Early De-sexing Saves Lives

It’s kitten season and the cuteness factor of squirmy bright-eyed kittens is hard to beat. They’re playful, comical but also vulnerable.

For kittens there’s no safety in numbers.

If you have a new kitten, one of the most caring things you can do is tee up their de-sexing operation. Statistically, de-sexed cats live much longer and healthier lives.

Some vets are now trained to perform early age de-sexing of kittens, carried out at between two to four months of age. Domestic cats can reach sexual maturity from as early as 16 weeks and have multiple litters each year.

In 2014, AWLA is promoting early-age de-sexing and providing opportunities for young vets to work alongside our shelter vets to refine their skills in early-age de-sexing.

Early age de-sexing prevents accidental pregnancy and brings health benefits for kittens.       Un-desexed cats operate on continuous breeding cycles resulting in far more kittens needing homes than the number of homes offered. Adding to the large numbers of unwanted kittens are stray cats, community cats, feral cats and abandoned cats. Put simply, de-sexing saves lives.