Abstract
Fiona, ‘spokescat’ for the Feline Fix by Five campaign
In the early 1990s, US shelters were euthanizing about one million cats and dogs per month. At the time, the accepted age to spay or neuter cats was 6 months or older. Although there was a move to spay–neuter earlier, the concept was limited to shelter animals. In 1993, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) House of Delegates – the principal body within the AVMA responsible for establishing policy and providing direction for matters relating to veterinary medicine – approved ‘Resolution 6’, which supported the concept of prepubertal gonadectomy in an effort to stem the overpopulation problem in dogs and cats.
Still the focus was on shelter animals, and a recommended age of 6 months continued as the norm outside the shelter and high-quality, high-volume spay–neuter (HQHVSN) world. An insight into that world, and the challenges and opportunities presented to private practitioners by HQHVSN, is provided by one of the current editorialists (PB) in a review article in this issue of JFMS. 1
Things began to change in 2016. A small organization in the US, Marian’s Dream, with the assistance of Joan Miller of the Cat Fanciers’ Association, convened a task force at the North American Veterinary Conference to discuss guidelines for best practice for feline spay–neuter. The task force developed a position paper recommending that cats be spayed–neutered prior to 5 months of age, and out of this was born the ‘Feline Fix by Five Months’ campaign (felinefixbyfive.org).
The justification for the task force recommendation was two strands of current scientific evidence:
First, evidence documenting benefits of spaying kittens before the first estrous cycle, including: decreased risk for mammary carcinoma; elimination of reproductive emergencies such as pyometra and dystocia; avoidance of unintended pregnancies that may occur as early as 4 months of age; and the potential decrease in behavioral problems linked with cat relinquishment.
Second, evidence indicating no increased risk for cats of complications or long-term adverse health effects associated with feline pediatric or juvenile sterilization.
Within 18 months, the task force position paper was endorsed by the AVMA, the American Animal Hospital Association, the American Association of Feline Practitioners, 2 and the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, as well as the Winn Feline Foundation and Cat Fanciers’ Association.
Private practitioners can implement the recommendations simply by scheduling the spay–neuter appointment 2–3 weeks following the last kitten vaccination. Indeed, given what we know about the increased risk of mammay gland carcinoma, do veterinarians not have an ethical responsibility to offer this option of prepubertal spay–neuter to clients?
Our aim is to continue to spread the word on Feline Fix by Five and hopefully spur more practitioners into action. We will be putting the mammary gland risk front and center in this endeavor.