Top 10 reasons to spay or neuter your pet
(Adapted from ASPCA)
#10 Your female pet will live a longer, healthier life.
Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer, which leads to death in about half of dogs and almost all cats diagnosed with these conditions. Spaying before her first heat provides the best protection.
#9 Neutering provides major health benefits for your male pet.
Besides preventing unwanted litters, neutering your male pet prevents testicular cancer.
#8 Your spayed female won’t go into heat.
Female felines usually go into heat four to five days every three weeks during breeding season. In an effort to advertise for mates, they’ll yowl and urinate more frequently-sometimes all over the house!
#7 Your male dog won’t want to roam away from home.
An intact male will do just about anything to find a mate, from digging under the fence to trying to escape through any available open door! Once outside the safety of your home and yard, he is at risk of injury in traffic and fights with other males.
#6 Your neutered male will be much better behaved.
Neutered cats and dogs focus their attention on their human families. Unneutered dogs and cats may mark their territory by spraying strong-smelling urine all over the house. Many aggression problems can be avoided by early neutering.
#5 Spaying or neutering will NOT make your pet fat.
Lack of exercise and overfeeding are the causes of extra pounds for your dog or cat. As long as you continue to provide exercise and monitor food intake, your pet can stay fit and trim after being spayed or neutered.
#4 It is highly cost-effective.
The cost of a spay or neuter surgery is a lot less than the cost of having and caring for a litter or the cost of treatment for your unneutered male pet’s treatment for injuries when he escapes and gets in to a fight with a neighborhood stray.
#3 Spaying and neutering your pet is good for the community.
Help reduce the number of animals on the streets. Stray animals can prey on wildlife, cause car accidents and frighten children.
#2 Your pet doesn’t need to have a litter for your children to learn about the miracle of birth.
Teach your children about birth in more responsible ways by using books or videos. Having a litter that you have no intention of keeping will only add to the already growing numbers of animals that end up in shelters each year.
#1 Spaying and neutering helps fight pet overpopulation.
Each year, millions of cats and dogs of all ages and breeds are euthanized or suffer as strays. These numbers are the result of unplanned litters that could have been prevented by spaying or neutering.