Spay & Neuter Information

Spaying and Neutering Your Pet

Responsible pet care involves making decisions that affect your animal's health, safety and well-being. Spaying or neutering your pet is one of the best ways to protect its health and welfare.

Spaying or neutering is a surgical procedure performed by a veterinarian that removes the animal’s reproductive organs and prevents them from producing offspring. “Neuter,” “alter,” or “fix” are terms commonly used when referring to surgery performed on either gender.


Why You Should Consider Spaying or Neutering Your Pet

Spaying or neutering your pet can be one of the most important things you do – and one of the most beneficial, not only for your pet but for your community as well. If you allow your pet to breed it doesn’t take long to produce more offspring than available homes to take them.

It is estimated that it only takes seven years for one female cat and her offspring to produce 420,000 cats! In six years, one female dog and her offspring can give birth up to 67,000 dogs! Nationally, four to six million animals are euthanized each year.

You can be part of the solution to reduce pet overpopulation by having your pet altered, and helping to reduce the number of orphaned animals that are euthanized.


Other Benefits of Spaying or Neutering Pets

In addition to reducing pet overpopulation, spaying or neutering is healthy for your animal and may prolong its life. The risk of breast cancer or reproductive tract disorders is greatly reduced when females are spayed. Spaying also eliminates the female ”heat cycle” and the need to separate females and males or making special confinement arrangements.

Neutering males will eliminate testicular cancer and related testicular diseases, and can also often help eliminate undesirable behaviors such as aggression, territorial spraying or tendencies to roam, fight or bite. Because of these positive benefits, animals that are spayed or neutered live longer, healthier lives.

Spaying or neutering can keep your pet become more focused on being home with you rather than wandering to find a mate. Wandering increases your pets chances of encountering dangers such as becoming lost or diseased, being abused or hit by a car or fighting with another animal.

Altering can also reduce animal tendencies to bite. The majority of serious dog bites are from un-neutered animals and a high percentage of victims are children.


When Do You Spay or Neuter an Animal

The sooner the better! Most veterinarians perform spay or neuter surgery on animals as young as six to eight weeks of age, and it’s always best to spay a female BEFORE she comes into her first “heat.” We recommend you consult with your veterinarian as soon as possible to discuss the right time for your pet to have surgery.

For More Spay and Neuter Information:

Doris Day Animal Foundation
www.ddaf.org

The Humane Society of the United States
www.humanesociety.org/

National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy
www.petpopulation.org

House Rabbit Society
www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html