When to spay nursing mother? And would you do kittens at the same time?

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

Last Thursday, as I was trying to get horses fed before a big storm, an adolescent calico kitten came running up to me, tail all poofed out and meowing like crazy. She was a skinny little thing, too, so I gave her a dish of food and left the back porch door open so she could go home once the storm had passed.

Friday the 13th, I find three eight week old kittens on my back porch along with the calico mom. Kittens look great, and Mom’s looking better since she’s been getting good food and rest. The kittens are eating solid food but are still also nursing several times a day.

A perusal of the wisdom of the webz makes it appear that cats can and will get knocked up again while still lactating to feed the last litter. I can’t keep this cat indoors - already have house kitties and, more to the point, house dogs who would eat her given the chance - so I can’t make sure she won’t get bred again.

Do y’all think it would be OK to spay this little mother while she’s nursing? I will of course call my vet for the final word, but opinion on the web appears divided. Also - would you go ahead and spay/neuter the little kittens (two girls and a boy) at the same time, or wait a month or so? I understand cats can conceive as young as four months of age.

I don’t want this little family to be the crazy cat lady starter kit.:eek: :lol:

ETA: no danger these are someone else’s pets. My nearest neighbors are a half-mile away and I don’t think the mother cat would’ve carried three babies that far in the dark and the rain if they already had a place to crash. Anyway none of the neighbors have mentioned having kittens.

[Marshfield]

I have spayed lactating mothers without it causing any issues with milk production. Usually wait until two pounds/eight weeks of age for kittens

Just realized I read it wrong, thought it was 8 three week kittens. Go ahead and spay/neuter the lot of them.

[Simkie]

Yep, spay the lot of them now. Good chance momma’s already pregnant again!

[Horsegal984]

Good lord! I transition my babies off the bottle at 4 weeks! Spay poor Momma for sure, her poor body needs a break I’m sure.

Personally I would wait a little longer on the kittens, but that’s just my personal preference and assuming you can keep them all corralled to prevent escapees before you do it.

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

Hm. Called my vet’s office yesterday and spoke with one of the assistants (vet wasn’t available). He says the vet won’t spay until the milk dries up and he thinks the youngest she’ll spay is 6 months.

If the latter is true, I’ll be looking for someone else to do spays as I expect I’d have two pregnant kittens by six months.

As to the former, how long till her milk dries up if the kittens are still nursing her? Won’t that keep her lactating? Like those mothers we read about in magazines who breastfeed their kids till they leave for college?

[Marex2]

Is there a mobile spay/neuter available in your area? Not only is it cheaper, but they will spay /neuter much earlier than 6 months…

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

No, unfortunately there are no mobile nor any low cost spay/neuter clinics around here.

[Simkie]

Bummer Momma should be dry in a week or two if you take the kittens away. She’ll produce milk for as long as they’ll nurse, until she weans them herself.

You really want sooner instead of later here. If she’s pregnant again, it’s a pretty brief window before you have viable kittens in there…which will have to be euthed or hand raised if she’s spayed after that point.

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

[QUOTE=Simkie;7628088]
Bummer Momma should be dry in a week or two if you take the kittens away. She’ll produce milk for as long as they’ll nurse, until she weans them herself.

You really want sooner instead of later here. If she’s pregnant again, it’s a pretty brief window before you have viable kittens in there…which will have to be euthed or hand raised if she’s spayed after that point.[/QUOTE]

She appears to be beginning to wean them - she’ll let them nurse for just a minute or two and then make a little chirping noise and stand up and walk off. The kittens are pretty accepting of “last call.”

I agree about sooner rather than later. I was in court all day today, but maybe tomorrow I’ll be able to talk to my regular vet.

[clint]

I hope you can find someone to spay the lot of them sooner. Although in a perfect world vets like to wait two weeks for the mother to dry up after nursing, in my part of the world they will definitely spay while the mom is lactating. As far as the kittens go, they could get pregnant in the fall if they aren’t spayed.