Neutering my F1 kitten

[Ree]

I neutered my F1 and F2 at 16 weeks. Both my breeders and vet advised that this was a good age for them to be altered to prevent/lower the chance of them having marking or hormonal behavioral issues. They were both over 7 pounds by 16 weeks and had no issues with the anesthesia, surgery or recovery. I highly recommend getting your boy altered sooner than later.

 

[Becki]

Kovu goes back to the vet on 10/9. He will be 16 weeks then and hopefully all will have dropped so we can schedule his neuter. I will let you know what the vet says and ask what she has heard. She has supported doing it after 5 pounds, but doesn't like to do shots at the same time.

 

[The Kasbah]

I need opinions for those of you that have or have not ended up neutering your male savannah. At first I was going to but now am unsure if I want to. I have an older f1 male that came to me already nuetered and have an unneutered f1 6 month old male as well. Has anyone chosen not to get theirs nuetered and did you end up later down the road getting it done anyways? I don't want to put him through the stress, he's inside always and he's already sterile. I just don't see the need. There is no spraying occurring or any hint that they would start. Of course my only fear is them starting to spray and having it be more stressful on him if he's older. And I've heard savannahs having bad reactions to certain kinds of anesthesia. Any experiences or opinions are much appreciated! Thanks

You ABSOLUTELY DO want to have your boy neutered PRIOR to him reaching sexual maturity! (We recommend performing this surgery at five months.) We DO NOT advocate the use of KETAMINE, as some of our F1s were given some years ago and had horrible reactions. A few of our friends have had cats actually not wake up from surgery after being given "Special K". We really discourage it's use.

Getting back to your question about whether to neuter or not. NEUTER! If not, once your cat reaches sexual maturity changes ARE ALMOST CERTAIN that he will spray. Neutering after the bad behavior starts is no guarantee that it will correct it...and you could well end up with a gorgeous and expensive F1 male who you cannot allow to live in your home because he would turn it into his own personal giant litter box. Not a risk most folks would want to take.

Cats do not behave like dogs if left unaltered! Most male cats SPRAY! True he is not fertile, but his hormones are still going to kick in... Despite the fact that YOU know he is "firing blanks"...HE does not know this!

Please neuter your boy!