# Castration at 5 months



## Chatty Kitty (Jun 19, 2010)

I have an appointment for Monday but now I'm wondering if it's the right thing or not. My male tabby is 5 months old. I decided to book him the appointment because his personality has changed a little recently about the same time as his testicles have got more pronounced and stick out quite a lot now! He keeps getting an erection all the time and sometimes fluid is coming out of it. He wont leave my female kitten alone, biting her a bit too hard. They get along very well but sometimes now it seems as though his bite really hurts her. He has started to bite me (a bit too hard, it leaves marks in my hand) when he's on my lap quite happy and purring. He sometimes seems a bit restless and wants to run around and not be picked up (before he wanted to be picked up and cuddled 24/7).

His testicles stick out and his penis is pretty big I'd say (compared to my mothers intact male) so am I doing the right thing getting him castrated at 5 months? I hope he will still look a bit manly when he grows up even though I'm getting him done at 5 months?

All replies very appreciated, thank you.


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## paperbacknovel (Jun 9, 2010)

Do you mean neutered? If so, DEFINITELY neuter him!!!!


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## Chatty Kitty (Jun 19, 2010)

Hello, yes I definitely will at some point, I don't want the spraying or any kittens or roaming. I think I will delay getting him done until he's a bit older now though.. I can put up with a bit of friskyness for a while. I want him to get a larger head before I get him done and man up a little. Is that bad? Also I've been told to wait a bit longer because it decreases the risk of UTI's. Can people let me know their thoughts.. if I wait till 6 months/7 months will he look more manly?

Edit: I just cancelled the appointment for Monday and would love to hear peoples opinions on when the best time is for castrating their male cat. I want him to develop a slightly strong looking wide head, he is changing so much getting a bigger head and chest but still looks like a kitten in the face. I know you'd have to wait 2 years for full development but I'm not going to do that, I just want to know what young age is best (when the male cats head and bone structure has got to a stage where it's quite developed) but before the bad points come along (spraying etc.)


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## Kattt (Dec 20, 2008)

I'm not sure why you're worrying about his head size. He is 5 months old, so of course he looks like a kitten in the face, that is natural since he's still a baby.

You should not have cancelled your appointment, I think you should get him neutered ASAP, especially since you have a female cat living in the same house. You're at high risk of her getting pregnant if she is not spayed. And yes, they can get pregnant as young as 5 months.

As for you worrying about neutering him taking away his "manhood", it doesn't. I had my male neutered at 5.5 months, and he is 120% all macho male 7 years later.

Oh and as a side note, my boy was extremely tiny prior to getting him neutered, as he was the runt of the litter. He's now a very large boned 21lb cat. So neutering has nothing to do with what size he will become.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Waiting until he's older is asking for trouble IMHO. Shortly, he'll be wanting to spray especially with a female in the hosue, and once he does that, likes it, and gets into the habit of doing it, believe me you'll regret that you didn't get him neutered earlier. Not all males spray, but ones that have a dominant personality like your does often do. It's very difficult, sometimes impossible, to correct a spraying male or neuter. A lot of spraying males are euthanized, abandoned or sent to humane societies because people just can't tolerate it. My boy's breeder had him neutered at 4 mos. and he's never sprayed, always does everything in the litter box. He's pretty macho too.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

It's unrealistic for you to think that you can pick and choose which male characteristics develop and which don't. The same hormones that cause your boy to develop physically will cause him to develop psychologically and behaviorally. As his bone structure matures, so will his aggressiveness and territorialism and all of the behaviors (fighting, roaming, spraying) that go along with them. 

The other posters are correct. Neutering at 5 mos won't stunt his growth in any way. My Noddy was neutered sometime between 5-6 mos, and he has the most massive bone structure and head size of any cat I've ever known. Because I had him neutered before he reached sexual maturity, however, he never developed the aggressiveness or territorial behaviors that plague the young adult intact toms who keep straying onto my farm. In fact, two of my most delicately built, girly-looking cats were intact toms who showed up on my farm between the ages of 1-2 yrs. They are also quite cat-aggressive, and they both spray, in spite of the fact that I had them neutered as soon as they showed up.

There is no advantage to waiting to neuter your boy, but there sure may be some major disadvantages if you wait.

Laurie


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## Chatty Kitty (Jun 19, 2010)

Thanks for the replies. I just realised he's actually a week under 5 months, so 4 and 3/4 months old. He is the cleanest cat ever and has never had any accidents and when my girl kitten has gone in the litter tray and done a bad job at covering her toilet he goes and does it for her. He hasn't sprayed yet but if he did I would be booking the appointment immediately! What do people think about me waiting until 6 months? Or 5.5 months? I want to do it at the right time.

My female is nearly 3 and 1/2 months old so I can buy a small amount of time I think.

I guess maybe why I'm worried about size may be because when I got him at 3 months old he was malnourished (was shut outside with no food) and very skinny and tiny (along with other problems). I fed him up but he only really started growing really fast when his testicles suddenly enlarged and stuck out behind him. So that's also probably why I'm scared about having them off! Since he hit puberty he's gone from having no shoulders/neck or muscle to being a bit broader and his head got a bit wider.


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## Xanti (Nov 4, 2008)

The right time is now, as people have already said.


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## Kattt (Dec 20, 2008)

A female cat can get pregnant as young as 4 months. So you're playing with fire in a very small window time frame. And greatly increasing the chances of her getting pregnant. And there are MANY risks associated with a kitten getting pregnant that young.

As for spraying, once a cat starts spraying.. it sometimes never stops, despite getting neutered. And as we've stated before, getting him neutered will not play a part in his size. So again, waiting is not sensible.

The vet would not have scheduled the appointment to neuter him if it was not safe. There are far greater risks for both of your kittens by waiting.


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## Chatty Kitty (Jun 19, 2010)

Ok, Ok.. as you can tell these 2 are my first cats and I am like a new mother scared parts wont be growing properly. You can't blame me as it's a permanent and irreversible procedure! I will wait a week or so and then have him done. Thanks.


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## ~Siameseifuplz~ (May 6, 2007)

You can keep him intact a little longer (well a lot longer if you want) but I'd keep him away from your female unless you can supervise. If you are not with them (visual contact)put one of them away in a room. If while you are watching he mounts her and it's too late for you to stop him, get her spayed ASAP!

Or you can neuter him now. I know male dogs neutered before they are fully grown may not mature physically in the same way they would have if they were left intact, I assume it's the same for cats. But by fully mature I mean 18 months or so, waiting until 6-8 months won't make a whole lot of difference in that regard. However he will not stop growing and maturing if he is neutered now, he just might not mature physically in the exact same way. If you decide to wait longer then you MUST be prepared to spay/abort a little if your girl gets pregnant and you MUST be sure he does not get outside. If you cannot do these things have him done soon. I'm not one who says you must fix your cat but I feel you must not let him get anyone pregnant.

FYI, most vets recommend having it done around 6 months but with an intact female in the house I don't know what they'd say.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

I personally would wait a few weeks until he's 5.5 mos old, but not one second after 6 mos. Yes, there's a possibility that your girl kitten could get pregnant as early as 4 mos, but that's not common. If she were to get pregnant that early, you could still spay and abort the litter early in the pregnancy.

Laurie


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