| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立嘉義大學 === 獸醫學系研究所 === 94 === In the past few years, many countries have promoted early neutering (neutered at 2-3 months old) to resolve pet overpopulation. Acceptance of prepubertal gonadectomy by veterinarians and owners has been slow, because of concerns about anesthesia, bone loss, bone growth stunted, potential behavioral abnormalities, and obesity. In order to prove the effects of early neutering, eighteen female kittens between 4 and 6 weeks of age were selected in this experiment, and allotted to three groups of six each. The three groups of this experiment are early neutered group (spay at 4 months of age), tradition age neutered group (spay at 7-8 months of age) and control group (sexually intact). Since the cats were 3months of age, the radiographs of right forelimb were taken to measure the bone growth every month. We also measure the body weight and body fat content during 2-12 months of age, and the body condition score was evaluated at 12months of age. The measurement of the concentration in total thyroxine was taken since 9 months of age to 12, twice a month. The results show that the right radial length of early and tradition neutered groups are both significant longer than control group (P<0.05) at 12 months of age, but no significant difference in cortical thickness of three groups of cats. At 12 months of age, the body weight and body fat content of early and tradition neutered groups are both significant higher than control group (P<0.05), showing the neutered age of cat will not lead to the obesity. During the experiment, the concentrations in total thyroxine of three groups are not significantly different. Based on the results above, side effects of early neutering on cats will not appear in the short-term, and it is a good strategy for resolving the feline overpopulation.
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