Spay/Neuter
Benefits of Spaying Female Pet:
- No heat cycles, therefore males will not be attracted
- Less desire to roam
- Reduce or eliminate risk of mammary gland tumors, ovarian cancer and/or uterine cancer, especially if done before the first heat cycle
- Helps dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives
- Reduces number of unwanted cats/kittens/dogs/puppies
Benefits of Neutering Male Pet:
- Reduces or eliminates risk of spraying and marking
- Less desire to roam, therefore less likely to be injured in fights or auto accidents
- Risk of testicular cancer is eliminated, and decreases incidence of prostate disease
- Decreases aggressive behavior, including dog bites
- Helps dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives
- Reduces number of unwanted cats/kittens/dogs/puppies
Why Altering Pets Can be Beneficial
Multiple studies have concluded that altered pets live longer than intact pets. One study based on a database of 2.2 million dogs and 460,000 cats reflected similar findings, concluding that neutered male dogs lived 18% longer and spayed female dogs lived 23% longer than the intact dogs. Spayed female cats in the study lived 39% longer and neutered male cats lived 62% longer than the intact cats.
Altered animals have a very low to no risk of mammary gland tumors/cancer, prostate cancer, perianal tumors, pyometra, and uterine, ovarian and testicular cancers; this risk is reduced to almost zero if surgery is done prior to the first heat cycle(approx. 5 months of age). Spaying and Neutering also helps to reduce companion animal overpopulation which is a significant issue in the United States with a large stray animal population and consistently overcrowded animal shelters.
