Table 4.
‘Other’ category minimum desexing ages for male and female cats nominated by 69 and 65 survey respondents respectively (7% of n = 957). Respondents mostly provided “if/or” answers (55%, n = 38 for male cats; 60%, n = 39 for female cats).
| Male Cats | |||||||
| Professional Role | Vets | Nurses | Vet Students | Nurse Students | Other | Total n | % |
| Other Desex Ages | |||||||
| Before problem behaviour 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4.3 |
| Developmental age 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.4 |
| Body weight 3 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 30.4 |
| IF Age OR Body weight 4 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 18.8 |
| IF Age OR Development 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5.8 |
| IF Body weight OR Development 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.9 |
| IF Private practice OR Shelter 7 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 27.5 |
| Alternatives 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 8.7 |
| Total n | 5 | 51 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 69 | 99.8 |
| % | 7.2 | 73.9 | 7.2 | 10.1 | 1.4 | 99.8 | |
| Female Cats | |||||||
| Professional Role | Vets | Nurses | Vet Students | Nurse Students | Other | Total n | % |
| Other Desex Ages | |||||||
| Before problem behaviour 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Developmental age 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3.1 |
| Body weight 3 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 29.2 |
| IF Age OR Body weight 4 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 20.0 |
| IF Age OR Development 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6.2 |
| IF Body weight OR Development 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| IF Private practice OR Shelter 7 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 33.8 |
| Alternatives 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7.7 |
| Total n | 5 | 46 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 65 | 100.0 |
| % | 7.7 | 70.8 | 9.2 | 10.8 | 1.5 | 100.0 | |
1. Before problem behaviour included: “Desex before urine spraying/fighting/roaming starts”. 2. Developmental age included: “Desex after testes have descended; before/after puberty”. 3. Minimum body weight nominated: “Desex from 800 g/1.0 kg/1.2 kg/1.5 kg/2.0 kg”. 4. IF Age OR Body weight: e.g., “Desex cats IF ≥4 months OR after 1.0 kg—whichever comes first”. 5. IF Age OR Development: e.g., “Desex cats IF ≥4 months OR before first heat—whichever comes first”. 6. IF Body weight OR Development: e.g., “Desex cats IF weighing ≥1.0 kg OR as soon as testes are descended—whichever comes first”. 7. IF Private practice OR Shelter: e.g., “Desex cats at 6 months IF presented to private practices OR from 1.0 kg if cats are in shelters”. 8. Alternative ages included: e.g., “Desex at any age; Assessed on a case-by-case basis; Age determined only by owner; Not taught an age at school yet; Have not thought about it”.