Health Benefits of Spaying and Neutering your Pets

• Prevents breast (mammary) cancer and tumors in dogs and cats. An intact female dog has 200 times the chance of developing mammary tumors than a dog spayed prior to her first heat.  Half of mammary tumors in dogs and 90 percent of mammary tumors in cats are malignant (cancerous). Mammary tumors in cats are almost always fatal, even with surgical removal.
• Prevents ovarian, uterine, testicular and perineal cancer and tumors. In rabbits, one-third of unspayed rabbits will develop uterine cancer often as young as 3 years old.
• Prevents prostate problems in male dogs. Most male dogs will develop prostatic disease if not neutered.  Many elderly dogs require neutering to treat their prostate disease; surgery is much more risky and complications are more likely at this age than when done at a young age.  Dogs can develop enlarged prostates or cysts which make urination and defecation difficult or painful.  Most male dogs will develop chronic prostate infections as they age which results in chronic or recurrent bladder infections.   These can cause bladder stones and kidney infections; kidney infections have the potential to be fatal.
• Unneutered male dogs are at a greater risk for perineal hernias.  This is where abdominal tissue herniates through the muscles of the buttocks. Repair requires surgery which can be risky in an older pet.  If the bladder or colon herniates through it can require extensive complicated surgery to repair or even be fatal.
• Intact female dogs and cats frequently develop uterine infections.  This is an emergency situation in many cases and pets can die in just a few days without surgery.  Even with prompt medical attention, it is a serious condition. It can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms can be vague and mimic symptoms of many other geriatric diseases, and it requires emergency surgery to treat.  In addition, performing surgery to remove the uterus in an older debilitated cat or dog can be risky.
• Pregnancy complications such as anemia, ecclampsia (seizures or weakness due to low Calcium levels) are avoided.  Many dogs and some cats may require emergency C-Sections if delivery is difficult.  This is very expensive, often occurs late or in the middle of the night and the lives of the mother and puppies or kittens are at risk.
• Young mothers often refuse to nurse or care for their puppies or kittens resulting in sickly or weak puppies or kittens, which requires a pet owner to nurse them, keep them warm and help them eliminate every few hours 24 hours a day for several weeks.
• Believe it or not dogs can catch venereal diseases!!
• Intact male dogs, cats and rabbits all can be more aggressive to people and other animals if not neutered.
• The instinct to roam and to fight with other animals can be very great in intact males.  They often escape from homes, fences and invisible fences in search of females. This subjects them to many dangers: automobiles, attacks from other animals - wild or domestic, parasites and infectious diseases.  Dogs may contract rabies, leptospirosis (an often fatal disease causing liver and kidney failure which can infect people), Lyme disease,  Ehrlichiosis and other tick-borne diseases; cats may come in contact with rabies, Feline leukemia, and Feline immunodeficiency virus. Intact male cats frequently develop abscesses from fighting with other cats.
• In areas where packs of dogs exist, they may attack females in heat causing many types of injuries or even death.
• Male dogs, cats and rabbits that are not neutered usually spray or urinate in the house to mark their territory.
• Some skin conditions causing hair loss and skin infections occur in intact dogs. These may be cured by spaying or neutering once they develop.

Other Benefits of Spaying and Neutering your Pets

• Female dogs will drip blood every 6 months during their “period” which must be managed for the two weeks with doggie diapers.
• Male dogs and cats will hang around the home when your female dog or cat is in heat. In dogs this is every 6 months; in rural areas this may attract stray dogs which can be a danger to your family as well as your pet.  Female cats are almost continuously in heat which means stinky male cats hanging around the house almost all year round.
• Female cats in heat (which is continuous almost year round until they are either bred or spayed) exhibit objectionable behavior. They wail loudly and uncontrollably and seek out constant attention from family members.
• Almost all male cats will spray around the house if not neutered. This means they spray urine on vertical surfaces anywhere and everywhere in your house.  The smell of intact male cat urine is extremely pungent and offensive; even with meticulous litterbox cleaning it will permeate your home.
• Male dogs frequently exhibit undesirable behavior such as humping family members or other pets or marking their territory (ie. urinating in your house) if not neutered.