cat mom for 6 years (I am still learning every single day)
When to spay/neuter your cat (up to your discretion)
The healthiest age to spay or neuter your cat: 5-6 months
You can, however, spay them after 1, 2, 3, or even 4 years after birth, even later. It’s totally okay, but the healthiest age to do so is 5-6 months.
Skip Ahead to The positives & Risks of spaying/neutering your cat here.
Feel free to skip ahead to my main reasons as to why it’s best to spay/neuter your cat.
The Truth
I am not going to tell you I have spayed/neutered all of my cats at 5-6 months because that would be a complete lie. I had always been afraid of going through with the surgery, because I had read some horror stories. I just psyched myself out, so I’d rather deal with the annoyance of having a cat that is not spayed/neutered. If you want more information on that, you should definitely look it up, because incidents do happen, so it’s always just best to take your cat to the best possible place. Do your research before taking them to a place, look at reviews, etc.
I was always afraid of Spooky dying during her spaying surgery. I always had a fear of her not making it out alive. I am spaying her because I was over her howling and her being in heat. I always thought I was being selfish, now, really looking back at it, not spaying her was also selfish of me. Why? Spaying female cats can reduce the risk of breast cancer as well as prevent uterine infections (UTIs). You also avoid them having to go through being able to get pregnant, they are going through their heating cycle, and then there they are trying to call out for another cat, it was always painful for her. She never wanted to be in heat; that’s just nature. Literally, a cat can have a litter all the time as long as they are in heat. They give birth. Get out of birth. Get in heat again, as early as 1-2 weeks postpartum! It’s more common for it to be after 4-6 weeks postpartum. They are honestly in heat all of the time, getting pregnant each time. It’s insane, but that’s their nature.
Why it’s important to spay your cat
It’s important to spay your cat to avoid unwanted litters, more likely to end up in the streets after they’re in your care. I was an irresponsible cat owner, and I own up to it.
The story of how Spooky got pregnant
Spooky lived with me in the RGV at the time, and she escaped one day and was actually lost for about 3 days. I thought that was it, goodbye spooky, she is forever gone. I found her in my backyard, and there she was inside the barn. hiding. It was the happiest moment of my life! Well, during that time away from me, she did end up pregnant. I hadn’t spayed her yet. (Each time I had the funds to get her spayed, she was in heat, and I was also afraid of having someone do it.) Cats are meant to be pregnant; they can be in heat pretty often, sometimes twice a month, and the heat lasts for days, maybe even weeks. It’s pretty annoying, so that’s another reason why you should spay your cat as soon as possible, if you want to, of course. The only great thing that came out of Spooky escaping and giving birth to kittens is my cat Robin (my cat), Pickle (now my brother’s cat), and who I know as Tiger (rehomed to my cousin’s home).
Read More (if you want)
If you want to know a little more about how I became a cat mom, you can always check out my post: Keeping Your Cats Happy.
Spooky got spayed this past week; she was born in 2019!! It is now 2025. You can imagine all the loud nights with her, being in heat. It is something I do not wish upon anyone!
Spooky lives with my brother now. Why?? Well, a couple of years ago, I moved in with my parents to help them around the house. I didn’t feel comfortable having her with me at my parents’ house. She had gotten out once through the window (I had a window A/C, and she got out through the side)
Robin and my experience of him not getting neutered sooner
Robin was such a bad cat, oh my. He wanted a female cat 24/7. When we moved to my parents’ house, we left 3 female cats. He would honestly mark his territory left and right. My room smelled so bad, it was such an unpleasant experience and smell. I’d clean it, of course, but the smell lingers; you can get it out, but it’s still there, and it’s just GROSS. I spent so much on cleaning products, gloves, and litter boxes. I even thought of having a total of three litter boxes, but not even that helped; he still would have accidents. He was still annoyed that he wasn’t around female cats 24/7. The reason we did take him back to the valley was because he did impregnate both Pickle and Spooky… I know. I know. MOM and SISTER. It’s gross. But they are cats. So we separated them, and I got him spayed. It ended up working out, but I did have to leave him behind because they can have what they call “residual sperm,” and it can be there for about 2-6 weeks, sometimes longer. He could have potentially still impregnated one of the cats if I had taken him back to the female cats.
I honestly love Robin so much, which is why I dealt with a lot of his issues, he had. For a moment, I did believe he had a UTI or something, but it was just him being a male cat. He wanted to be with the female cats again. I understood him; he was very annoying, but I guess he was mad at me. I had to deal with that a lot. But thankfully, when we did take him back with the other female cats, he did really stop having accidents and has been such a good boy the time after being back in his regular everyday home.
The positives of spaying/neutering your cat.
- No more spraying in places.
- No more heats.
- No more unexpected litters (cats)
- More control constant cleaning over pee taking over your life
- No more howling
- No more destroying your house
- No more accidents
- No more sleepless nights
The risks of spaying/neutering your cat.
- Surgical & Anesthesia Risks
- Post Surgery Recovery
- Weight Gain Risk
- Behavioral Changes (Mixed Outcomes)
- Loss of Breeding completely.
- Timing-Related Health Trade-offs
I do recommend you do your own research. Always.
You know what’s best for your cat. You are the absolute best judge of that. I am only simply sharing my experience.