PETS
SHOULD
I HAVE MY PET NEUTERED?
There are statistics to consider when trying to decide whether or not to have your pet neutered:
The dog population last year in the U.S. was estimated at 25 million. It increases per year about 900,000.
Animal Shelters receive two to three times more cats than dogs.
Approximately 15 million dogs and cats are put to sleep each year in shelters or pounds because no one can find homes for them.
The dilemma is staggering and the only solution is to curtail breeding. If you do not plan to enter your cat or dog in shows, or breed them for professional reasons, then you should plan to have your pet neutered.
YOUR CAT
A cat which has not been spayed goes into heat every 21 days from early spring until late summer. She will cry all day and night unless she can mate. She will try to get outside every time the door opens, and if she does, and is successful, the results will be a litter of kittens you will have to deal with.
A male cat which has not been neutered is worse. He will spray all over the house and the odor from his urine is impossible to get rid of, and to say the least, unpleasant. If he gets out, he will stay away for many days seeking a female to mate with. He will more than likely come home injured because of fights he has gotten into with other male cats after he has invaded their territory.
Much to the distress of your neighbors, if the male and female cats meet, the mating ritual is usually carried out at night, and very noisily.
Cats can be spayed as early as six or seven months of age - but as long as they can breed - it is never too late. Some veternarians feel that you should have your cat neutered before it's first hear occurs - other vets feel you should let the cat go through one season before neutering.
ADVANTAGES FOR YOU AND YOUR CAT
Well, a cat that has been spayed will not suffer from unrequited sexual urges. But there are health advantages as well. Unspayed cats have many more uterine infections than their spayed sisters, and male cats will get into many fewer fights and thus have less chances of getting injured after being neutered.
For you, everyone will notice a more pleasant cat around the house after it has been neutered. In the female cat, there are no noticeable personality changes. In a male cat, however, you may notice him to be more affectionate and docile. A male spayed cat no longer seeks female cats in heat and so they tend to stay closer to home. There will be little, if any, spraying and the odor associated with that will disappear. A male cat , after neutering, will no longer care to fight over female cats in heat, but will still hunt or fight when attacked. If he is in a household with other cats, he will continue to fight if he feels he has to establish dominance.
What about the old wives tale that neutered cats become fat and lazy animals? Well, this is only true if you allow them to become that. A spayed cat needs less food. Because its muscles are less well-developed and softer, it may give the appearance of being overweight. However, you can control this by not overfeeding.
YOUR DOG
A female dog will come into season only twice a year. They will not howl and cry as cats do, but there may be discharge, loose bladder control and false pregnancies. A female dog in heat has to be watched carefully and confined to keep her from having contact with male dogs.
A male dog may become sexually active at any time that he sees a female dog in heat. He will want to wander and is likely to get into fights. Even while on a leash, he may act aggressively towards other males while you are walking him and he will be hard to control around female dogs.
Female dogs should be spayed between six and nine months of age, before their first heat. Male dogs anytime after eight months. In both male and female dogs, spaying at an early age will help them from developing health problems later such as uterine infections in females as well as breast cancer, and prostate disease and cancer of the testes in male dogs.
Some people feel that spaying their pet deprives it in some way and prefer to have tubal ligations or casectomies performed. These procedures are more expensive and do not alter the animal's reproductive urge, although they do make the animal infertile.
As for the effects of neutering on the personality of a dog, they are similar to cats. Female dogs are not affected. Male dogs will roam less and be less aggressive towards other male dogs. The dog's weight can be controlled if monitored, by feeding it less and exercising it more.
Many dog owners do not hesititate when it comes to spaying a female and often feel differently about males. Male dogs are not affected by this procedure. It is far kinder to have your dog spayed than to leave him in a state of frustration unable to get to a female in heat, but knowing she is there.
It is a far kinder thing that you do this than contribute to overpopulation, that only leads innocent animals to be put to sleep.
Contact your veternarian, local SPCA, Humane Society, or Animal Shelter should you have any questions not answered here. And enjoy your pet!
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