Cat spay question?

Sooo....I've been super procrastinating getting Histamine spayed. She's around 7 months old now. My original procrastination was because she was so small, I wanted her to be bigger. Well, now she's bigger and I'm still putting it off. I can't afford to have her spayed through where I work (our spay prices are ridiculous...like...over $500 for a cat spay), so the other option is at the humane society. They have a good program per my coworkers, but I'm worried she's going to have a bad experience and then be traumatized. I'm used to being able to be a part of my animal's surgery and make sure they're handled the right way and kept at a low stress level, just dropping her off and saying, "Bye!" is going to kill me.

My question is: besides having to deal with annoying in heat female behaviors, is there a reason to rush in to having her spayed? Is her health at risk if I wait until next year? Would it be better to have her spayed now, while she's younger, or later, when she's older (year, year and a half old)?

Help me get over my procrastination, or feel validated in doing so! LOL

Cats really should be spayed young. One slip outside the house and you're very likely to be stuck with kittens. So yes - weird behaviors and sexually frustrated cat aside the world doesn't need more kittens.

$500 is a ton for a cat alter. Around here they can be spayed/neutered at a really nice clinic for $25 or free if they're free roaming or feral. Fees only go up if the spay has a complication like pregnancy.

I once had a cat have the poor luck to develop a pyo on her first heat at 5 months So while I'll wait with my dogs, cats have been spayed early.

I really wouldn't put it off :/

I'd opt for the shelter spay. If you can get your hands on some Feliway spray and spray it on a blanket inside the crate will help lessen stress.

Ah, okay. Guess I'll try to get that scheduled in the next few weeks!

REALLY annoying in heat behavior. If I remember correctly can't they go back into heat like every month? I know someone who was going to have to return her kitten because she couldn't afford the local spay prices but just could not deal with the in heat behavior and her cats was like constantly in heat. Luckily she found a low cost spay clinic and they lived happily ever after.

My other concerns would be escaping and marking. Not sure how common female marking is but that is not something I'd want to have to deal with.