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What Is Spaying and Neutering?
Spaying or neutering a dog or cat
involves a surgical procedure whereby the animal is sterilized. The term "spaying" specifically refers
to the procedure performed on female cats or dogs. When a
female is spayed the veterinarian makes an incision in the animals
belly and removes the entire uterus and both of the animal's
ovaries. But don't worry, the pet is fully anesthetized and
experiences no pain during the procedure. After a couple of
days of rest at home the dog or cat is back to her old self again
with few or no aftereffects.
"Neutering" is the term
associated with the sterilization procedure performed on male cats
and dogs. This procedure involves removing both testicles
and is less invasive than spaying a female. Recovery time
for a male animal is about a day.
Why is Spaying and Neutering
Important?
First, spaying or neutering a pet
has become one of the most important responsibilities of
pet owners due to the huge population of unwanted cats and
dogs. A recent article in Newsweek magazine gave an
account of the number of cats and dogs that were
"rescued" in Maricopa County, Arizona alone --
approximately 62,000 in just one year.
Unfortunately, more than 70 percent of those animals had to be
euthanized. The article went on to describe this fact as the
"dirty little secret" of most every municipality in the
U.S. There simply are not enough resources to care for the
tens of thousands of dogs and cats that wind up at the local
humane shelter. If every pet owner would have their pets
spayed or neutered it would prevent the wasteful destruction of
these homeless animals.
In addition to helping control
the population of homeless cats and dogs, spaying or neutering
pets has a number of other beneficial effects on the general
health and well-being of the animal:
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Pets
are less likely to roam and become lost. Lost animals
are more likely to pick up diseases, get in fights, or
become get struck by vehicles. |
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Reduces
the possibility of contracting diseases in the animals
reproductive system. |
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Spaying
females eliminates the heat cycle and prevents males from
trying to find your female in heat. |
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Neutered
males are less likely to engage in fights with other
males. Both female and male animals exhibit generally
better behaviors after being spayed or neutered. |
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Promotes
better health overall in both males and females.
Females avoid uterine and ovarian cancer risks while males
have a reduced risk of developing prostate and rectal
cancers. |
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Best
of all, a spayed female cannot produce accidental
offspring that results in the owner having to provide
additional medical care. |
For more information about
spaying and neutering your pets, please consult the following
websites: http://www.almosthomerescue.org
http://www.petrescue.com
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