Compelling Reasons to Spay or Neuter Your Pet:
- Spay/neuter surgery has health and behavior benefits. It removes reproductive organs that often cause dogs and cats to have medical problems in later life.
- Spaying reduces the risk that a female dog or cat will suffer from mammary tumors and uterine cancer. It eliminates the risk of complications from pregnancy.
- Neutered males won’t develop prostate problems or testicular cancer.
- Altered dogs and cats are more relaxed pets, because they are not driven to mate, and they are less inclined to defend territory.
- They are less apt to fight with other animals. They are not as likely to roam, so there’s less chance they will get lost, injured or killed.
- Neutered dogs are less apt to urinate in the house.
- Altered cats are less inclined to spray.
- Altered dogs have fewer behavior issues.
- Contrary to popular belief, altering does not spoil your pet’s personality. Nor does it make your pet fat and lazy.
- Spay/neuter surgery also has humane benefits. It saves lives by preventing unwanted litters and homeless animals.
- It's a myth that cats and dogs should have one litter before spaying:
- Motherhood does not make for a better pet; having a litter doesn’t necessarily result in a calmer dog or cat.
- There are advantages to altering at an early age.
- Early spay/neuter surgery ensures that a dog or cat won’t reproduce.
- Animals altered at an early age seem to recover more quickly and painlessly that those altered later on.
- There is less surgical trauma, faster recovery and fewer complications with early spay/ neuter surgery.
An unspayed female cat, her mate and all of their offspring, producing 2 litters per year, with 2.8 surviving kittens per litter can total:
1 year: 12
2 years: 67
3 years: 376
4 years: 2,107
5 years: 11,801
6 years: 66,088
7 years: 370,092
8 years: 2,072,514
9 years: 11,606,077
Spay your cat by the age of 5 months - before the first litter!
