Owners should get their cats neutered before the traditionally recommended six months, a charity has said.
Cats Protection are urging owners to get their cats neutered early in order to help solve the problem of unwanted cats.
The charity spent £6 million neutering over 191,000 owned, stray and feral cats and kittens last year - at a rate of more than one every three minutes.
Maggie Roberts, Cats Protection’s Director of Veterinary Services explained that cats are prolific breeders so if they are not neutered, there will be an explosion of sick, stray and abandoned cats on our streets, which no one who loves animals would find acceptable.
She said: "However, our research reveals 94 per cent of cat owners don’t release that cats can get pregnant as early as four months of age so we are working with the veterinary profession and the public to encourage cat neutering around four months of age, which is a significant move away from the traditional six months.”
The charity notes that a number of scientific studies have shown there are no long-term negative consequences from early neutering.
