Desex your kitten before a teen pregnancy!

Desexing your cat is part of being a responsible pet owner. Not only will you be reducing the chance of an unwanted litter and cats living on the streets, desexing is also beneficial for your cat’s health! Desexing can improve your cat’s temperament by reducing problematic behaviours such as roaming, aggression, mating behaviour, or heat cycles.

Did you know, cats can get pregnant as teenagers? That’s before 6 months of age when they’re still new to this world themselves!

New research recommends desexing cats before puberty which can be as early as 16 weeks. This prevents any chance of unwanted litters, and comes with no increased risk for short term or long term health effects.

In addition to the complete elimination of unwanted litters, the scientific evidence strongly demonstrates health and behavioural benefits of desexing at 16 weeks of age:

• decreased risk of mammary carcinoma;
• shorter surgical and recovery times (compared to desexing after puberty);
• preventing the need to desex cats when they are in heat, heavily pregnant or have uterine disease;
• preventing reproductive health emergencies such as pyometra and dystocia;
• potentially fewer behavioural problems, which allows you to feel more comfortable with your cat and less likely to surrender them due to problematic behaviours.

Is your cat nearing 16 weeks of age and hasn’t been desexed? Talk to your local vet about pre-pubertal desexing. You can also register for a 20% discount with Operation Wanted and do your part to reduce unwanted kittens and animal homelessness.

For more information, you can read the RSPCA Australia research report on pre-pubertal desexing in cats.