Spaying & Neutering Facts

Spaying is the surgical removal of the reproductive organs of female cats and dogs. Neutering is the surgical removal of the testicles of the males. Animal advocates believe spaying and neutering is part of responsible pet ownership and necessary to control domestic pet populations. Failure to limit the number of stray, unwanted cats and dogs results in the animals dying of starvation and disease or having to be euthanized.

  1. Function

    • Spaying and neutering accomplishes the sterilization of cats and dogs to prevent them from reproducing. Too often unwanted litters of kittens and puppies end up as strays and die under less than humane circumstances. According to Richard Bowen, doctor of veterinary medicine and faculty member of the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, "Estimates vary, but somewhere between 10 and 20 million unwanted dogs and cats are euthanized every year in the United States alone."

    Features

    • Surgical sterilization of cats and dogs is performed under general anesthesia. While Dr. Bowen acknowledges that spaying and neutering represent invasive surgery and as such poses a small risk of surgical complications to the animals subjected to the procedures and is relatively expensive for pet owners, "Surgical sterilization remains a valuable means of blunting increases in populations of pets."

    Time Frame

    • Surgical sterilizations are typically performed on cats and dogs at or after the age of 6 months, but according to Dr. Bowen, significant science now exists to support the safety and appropriateness of spaying and neutering earlier to ensure that pets are rendered incapable of reproduction before entering puberty.

    Significance

    • As evidence of the importance of pet owners having their cats and dogs spayed or neutered, the Arlington, Texas, Animal Services Department offers the facts that theoretically over a seven year period, "one female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats" and over a period of six years "one female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 dogs." They note further that according to the Humane Society of the United States, annually between eight and 10 million cats and dogs end up in animal shelters with an estimated four to five million of those animals being euthanized.

    Benefits

    • According to the ASPCA, surgical sterilization offers health benefits for the animals and can also improve pet behavior. They maintain that female dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives through the elimination of certain infections and cancers. Similar health benefits are available to males who are neutered before six months of age by eliminating chances of testicular cancer. Besides being better behaved and more affectionate, according to the ASPCA, sterilized pets have less of a tendency to roam and get lost.