Do I need to worry about my brother and sister cats mating?

I have two 16 week old un neutered kittens. One male one female, brother and sister. I plan to keep them as house cats, is there a risk of them mating?

  • Vetinfo

    By: Kara McCarty El Segundo, CA

    Replied on 04/19/2011

    Unfortunately animals aren't very concerned with family ties when puberty hits. Your kittens will certainly mate and produce kittens, possibly with problems because of their close genetics, when they are physically mature. Ideally both kittens would be altered at the same time as then they will be recovering from surgery at the same time which will make it easier to keep them quiet after surgery. You should have their surgery done fairly soon as puberty can occur as young as 5 months, especially when there's a member of the opposite sex present. If money is a concern neutering your male should be done first as because that is a simpler surgery it is less expensive. It will also decrease the chance of him marking his territory and the odor of his urine. Intact males have very strong smelling urine. Good luck with your little ones.

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