Why Should Pets Be Spayed And Neutered?

13 August 2015
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Some pet owners may feel uncomfortable having their pets spayed or neutered. They see their pets as family members, or even as their children, and resist the idea of forced sterilization.

While humans and their pets both have instinctual drives to reproduce, pets possess only limited reasoning skills, and their mating is cyclical in nature, so they cannot control their impulses when a female animal is in estrus (heat).

Benefits of spaying and neutering your pets

Controlling the feral animal population.

A male pet that is intact will find a way to escape the confines of your home if a stray female dog or cat is in estrus. Feral cats, in particular, can produce more than one litter of kittens per year if a reliable food source is available. The females of those litters can reach sexual maturity in less than one year, producing their own multiple litters.

Keeping your per safe.

An intact male pet or a female pet in estrus will rush out of open doors and leap over fences to mate. Male dogs and cats will fight with other males for a female's attention, which may result in bitten ears and tails or abscesses from infections. Your pet will also be exposed to venereal infections as well as other communicable diseases such as parvo and dog flu in dogs and feline leukemia and AIDS in cats.

Both male and female pets will run into busy streets, oblivious of the danger, in pursuit of mating. And if you have an expensive breed of pet, it may be stolen. Wandering pets may also be taken for malicious purposes, such as for training fighting dogs.

Avoiding unpleasant situations in your home.

Even if you are able to keep your intact pets indoors, you may almost wish they had escaped. Intact male dogs will be more aggressive than neutered males, and may damage doors and furnishings while attempting to get outside to a female dog in estrus. 

Male cats will spray the home with a mixture of urine and other secretions to mark their territory. The smell and stains from the spray are difficult to eradicate.

An intact female dog or cat may whine, scream or howl incessantly for the entire period of estrus. When a female pet does not mate during periods of estrus, the time period between episodes may grow progressively shorter until an almost permanent state of estrus occurs. An intact female will also attract all of the intact males from the area. You may have make dogs fighting in your yard or streams of cat spray running down your windows. Add to this steady call and response cries from the female to the gentlemen callers outside.

Professional veterinarians and animal shelters, like Norwin Veterinary Hospital, offer safe and affordable spay and neuter clinics. Both you and your pets will be happier and more content after it is done.