Dominate male cat questions

[Guest]

We adopted a brother and sister cat about 2 months ago. They are now ~6months old. He has been neutered and she will be spayed on Thursday.

We got him neutered sooner b/c he has been getting very "intimate" with his sister. Now, even after being neutered, he still does the same thing. It happens almost every night.

The other night, they were going at it on our bed and it woke me up. I pulled him off of her and one of them let out a squeal like it was painful. I think it must have been him because he then began licking himself immediately. He seems fine now.

My questions:
Is it dangerous to pull them apart after they have already started? Can it injur either cat?

Will this behavior subside after she has been spayed?(Maybe he won't be attracted to her anymore?)

[Traci]

Until she is spayed, I'm afraid there isn't much you can do but keep them seperated. She has probably been in heat already, this is why your male kitten has developed this behavior.

[Mona]

My question why is she not spayed yet. She will keep going into heat.
It is healthier and prevents ovarian and uterine cancers and infections such as pyometra from happening.

Please have the female spayed as soon as possible. You will have to keep her isolated from the male when you bring her home to prevent injury to the female. My 5 year old was spayed at 4 months of age and was in heat already, my 5 month old kitten was spayed at 8 weeks by the adopting shelter.

Mona, Honeybun, and Little Chloe

[Guest]

Well, to tell you the truth, they've been getting intimate like this since they were new to us-- about 8 weeks old. (we got them more than 2 months ago, now that I think about it.) I don't think she could've been in heat that young, could she? And our vet told us not to get them fixed until they were closer to 6 months old-- that's why we've waited. We wanted to do it earlier, but they strongly reccommended waiting. The last time they saw the vet for their shots, wouldn't they have known if she was in heat? How would we know if she was in heat? I haven't seen any signs of it, but maybe I don't know what to look for. She is getting spayed tomorrow, anyway. We're just not sure if this behavior will continue after that. Do you think he will stop?

[Traci]

A female kitten can go into heat as early as 3 months of age. Ideally, spaying at 6 months of age is best, however, early-age spay/neuter does have it's advantages. Usually, in a male/female cat household, you want to neuter the male first to prohibit marking behavior, but spaying is equally has it's advantages (as Mona mentioned, preventing pyometra, uterine infections, etc)

As for going into heat, some cats exhibit clear signs such as vocalization, promiscuous behavior, etc. while others may not show such obvious signs. Your male knows, however, each time he attacks or acts agressive to her is a sign she needs to be spayed, regardless. Yes, getting her spayed may reduce the male kitten's tendency to attack her, but this could also be a dominance problem, in which you'll have to work with him and teach him it's not acceptable behavior. (divert his attention to playtime, toys, kitty post/trees, time spent with him, etc)