EARLY STERILIZATION
We spent decades believing that the spaying and neutering of cats and dogs should occur no earlier than age 6 months and, preferably, no later than one year. Should anyone have suggested performing these procedures at age 8 weeks, we would've assumed they were either idiots or sadists.
In 1998, we volunteered for the surgery clinic of a local rescue group's spay and neuter program. Arriving at 6am, we were mortified to discover the majority of the day's patients were kittens and puppies barely old enough to be weaned. The vet assured us he'd been doing it for several years, and that it posed no special risk to the animals. We already knew him to be an excellent surgeon, we'd never know the truth should we simply leave, and there was no way they could replace us at that late hour, so we were in surgery for the next eight or ten hours.
Our volunteering was also a way to work off some of our own spays and neuters, and we had eight or ten cats there, ourselves, that day. They were all awake by the time we got home, and the difference between the kittens and the cats was monumental. The older animals, as we expected, were extremely sore, and would need several days to heal. The kittens, however, behaved as though absolutely nothing had happened, males and females, alike. They were eating and playing, and our biggest problem was making sure they had nothing to jump onto or off of, possibly ripping their sutures.
That day we were converted, and now proselytize, any and every chance we get.
SPAY and NEUTER PUPPIES & KITTENS at EIGHT to TEN WEEKS!
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