However, if you are not a spay and neuter advocate, or if you have never had the reasons explained to you, they don't do anything but irritate you. I believe in spay and neuter for a large group of reasons, and I'm going to attempt to address them all. If you have any questions, e-mail me and I'll be glad to discuss it.
Spaying and neutering are not completely correct terms, but they are easy to remember and sound nicer then the true. Ovariohysterectomy (OHE) is what happens in females. This is the same surgery that happens in many older women when they begin to get cysts and cancer of the uterus and ovaries. It is basically removing this organs. For males the surgery is Orchiectomy and the testicles are removed. And I ask people no to have sympathetic pains. There are a lot of older men whom had had to have such a sugary because of prostate problems and testicle cancer.
The correct definition of neuter is to remove sex. And your pet will still have its gender, just not its ability to reproduce it. Also the terms spay and neuter are interchangeable. Do not feel that you may only use spay for females and neuter for males. However, when contacting a vet they may push whether it is spay or neuter because it is an easy way to decipher your pets sex if you are asking about having the surgery preformed because the prices are different based on gender and for dogs, weight.
The goal in this is not only to prevent reproduction. Animals live much shorter lives then we do. Cats, dogs, and other beloved pets are just as susceptible to cancer as we are. Their lives are shorter, and because they are shorter, they are faster. There will always be the dog that was never spayed and lived to twenty. But for each of those cases, there are ten more dying at eight from it. The popular myth of seven of our years for each of theirs is incorrect, but close in the fact that you can see the speed that they age and their bodies give up. When a dog or cat begins the road downhill it is often completed in three to six months, while we will and often do linger around for years.
Reproductive organs become cancerous. It's not a possibility, or on the list of nasty things that may happen. They do, and it's pretty simple, common, and apparent. You can always wait to spay later in life when a problem arises.
I add this in directed at the male. I have dealt with more men that have an issue with neutering their male, cat or dog, then women. It is a sympathy pain, and it needs to be addressed.
What can't you let happen to him? Freedom from cancer?
First: The owner is not having the surgery done. He will not lose his manhood.
Second: The male is not suddenly going to turn into a female or become a wimp.
Third: The male dog does not have a psychological need to have his testicles, and his self-esteem won't be destroyed.
Fourth: If it is just having testicles swinging between his legs, go him some neuticles. They are implants to help male dog owners feel a bit more comfortable.
Spaying and neutering are not done just for convenience, but yes, they are convent. Female dogs bleed, and they bleed a lot when they are in their heat cycle. They also attempt to escape in search for a mate.
Male dogs are distracted by females in heat. They can scent it quite far off and they will try to get to her. Lots of boys are torn up in fights in an effort to reach a female somewhere.
There are few things more annoying then a female cat in heat. She screams, she roars and she tries to escape. She will also come into heat monthly if not bred.
Puppies and kittens, while cute, and wonderful are also messy, time consuming and stressful. And your dog or cat will have litter after litter after litter after litter if you don't keep a tight and constant watch. Once is more then enough. It counts for them to.
After getting cats, I did some research into their reproductive cycle. I knew the basics, but I was interested in motivation. Male cats need to breed. They spray and hunt for a mate constantly. Feline Hobby breeders that keep male cats often keep them in outside enclosures because of the habits of a tomcat. Unless you enjoy having potent cat urine dripping from your walls, having an unaltered male is not a feasible thing. If you let him outside, then he is going to reproduce. He will also be in a lot of fights. Unaltered outside males rarely make it past 5-7 years of age.
Unaltered females have a shorter life. They have to not only deal with the toms but with other queens and the demand of a litter. Even when cared for, if a female cat has four litters a year, that is going to drain her body.
Hobby breeders breed their females about two times a year. If they do not, her eggs will begin to crystallize into cysts in the ovaries. These not only cause her pain, but also have a high probability of becoming cancerous. This is whys abstinence for both male and female cats is not an option.
I was amazed when I first found out there was a group devoted to ending spaying and neutering. They feel that vasectomies and tubular ligations are the correct method to population control.
One of their points is that by spaying and neutering, we are removing the animal's natural behaviors to suit ourselves. If population control was our main goal, as we say, then we would have no problems with tubular ligations and vasectomies.
So let me address some of this:
Yes, vasectomies and tubular ligations will help with population control. They will also not change the behavior of the animals. Females will continue to have their heat cycles. Males will feel no decrease of their sexual drives.
