal growth
• Weight gain and body growth
• Food intake
• Secondary sexual characteristics
• Urethral function
• Behaviour development
• With growth and development of the skeleton it was found
that the ‘growth plates’ in the bones closed later than
normal in animals neutered at both 7 weeks and 7 months. This resulted
in normal or increased size – i.e. early neutering does NOT
cause stunted growth.
• With weight gain and body fat there was no difference between
those animals neutered at 7 weeks or 7 months. Unneutered animals,
however, weighed less and had less body fat.
• Neutering at both 7 weeks and 7 months resulted in immature/infantile
genitalia. However, this did not appear to cause any problems.
• Urethral function was assessed in cats only due to the concern
that if the diameter of the urethra was affected by early neutering
it could result in increased risk of urinary problems later in life.
However, the diameter of the urethra was not affected by early neutering
and therefore there is NOT an increased risk of urinary problems.
• Neutering at both 7 weeks and 7 months did not affect behaviour.
There was no increase in lethargy or inactivity seen. It should
be noted that in unneutered cats (especially male cats) more aggression
was noted.
Anaesthetic considerations in paediatric patients
• In human medicine paediatric patients are considered as
‘good’ anaesthetic candidates
• The same applies in animals although there are certain factors
to be aware of
• The glucose stores in a paediatric patient are limited so
care must be taken to avoid low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia). As
such, instead of the normal 12-hour fast prior to the anaesthetic,
food is only withdrawn about 3 hours beforehand. Water is left available
until the anaesthetic starts. Some vets will also feed a glucose
solution to the animal just before the anaesthetic.
• Due to the small size of the animal and limited body fat,
greater care has to be taken to ensure the animal’s body temperature
does not fall (hypothermia)
• Both the type and amount of drugs given for the anaesthetic
are different. This means that the animal will normally have a rapid
recovery from the anaesthetic.
Summary of advantages
• Effective means of preventing pet overpopulation
• Shorter and easier operation
• Rapid recovery from anaesthetic
Summary of disadvantages
• None –
• There are no negative effects seen on the animal (physical
and skeletal development, behaviour and urethral function)
• There is no increased risk with the anaesthetic as long
as the correct procedure is followed
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