Hi I am new to the forum and new to owning cats. In a few weeks time I will be getting 2 norwegian forest kittens who are brother and sister and will be 13 weeks old when I get them. They will be indoor cats and the thing I am worried about is them mating with eachother before its time to neuter and spay them. The breeders say it is best to wait untill they are about 6 months old before having them done and the vets say the same but I fugure the odds are they will be sexualy mature before that so I realy dont know what to do and I dont know what to look for or if I should keep them apart (which doesnt seem very nice or practical).

I have read about people getting their cats neutered etc at around 12 weeks but I dont want to do that if its going to have a bad effect on the cats.

Iv been trying to find a solution on the internet but cant realy find a definate answer as to what the best way forward would be. Maybe there is an easy way to stop them doing it but I dont know!

Early neutering does not harm the cats.

If I had a girl and a boy I would probably get them both done at 4-5 months to be on the safe side.

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Thanks for a quick reply. From what I had read before it seemed that would be the best option but then I read somewhere that if you have them done too early it can stop their growth and idealy I wouldnt want that to happen as one of the main reasons I like this breed is because they grow to a nice size but at the end of the day its the cats welfare thats important and not what I like.

I looked into this for someone once asking the same question about Maine Coons. Some breeders think it stops the growth, some say it makes no difference and some say neutering early actually makes them grow bigger. No definitive answers or proof. I think if a cat is going to be big, it will be big regardless of neutering at whatever age.

The only way to really find it out for certain would be to clone a cat and see what happens. Anecdotally, my boys are MUCH much bigger than their fathers, and they were nuetered at 6 months as opposed to their dads who are not yet neutered. Maybe my boys were always going to be big, who knows.

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My Dad has just got 2 kittens that are brother and sister. Our vet has said as long as the males bits have dropped he will neuter him at 5 months and female at 6 months to prevent them mating. He had the same concerns and got vets advise before buying.

Yeah we got reccomended a vet who will neuter before 6 months old and is (pretty cheap) Not sure that sounds great lol but will go and see them I guess. Its just some say its best to wait as long as possible, some say 6 months, some say you must wait until the female has been in season (not sure if thats the correct word) and some say other things. Its all confusing.

I have heard many things but never about the female being in season once before (have seen that in dogs but wouldnt recommend it for cats)

I would not leave it past 6 months regardless of what other cats you have.

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Think a lot depends on the vet. Ours said under normal circumstances he would only do them at 6 months but with there been 1 of each sex would do the male a bit earlier to prevent any accidental matings.

Boys can be fertile for a bit after neutering so I would make sure she is done 6 months on the dot

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Thats very true GW Dogs I know are recommended to wait and I always thought it would be the same for cats but it is so not like that and I am now living with that mistake. Get them done asap. I love Norwegian forest cats, my daughters friend has 2