The cancer concerns will not be addressed. Female cats will still have issues with retained eggs, unless you plan to let her breed. If you don't wish for her to go outside, then you have to let a tom inside to breed her. He will then soak your home in urine.
The same goes for dogs.
If this is the path you wish to take, then you are helping the population problem and I thank you. But you are not helping your pets in any manor.
When the is the best time? It is a huge debate, but there are several times. The best time is any time before the first heat cycle for a female(six or so months for cats and dogs on average), or before seventh months with a male cat, or before a year with a male dog. These are very loose numbers, but easy to work off of.
You can spay and neuter as early as six weeks. Many shelters do it, and I appreciate that for the reasons it is done. So that the owner cannot put it off and a litter winds up appearing. Personally, I do not care to spay or neuter before five months of age. That is my personal opinion, and has absolutely no health logic behind it.
Spaying before the first heat cycle creates an easier spay. While the uterus is undeveloped there is a small amount of blood flow to it. Once the heat cycle becomes regular, the blood flow is increased, and hence, the surgery is increased. Not dramatically, but enough that I am not interested in the chance.
In males territory marking quickly becomes a habit that neutering will not correct. Spaying the walls in cats, and marking anything whether it be walls, trees, or people with dogs. These behaviors are not only messy and unsanitary, they are incredibly hard to break.
Yes they are! If you let them! The same goes for humans. The removal of estrogen or testosterone from the system slows the metabolism. With the slower metabolism, less food should be given. Predatory animals are opportunistic eaters. They do not care about their wait. Their instinct drives them to eat whenever there is an opportunity, because they do not know when food will next be provided.
After spay or neuter, it becomes the owner's responsibility to regulate the amount of food the pet eats. They are not going to watch their weight, so it is our responsibility. If a dog is eating four cups of food before the surgery, then it may need to go down to three, or two and a half.
And sometimes they do not gain weight. But the weight gain does not have to happen. Dogs and cats do not need to free feed. Being given one meal a day, or even better two smaller meals that together contain the same amount as one meal.
They are adorable. There are few things better. But before the jump is made into reproduction, there are a couple questions that should be addressed.
I want one just like her/him!: The chances of this happening are near impossible. Even with strict breeding regime professional breeders cannot completely assure themselves of any offspring from their breeding matching their parents. If you do not know your pet's genetic background, and the background of your pets mate, you are playing a game of chance.
Are you ready to bottle feed the babies if it comes to that?
The mother may not produce enough milk for them.
The mother may reject the litter.
The mother may die in birth.
The mother may have had a caesarian section and is unable to nurse.
The mother may attempt to eat and kill the litter (this happens often).
Do you have the money for a caesarian section if it comes to that?
This is devastating for the mother. She will almost definitely be unable to nurse the litter.
The litter may not survive the operation.
The mother may not survive.
The operation is expensive, and you will have to pay for it no matter if you lose pups, the mom, or not.
Are you ready to deworm and provide their first boosters?
Some round worms never leave the second stage of their life. They go into hibernation in the females system until she becomes pregnant. The pregnancy awakes them, and they migrate to the uterus and mammary ducts and into the babies.
Over the counter dewormers are often bad. They are basically intestinal purges and remove the good as well as the bad. These bacteria, which are destroyed, help the animal to digest its food. Removing it causes diarrhea and other digestive problems until a new colony of bacteria is able to establish.
Are you prepared to find a suitable home for every one of those babies?
I cannot see bringing an animal into the world to not care where it goes. That thinking, feeling, loving creature should be cared about enough that the homes are at least screened, and an offer is made to take back the baby if the home does not work out.
Most pounds are kill shelters. Go to one. See that 93% of the animals you walk by will be dead in a week.
Are you ready to keep any that do not find homes?
I can breed her once or twice and get money:> Not if you do it correctly, one or two breeding are not going to bring you money. The female needs to be vaccinated about six months prior to her breeding. Vaccination while pregnant will cause neurological problems in the litter. Feeding the female a high quality food, providing three or four vet visits while she is pregnant, buying everything to properly house the puppies or kittens, having emergency money incase she needs a caesarian section, buying kitten or puppy formula to help supplement her. Raising the puppies and kittens. Their deworming, which should happen every two weeks. They need to be kept till eight weeks, so you need to wean them from mom and start them on a puppy food. Cleaning up after them, and then taking six to ten baby animals to the vet at six or eight weeks.
Abortion is a tough egg to work with, and I am not going to address the moral issues of it. I will simply say that abortion is available, normally up to the first month, and dependent on doctor, even later.