Hi, I have two kittens, brother and sister. They are 4 and a half months old and the male has started mounting his sister. I've phoned lots of vets and the youngest I can have them neutered is 5 and a half to 6 months. Are they capable of reproducing at this age or is it just 'practising'? The only advice the vet could give me is to keep them apart - not very practical.

Hi Muzzy!
It depends on what the breed is? Some of them ( females) could be capable to get pregnant at 5 months. Considering that you/ve got a very close related kittens - its better not to risk as kittens from such as mating could be brain damaged or something else....and you will be facing a very hard decision to PTS them. Most Vets do early neutering to stray cats. If your vet will refuse - tell him that there many others who will; plus - the boy kitten is easies to neuter at this age (at least one of them will be done.)

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"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will pee on your computer." --Bruce Graham
There are no rules, rules are only for people who fit inside a box, if you want to think out of the box there is no hope... Life has no Box. (Tony Howells)

I would insist your vet has your female spayed now. They can do it although they migh be reluctant. I know it can be done as young as 14 weeks. If your vet won't do it, find another that will. Also get your boy done at the same time.

There are reasons why vets won't spay this early. The kitten is growing at a very fast rate at this age and it is also very risky to put such a young animal under anaesthetic... I would rather keep mine apart than risk this although I agree it will be difficult.

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I have a girl age 17 weeks and she is having her first call
YES 17 WEEKS Siamese are oversexed

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Mazpahs Siamese & Orientals

As others have said it depends on the breed,although it is unlikely she would get pregnant it's not impossible as i myself know of a 5 1/2mth old male getting a girl pregnant. Also it could be stressing your girl as well as him getting frustrated which could and usually does lead to other problems, spraying and aggravation, which would not be good for you or them as it could damage/change a really good tempered cat into an aggressive cat brought about through fear,annoyance, bullying etc. So if it were me i would definitely have them neutered

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Dogs have owners, Cats have slaves

Burnthwaites Siamese

Personally I would go get the boy fixed as Elena said earlier its a much less intrusive procedure for males. If you plan on keeping them indoors I wouldnt get the female fixed either but thats just my personal view.

Im all for neutering in the right circumstances, I have a female cat who is neutered because shes an outdoor cat but I wont get my boy done as I know he will never be let outside and therefore feel its uneccesary.

OMG! Kittykat you are in for a shock. Keeping an entire male indoors is definitely madness. I presume he is only a kitten as present. Once his hormones kick in, he will almost certainly start spraying everywhere and unless your sense of smell is non-existant, your house will stink and you will never get rid of the smell from carpets, floorboards, etc. no matter how much you clean.
Why on earth also would you not neuter a female. Would you be prepared to put up with the howling and screeching from her when she is in season? She will 'call' almost constantly for about a week so you would have to have very good ear muffs and what about the neighbours!! It is positively wrong to keep her entire and not mate her. It is stressful for her to call on a regular basis and not be mated. Neutering any pet cat is by far the kindest thing you can do for them. They become much more content and happy without hormones raging through their body.

Ok I expected this.

First my girl was an indoor cat for well over a year before I neutered her, she never "wailed" to go out, was quite content. She is an outdoor/indoor cat now.

I had a male who is no longer with us but the vet told me to get him neutered as well as health reasons (if he was allowed outside) - he would also not roam too far.
Well I took the advice and since the op he left home and I didnt see him again for 3 months!!! I thought he had an accident but over the next year he would resort to this pattern of behaviour. I would not see him for a few weeks at a time.

I have unfortunately smelt a cat spraying and yes it is the most horrid smell I could imagine and IF my indoor boy started spraying then I would get him done but if that doesnt happen then I wouldnt just for the sake of it.

You cant generalise about cats, I am sure this has happened to yourself or people you know but every cat is not the same. I have had 7 so far (only 2 now though sadly) and I have never had any of these problems.

The problem is that once other cats start spraying around your cats territory,thats just what it becomes a territoral/dominance battle. This can for varied reasons lead the most well behaved boy/girl to react as this is how as a general rule of thumb cats assert their rankAll cats imho are not all the same, however they are first and foremost cats(no matter how domesticated we tell ourselves they are-it's they who have trained us) and their are as we know are basic elements of behaviour that naturally follow suit but in the interest and well being of your cat/kitts if your not going to breed and don't want any unnecessary "problems/kitts" the earlier, the better, otherwise the longer you leave it and any spraying, upset,aggrevation will at some point occur as the cats get older and then gets neutered, they still may behave as if entire from memoryWhich is frustrating and confusing for them and not very nice for yours and their home

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Dogs have owners, Cats have slaves

Burnthwaites Siamese