Context

My wife and me own a 10 and half month old male cat. We know that we must neuter him, but we decided to do it later rather than sooner.

The cat recently sprayed for the first time and my wife immediately called at a clinic where a nice person explained that the cat should be between 10 and 12 month old to be neutralized and the best would be after one year.

Add to this some comments on a Facebook article related to neutering (must be at least one year) and so I thought of digging more on the matter.

Research

Most of the Q & As here and articles argue about early neutering (weeks) vs standard neutering (7-8 months):

• petmd:

There are three general options: Early or pediatric spay/neuter is done at six to eight weeks of age. Standard spay and neuter at five to six months. Finally, waiting until after the first heat, somewhere between eight to twelve months of age,

• PubMed:

o date, adverse side effects are apparently no greater in animals neutered at early ages (7 weeks) than in those neutered at the conventional age (7 months).

• American Veterinarian:

Conventional wisdom states that kittens should be spayed or neutered no earlier than 6 months of age, but feline medicine specialists now say that an earlier age for the surgery benefits cats, owners, and veterinarians alike.

So, I cannot find any reference related to this 10 - 12 months "best interval" for cat neutering.

Question: Are there any known side-effects to neutering a cat before being 10 months old?

Context

My wife and me own a 10 and half month old male cat. We know that we must neuter him, but we decided to do it later rather than sooner.

The cat recently sprayed for the first time and my wife immediately called at a clinic where a nice person explained that the cat should be between 10 and 12 month old to be neutralized and the best would be after one year.

Add to this some comments on a Facebook article related to neutering (must be at least one year) and so I thought of digging more on the matter.

Research

Most of the Q & As here and articles argue about early neutering (weeks) vs standard neutering (7-8 months):

• petmd:

There are three general options: Early or pediatric spay/neuter is done at six to eight weeks of age. Standard spay and neuter at five to six months. Finally, waiting until after the first heat, somewhere between eight to twelve months of age,

• PubMed:

o date, adverse side effects are apparently no greater in animals neutered at early ages (7 weeks) than in those neutered at the conventional age (7 months).

• American Veterinarian:

Conventional wisdom states that kittens should be spayed or neutered no earlier than 6 months of age, but feline medicine specialists now say that an earlier age for the surgery benefits cats, owners, and veterinarians alike.

So, I cannot find any reference related to this 10 - 12 months "best interval" for cat neutering.

Question: Are there any known side-effects to neutering a cat before being 10 months old?

Basically, I want to know if there is any reason to wait for the cat to reach at least 10 month before neutering. This is different from the debate "early" (weeks) vs. standard (7 - 8 months).