Top 12 Reasons to Spay or Neuter

And remember folks, always spay or neuter your pets!

-Bob Barker

When you consider spaying or neutering your dog or cat, your top priority is preventing unwanted litters. Controlling the pet population is extremely important; however, did you know that there are other benefits when you spay or neuter? We sniffed out the top reasons why you should spay or neuter your dog or cat!

Benefits of Spaying:

1. Your dog or cat will no longer have heat cycles & therefore will no longer attract males. Males will go to great lengths to mate with females who are in heat. Despite your best efforts, accidents often happen. It will also decrease a females desire to roam.
2. Spaying your pet before she has any heat periods virtually eliminates the possibility of uterine infections & cancers. It also reduces the risk of breast tumors, 50% of which are cancerous in dogs, and 90% are cancerous in cats. In general, she will live a longer, happier, healthier life.
3. 
They will be less likely to spray or mark your house with urine.
4. Spaying is actually cost effective. It costs far more to properly care for a mother and her litter than it does to spay.

Benefits of Neutering:

1. They will be less likely to roam in search of females.
2. Neutering reduces their level of testosterone, which helps reduce their aggression levels. Therefore, they will be less inclined to fight with other males. Fighting can result in severe infections and abscesses.
3. Eliminates the risk of testicular cancer as well as greatly reduces the risk of prostate infections or cancer. In general, he will live a longer, happier, healthier life.
4. They will be far less territorial and will rarely spray or mark their territory with urine. Male cats urine will also smell less pungent. Dogs will be less likely to mount, and other potentially embarrassing, unwanted behavior.

Reasons to Spay and Neuter:

1. It helps reduce the companion animal overpopulation. They do not need help to expand their numbers; they need help reducing until there are good homes for all of them. The surplus in the United States alone is in the millions. Most countries are forced to euthanized healthy animals or completely disregard their great suffering all together.
2. Sterilizing your dog or cat will increase their life expectancy. On average, altering your canine will increase his life an average of 1-3 years, and felines an average of 3-5 years.
3. Altering your dog or cat helps make them a better pet. It greatly reduces their urge to roam; therefore, reducing their risk of getting hurt while out or contracting any diseases they may come into contact with. Spay USA says that as many as 85% of dogs who are hit by cars are unaltered.
4. 
According to The American Veterinary Medical Association: The capture, impoundment and eventual destruction of unwanted animals costs taxpayers and private humanitarian agencies over a billion dollars each year. As a potential source of rabies and other less serious diseases, they can be a public health hazard.

Unless you plan to breed, we strongly encourage you to spay or neuter. It is safe to perform this surgery after four months of age, and highly recommended before a females first heat.

To learn more about canine spaying and neutering go here, for felines go here. To schedule an appointment online click here, or call our office at (904) 287-2527.

This post originally appeared on The Drake Center