Spaying or neutering your pet
One dog or cat gets pregnant and has a litter. One of their offspring
does the same. And so on, and so on, leading to overpopulation.
An estimated 15,000,000 homeless dogs and cats will end up in shelters
across the US this year. Many of these animals will be euthanized.
One solution to this crisis of overpopulation is to spay or neuter
your pet.
Female dogs and cats are spayed. This is a procedure done by a
veterinarian under anesthesia, which removes the reproductive organs.
Male dogs and cats are neutered. This procedure, also done under
anesthesia, removes the pet’s testicles. Depending on the
procedure and your pet’s health and age, he will stay under
your veterinarian’s care for a few hours or overnight. He
may receive stitches, which will either dissolve or have to be removed
by your vet at a later date. Spaying and neutering are the most
common surgeries performed on animals. Most pets recover quickly
without any problems.
There are many reasons to spay or neuter your pet. Intact males
often roam about the neighborhood or run away in search of a mate.
They also mark their territory with strong smelling urine. Intact
male dogs will mount people and furniture if they become stimulated.
Neutering prevents testicular cancer and drastically reduces the
chances of prostate disease. Females that are not spayed will go
into heat – often twice a year for dogs and three or more
times a year for cats. Your pet will cry or howl and urinate more
frequently, as well as have a bloody discharge for about a week.
Spaying a female pet will eliminate ovarian and uterine cancer and
greatly decrease the possibility of breast cancer.
There are some misconceptions out there regarding spaying or neutering
your pet. Here are some facts:
A female dog or cat does not need to have a litter or even go into
heat before she is spayed. The sooner you spay your pet the better
for her long-term health. The most common age for spaying your little
one is six months. It is however, often safe to do this even earlier
depending on her health and weight. A female dog or cat that is
spayed before reaching sexual maturity (6-9 months) has one-seventh
the chance of developing breast cancer.
Spaying or neutering your pet will not alter his personality. If
there are any changes, they will be slight and positive. Spaying
and neutering makes pets more affectionate, and they focus their
attention on their (human) families. They will be less likely to
fight and less likely to bite. They may become calmer. It will not
affect protectiveness just lessen aggression.
Your pet will not become overweight or lazy due to this procedure.
The only things that will make your pet fat and lazy are overfeeding
and lack of exercise. Spaying or neutering your dog or cat will
only improve their overall and long-term health.
In addition to the benefits to you and your pet, spaying or neutering
your dog or cat is good for your community. Cities and towns across
the US spend millions of dollars controlling unwanted animals. Shelters
are overburdened with unwanted or stray animals. And stray dogs
and cats left to roam about will not only relieve themselves wherever
they want (including your local park or even your front yard), they
will get into trash containers and may even attack you or your pet.
This surgery is a one time, relatively low cost procedure that
has countless benefits. Talk to your vet about spaying or neutering
your pet if he is not already altered. If you adopt a pet from a
shelter, they will often give you a certificate, which offers you
a very low cost surgery. If you take in a stray, you can contact
Friends of Animals at 1-800-321-PETS and they may be able to send
you a certificate for a low cost surgery. (Please note that not
all veterinarians will honor either of these certificates, but you
should be able to find an animal hospital in your area that will.)
You can also send donations to your local shelter or to Friends
of Animals at PO BOX 30042, Hartford, CT 06150-0042. These donations
will not only go towards helping the strays that are currently in
the shelters, but to help offset the costs to these organizations
that make the certificates possible.
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