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What
is spaying and neutering?
It is a common surgical procedure that stops your dog or cat or other
animal from breeding. Female animals get spayed, males get neutered.
Why
should I get my pet “fixed?”
For every person born, fifteen dogs and forty-five cats are also born.
Sadly, only one in ten will find a home. Pet overpopulation is the number
one problem for domestic animals in America. Some homeless dogs and cats
just roam the streets. Others are destroyed in city pounds and shelters.
2,500 homeless,
unwanted dogs and cats are put to death each year at the Coconino Humane
Association, many of them purebred. Every litter just adds to the problem.
But
surely my one cat or dog can’t make that much difference?
Two uncontrolled breeding cats, plus all their kittens and all their kittens’
kittens, if none were ever neutered or spayed, in the first fifteen years
could theoretically add up to:
- 2 litters
per year
- 2.8 surviving
kittens per litter
- 10 year
breeding life for each cat
- 80 million
cats!
Won’t
female cats and dogs miss having puppies or kittens? I would feel very
lonely without my family.
Dogs and cats enjoy your company, and sometimes each other’s, but
they’re not into family life. Mother dogs and cats care for their
young for a few months until they’re weaned, but then have nothing
further to do with them.
I
feel uncomfortable about getting my male pet neutered. I wouldn’t
want that done to me!
Your pet is not you. His psychology and biology are quite different. His
hormones developed in the wild to produce as many offspring as possible
so his species could survive. In our modern world, there is just no room
for this many offspring. Both male and female animals show an interest
in sex only when females are in heat.
At
what age should I have my pet neutered or spayed? How old is too old?
The best age is before your pet reproduces! Around six months, usually.
It depends on the animal, the circumstances, and the veterinarian. Flagstaff
veterinarians do not normally specify an upper age limit for a healthy
animal.
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Will
spaying or neutering affect my pet’s health in any way?
Yes, it will greatly improve your pet’s chances for a long and healthy
life! Spaying a female animal before her first heat reduces the risk of
breast cancer, uterine infections, ovarian cysts, and several other life-threatening
problems. Neutered males suffer a much lower incidence of prostate cancer,
testicular tumors, and the painful enlarged prostate glands which affect
60% of older, unaltered male dogs.
I’m
worried that having my pet “fixed” will make it fat and lazy,
and change its personality.
Animals become fat because of overfeeding and lack of exercise, not spaying
or neutering. There is no evidence of negative personality changes following
spay/neuter surgery.
There are,
however, several positive results, including eliminating the crying and
frantic behavior when females are in heat, less wandering, aggression,
spraying and marking by males, less likelihood of fights and traffic injuries.
Won’t
my female dog or cat be a better pet if she has one litter?
No. There is no medical evidence that having a litter is beneficial
to your pet’s temperament, and spaying before her first heat has
major health benefits.
My
dog/cat is a purebred and I want to breed her at least once to recoup
the price I paid for her.
When you add up the cost of food, medical care, vaccinations and the time
and responsibility involved, the profits tend to disappear. Sometimes
you must suffer the heartbreak of placing your puppies or kittens in homes
where they will not be treated kindly, or even take them to a shelter
to be destroyed. Unless you are an expert, professional breeder, there
is a good chance that your puppies and kittens will develop genetic ailments
which will cause them a life of misery and great medical expense for their
owners.
I
would like my children to witness the miracle of birth.
By not adding to the suffering and the high community costs of pet overpopulation,
you will be teaching your children kindness and civic responsibility.
Planned Pethood
P.O. Box 31103
Flagstaff, AZ 86003-1103
(928) 526-3415
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