Unless you are planning on becoming a registered breeder of animals, you will certainly want to think about arranging to get your pet spayed/neutered when they reach the right age. Spaying/neutering are extremely common elective veterinary surgeries and countless procedures are performed in the United States alone each year. The purpose of spaying/neutering is to ensure that your pet either can’t impregnate another animal or becoming pregnant themselves. To do this, the reproductive organs of your pet are removed. In males, this is the testes, and in females, it is the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus that are surgically extracted. Both procedures are carried out under general anesthetic, and it will be necessary for your pet to take some time to recover following their surgery. 

Many owners have concerns about putting their adored animals through a surgical procedure. However, there are several reasons why you should make spaying/neutering a priority for your pet. Here are the top benefits of spaying and neutering. 

No risk of unwanted pregnancy

Unsurprisingly, unwanted babies are expensive and time-consuming, and this benefit is particularly important if you have a female, as it will be her that becomes pregnant. Pregnancy comes with its risks for your pet’s health, as does birthing her young. There are also significant costs involved, both with monitoring the pregnancy and raising the young until they are old enough to go to their new homes – which you will also have to find. 

Health benefits for your female

Spaying your female has been proven to have a variety of health benefits. These include the prevention of uterine infections and breast cancer, which is shown to be fatal in around half of all dogs and a distressing 90% of cats. Experts agree that spaying your pet before her first heat will offer her the greatest protection against these diseases. 

Health benefits for your male

Males can reap the benefit of improved health following neutering too. Males that are done are no longer able to get testicular cancer. Studies have also shown a significant reduction in the number of prostate problems experienced by neutered males. 

Behavioral benefits in females

Females that go into season often exhibit some undesirable behaviors including yowling and other excessive vocalization to try and attract a mate and urinating a lot more whilst being less discerning about where they place their scent. Since females can go into heat as often as five days out of every 21 depending on the breeding season, eliminating these behaviors can make your home more harmonious for everyone!

Behavioral benefits in males

Your male pet won’t be exempt from bad behaviors either. Intact males have a tendency to mark their territory by spraying urine around your home and yard, will become distracted by their desire to mate and will not interact with your human family and may even become aggressive. Males who aren’t neutered are also more likely to roam away from home to try and find a mate, and this could lead to him becoming lost or injured. 

Fight overpopulation

There is a huge overpopulation of domestic animals living in the United States without loving homes. The luckier ones are in shelters or foster accommodation, but countless more are fending for themselves as strays. Much of this overpopulation is a direct result of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, where babies have been abandoned or where older pets have been pushed out of homes to make way for younger, more desirable animals. It is heartbreaking for any animal lover to think of creatures living in anything but caring homes, but the fact that is that many don’t have anywhere to go, and many more are euthanized each year because there isn’t the space in shelters to accommodate them. By choosing to spay/neuter your pet, you are taking responsible action to help reduce further overpopulation. 

If you would like more information about the benefits of spaying and neutering, or if you would like to schedule an appointment for your pet to have this surgery, please speak to our expert veterinary team today.