Importance of Spaying or Neutering Pets

Preventing Euthanasia of Cats and Dogs

Some people think that by breeding their dog or cat, they will be doing the world a favor by bringing some cute animals into the world. Other people want to breed their pet to allow their children to witness "the miracle of birth". Some owners are hoping to make money by selling puppies or kittens, while others just don't bother spaying or neutering and are oblivious to the fact that dogs and cats reproduce very quickly.

Whatever a person's intentions were, often the pets end up in animal shelters. The sad reality is that animal shelters across North America are literally flooded with too many animals to find homes for.

Majority of Sheltered Animals Euthanized

According to the American Humane Association, approximately 64% of the total number of animals entering American shelters were euthanized in 1997. The National Post recently printed that in 2007, Toronto Animal Services killed nearly 5,000 of about 9,000 cats and dogs admitted to the centre. While not all animal shelters euthanize healthy adoptable pets, often "no-kill" shelters or rescue groups are full and cannot take in new animals due to space.

Often animals admitted into "no-kill" shelters will spend years waiting to be adopted, or will live the remainder of their lives in an over-crowded shelter. All animal shelter workers and volunteers throughout North America would agree that pet owners need to spay or neuter their pets to prevent the continued problem.

One female cat and her offspring can produce over 420,000 cats in 7 years. In 6 years, a female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies. These statistics are alarming, especially when considering that in the United States, dogs and cats out number humans by about a 6 - 1 ratio. These statistics are evidence that spaying and neutering is critical to prevent millions of pets from being euthanized each year.

The Benefits of Spaying and Neutering Pets

Besides preventing unwanted litters, spaying and neutering is beneficial to dogs and cats in other ways:

• Health: Spaying or neutering prevents prostate and testicular cancer, prevents pyometra (a potentially deadly uterine infection), and drastically reduces the risk of mammary tumors. Sterilization will also increase the pet's lifespan an average of 1-3 years for canines and 3-5 years for felines.
• Behavior: Benefits include a reduction of aggression, mounting and urinary marking of territory. Also an altered pet will have less desire to roam or wander, thus reducing the chance of being hit by an automobile, getting hurt or contracting diseases.
• Cost: Although a person may think that the cost of spaying or neutering is too much, one must consider that paying for food and veterinary care for a litter of puppies or kittens will also cost them. Emergency veterinary care for an animal requiring a cesarean section or to repair injuries sustained while wandering can be very costly.
• Work: Taking care of litters of puppies or kittens is a lot of work. Cleaning up after a pet who marks, or spots during heat cycles is not pleasant.

By having your pet spayed or neutered, you will be benefiting yourself, your community and your pet. For people unable to afford the cost of spaying or neutering, many animal shelters have programs in place to help with cost. Instead of purchasing a pet from a "back-yard breeder", the local newspaper or a pet store, by adopting from your local animal shelter or rescue, you are supporting a worthy cause.

References:

North Shore Animal League of America

American Veterinary Medical Association