Spaying And Neutering Cats And Dogs

Let's start with a couple of definitions in case this is your first pet and are not sure what spaying and neutering are.

Spaying is the removal of the ovaries and uterus of a female pet. It means she will never have puppies or kittens and therefore not come into season every 6 months.

The best time to have your bitch spayed is half way between their first and second season. There are many reasons why this is a very good thing to do and a kind act despite it being a major operation and inevitably, an expensive one, not covered by insurance.

• When your female pet is in season she loses blood indiscrimately so unless you can keep her in a contained room with no carpet on the floor and constantly mop up the blood, it is a messy business
• During her season you will have to keep her in the house and on a lead whenever you go out because every dog or cat for miles around will be able to smell that she is on season. Male and female animals are hugely attracted to each other at this time and unless she is on a lead you will not be able to stop the attentions of males and the inevitable result of any union between them
• A spayed bitch is a healthier animal with less risk of illnesses later in life such as mammary and ovarian cancer or infections of the uterus

Some pet owners worry about their spayed bitches putting on weight and this is because a spayed bitch needs less food. So after spaying, cut their food down by about 10%.

It is tempting for owners to decide to have a litter before they have their bitch spayed. Remember though that this will involve a lot of work, vets bills and you cannot be sure you will find homes for the litter. There are a huge number of unwanted puppies and kittens, far more than there are homes for.

Neutering involves the removal of both testicles to render your dog or cat infertile. There are health and social advantages of having them neutered.

• A neutered animal is healthier and less likely to develop prostate or testicular cancers later in life
• Male dogs and cats have some pretty unsociable though totally natural, antisocial behaviours such as marking their territory with urine, roaming and aggressive behaviour towards other animals, both male and female. A non neutered animal can be very embarrassing, wanting to 'hump' everything in sight, not just females but also your own and your visitors legs.

As with spaying, a neutered dog requires less food so to prevent your pet becoming overweight, reduce its food by 10% after neutering.

Spaying or neutering is the socially responsible way to care for your own pet and prevent increasing the already frightening number of unwanted young from increasing further.

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