In this article I am interpreting the word “neuter” to apply to the sterilisation of male domestic cats (orchidectomy). That is how the word should be used because when you sterilise a female cat the word that describes the operation is “spaying” or “to spay” (ovariohysterectomy). Although, the word ‘neuter’ can apply to both spaying and neutering. It can be a rather confusing situation. But because of that I have also covered early spaying of females.
General situation
My research indicates a slight lack of clarity among veterinarians about what happens to a cat if you neuter them ‘too early’ other than, of course, the fact that they become sterilised. The question is asking whether there are any negative side effects to neutering a domestic cat too early. And I have come to the following conclusion. If a visitor know more than mentioned below, please comment. It would be welcome.
Males
Below is a list of four possible effects of neutering a cat to early:
- My reference book states that if a male cat is neutered before the development of secondary sexual characteristics (at puberty) his penis may remain small.
- And apparently early neutering predisposes a cat to “capital physis fracture or slipping”.
- Early neutering might also produce a slightly taller size due to delayed bone growth plate closure.
- And finally, early neutering might result in the inability to exude (display) the penis.
The information comes from a book I have on home treatments, a very reliable book titled Cat Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook (Third Edition). I also searched on the Internet in the usual way and have referred to veterinary advice.
As early neutering – at the age of seven weeks – is considered to be acceptable by many veterinarians today, they are unconcerned about these possible negative side-effects. Or perhaps they disagree with the assessment of other veterinarians and have decided that there are no serious or indeed any real side effects worth bothering about.
Females
My reference book tells me that the best time to spay a female is at 5-7 months of age before she goes into her first heat. But as is the case for male cats, many veterinarians and animal shelters now spay female kittens as young as seven weeks of age. The purpose? To combat unwanted procreation and consequential unwanted kittens and cats.
My reference book also tells me that female cats can end up a little bit taller when spayed at seven weeks of age because bone closure rates are delayed. But the four veterinarians who wrote the book states that “no health problems ensue. Studies have so far shown no long-term behaviour effects from early spay and neuter surgery.”
Maine Coon cats
I recently wrote about neutering Maine Coon cats. The interesting aspect about spaying and neutering Maine Coon cats is that they develop more slowly than the standard domestic cat. Some say that they become adults at four years of age. And therefore, the argument goes that they should be spayed and neutered later than normal. If the normal time for spaying or neutering is between 6-7 months old for males and between 5-7 months old for females, some might argue that Maine Coon cats should be spayed and neutered at up to 9 months of age.
I think it’s a reasonable argument but there is a counterargument. If you spayed or neuter a Maine Coon cat at the normal time it would be early sterilisation and I’ve just stated that veterinarians don’t see a problem with early sterilisation. Therefore, it is not really a major issue. Nonetheless, if I was a Maine Coon owner, I would ask my veterinarian about this and ask them to delay the operation for a couple of months and see what they say!
Weight gain
I think that I need to touch on this topic as it is part of this aspect of cat caregiving. A good source of information on this topic is Dr. Bruce Fogle DVM in his book Complete Cat Care. He says that when a cat has been neutered their metabolic rate decreases by about 20%. They require less calorific input through less food in order to meet their metabolic needs. When you combine this with the fact that there are more indoor cats nowadays than there were in the past and dry cat food is more popular than it ever was, it is perhaps unsurprising that there are too many overweight cats. Dry cat food tends to add to weight problems because it is highly calorific as the manufacturing process demands carbohydrates in the food.
The recommendation of a study is that sterilised cats should be on a low-fat diet. And a 2004 study found that neutered cats gained significantly more body fat and body weight then sexually intact cats. Some say that food intake increases three months after neutering. It seems clear that the mean weight of neutered cats is “subjectively higher” than it is for sexually intact cats. It seems that sterilised cats eat more which is a compounding factor to gaining weight. I have a page on this topic so I’ll stop there but if you want to read about it more then please click this link.
