Veterinarians routinely neuter or spay dogs, cats and rabbits to prevent unwanted litters. However, there are many secondary benefits to the surgery. There are a number of diseases that afflict unneutered pets, whether directly caused by the presence of hormones and reproductive organs, or indirectly through influenced behavior. The desire to roam or to fight another animal for territory and mates can lead to disease contracted through biting or scratching stray, wild or otherwise unsupervised animals.
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Mammary Cancer
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Female dogs and cats are susceptible to breast cancer. The cancer strikes the mammary glands. This form of cancer proves fatal for half of the dogs and nine out of 10 cats who develop mammary cancer. Spay surgery sharply reduces mammary cancer, as ovaries, which produce estrogen, are removed. Cysts also develop when a female is unspayed. While benign, cysts may cause irritation or inflamed milk ducts and may lead to additional health conditions.
Uterine Diseases
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Fifty to 80 percent of fancy varieties of rabbits develop uterine adenocarcinoma, a form of uterine cancer, after the age of four. Pyometria, an uncomfortable disease which fills the uterus with puss, may develop in an unspayed female dog, cat or rabbit. The chance of developing either of these diseases after spay surgery is eliminated.
Glandular Diseases
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Unneutered male cats develop tail gland hyperplasia. While not fatal, the greasy secretion is difficult to clean and could develop into an irritant. The mouth and tongue may be irritated by the cat trying to alleviate pressure and secretion through grooming. When gland secretions become impacted, anal gland infections may occur. The condition does not appear in neutered cats.
Testicular Cancer
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Neuter surgery removes the testicles of a male dog, cat or rabbit. Testicular and prostate cancer may afflict dogs who are left with intact reproductive organs. The reduced risk in neutered dogs isn't due to the absence of tissue, but the elimination of influencing hormones.
Communicable Diseases
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Female pets in heat often roam in search of a mate. The tendency for male pets to attempt escape for the same reason occurs year round. A pet that wanders into unfamiliar yards and fields has the increased chance of contracting a disease from stray and wild animals. Since unneutered males can be aggressive towards others of their kind when females are present, the risk of contracting diseases transferred through biting and scratching is increased. Examples of such diseases include feline leukemia, influenza, distemper and rabies. A rabbit may be more easily confined to a home, but can injure themselves attempting to access a rabbit in another enclosure.
Pregnancy Complications
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Pregnancy is risky for many pets, especially those varieties bred for diminutive size, or when attempting to deliver pups that have inherited size from a substantially larger father. Female dogs may die when birth is unsupervised and the birth canal is too small, or require a risky cesarean sections which may disrupt other organs or create an internal infection. By spaying a pet, the risk of accidental impregnation, and therefore complications, is eliminated.
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