Pet Care Club

For those who love their pets...

Neutering and Spaying your Pet

Most pet owners decide whether to spay or neuter their cat or dog early on in the animal’s life. Veterinarians recommend that this procedure happens at about 6 months of age, before the animal has entered their first stage of heat, or before the females become pregnant, though if the animal is healthy, they can be neutered as early as 8 weeks old, or any time later in life. Your pet will be put under a general anesthesia while undergoing the spay or neuter operation, and will stay in the veterinary hospital anywhere from a few hours to a few days.

Although the procedure may seem expensive, and it may put your pet in a bit of discomfort for a while, it has many benefits, and in the long run will definitely be worth going through with the operation.

Female cats and dogs who have been spayed (where the reproductive organs are removed) before their first heat cycle, are less likely to develop uterine, ovarian or breast cancer, and are usually healthier. These animals can also be spayed while in heat, or during pregnancy (up until a few days before delivery), however these surgeries usually cost more money than when done while the cat or dog is not in heat or pregnant. Male cats and dogs, when neutered (where the testicles are removed) are less at risk for testicular cancer and prostate disease.

For both male and female dogs and cats, neutering and spaying has many benefits other than preventing cancers – this operation helps to bring about a healthier life in general, where the animals are less likely to contract a contagious disease, and may result in the pet to living longer. Although many people believe that getting an animal spayed or neutered will change your pet’s personality, it won’t. However, when a pet is fixed (spayed or neutered), it will tend to settle down a little bit – no more will your pet be wandering around the neighbourhood looking for a mate. This cuts down the risk of your pet being hit by a car, getting into a fight, or getting lost. In general, your pet will become more affectionate, and will enjoy spending more time at home with you and your family.

As well as all of these benefits for your pet, there are also many benefits for yourself. Animals that have been neutered and spayed are usually better behaved pets, and will be less likely to bite or run away. Plus, having a cat neutered will decrease the desire for your cat to mark territory by spraying, and having female cats and dogs spayed will eliminate blood stains on the carpets while they are in heat.

One of the most important reasons to get your cat or dog neutered or spayed is because there are so many cats and dogs that already don’t have a home, and you don’t necessarily want to increase that number even more with an unwanted pregnancy. Every year in the USA, 4 to 6 million animals are euthanized because there just aren’t enough people to adopt them all. A lot of money is spent in every community just trying to control unwanted animals, and a lot of these animals end up as strays, which can disrupt local wildlife and dig through trash containers, just because there isn’t enough room for them in the already over-crowded animal shelters.

Whether you decide to get your cat or dog spayed or neutered within the first six months of their life, or whether you have waited a number of years now, it is always a good idea to go ahead with the operation. Not only will it help your pet to be better behaved, and healthier, it will also help prevent the already large number of unwanted animals get larger.




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