WHY SPAY/NEUTER?
By Dr. Michael W. Fox

Most dogs and cats should be operated on at around 5-6 months of age, under general anesthesia, to have them made sterile. The operations involve removal of both ovaries and the uterus in females, and removal of the testicles in males. Vasectomies can be performed, but are not advisable. There are as yet no safe alternatives to surgical sterilization, a term that sounds worse than it is.

There are many reasons to advocate this procedure being done on your young pet.
First, visit your local animal shelter and realize that pet-overpopulation is not a myth, and as with the human species, population controls are also needed for cats and dogs. There are birth control pills for dogs, but they are not safe. Vasectomizing male dogs and cats won’t stop them from wanting to go out to find mates, mark with their urine in the house, and get into fights with rival males.  So spaying/neutering your pet is a responsible decision. Only too often animals who have not been neutered get outside, and get pregnant, unwanted pregnancies being far more common than is generally realized. What happens to all the offspring---the birth of which is not an educational experience and miracle of nature for children to enjoy, as some contend ? Go to the animal shelter on kill day and you will find your answer. And take the kids.

The advantages of spaying females include eliminating such diseases as cystic ovaries, ovarian cancer, and diseases of the uterus. The chances of developing breast cancer are also greatly reduced. Females coming into heat repeatedly can become quite distressed and stressed, wanting to go out and find a mate. Fights may erupt between other animals in the same home.

The advantages of castrating dogs and tom cats are that it eliminates the possibility of testicular cancer, and greatly reduces the likelihood of prostate disease. The operation generally makes them more easygoing and less likely to engage in dominance fights with other males, and rival with them over female dogs.

Some purists contend that it is not ‘natural’ to sterilize pets, and I do not entirely disagree with them. But cats and dogs are no longer living ‘natural’ lives, roaming wild and free. Sterilization helps them adapt better to the sedentary domestic environment where most of them are kept. It is noteworthy that wild cats and wolves are actually sterile most of the year, having only one breeding season. As a result of domestication processes we have made house cats and dogs have two and more heats per year, and males are constantly rather than more seasonally fertile---not unlike us!!!---hence, the overpopulation problems for all three species.