February is Spay and Neuter month.

How does spaying and neutering our cats and dogs save the animals? According to the ASPCA, approximately 5 to 7 million animals enter animal shelters/rescues nationwide every year. Of these animals, approximately 3 to 4 million are euthanized. Most of the animals euthanized had their lives ended because there was no room left for them in the shelters and no one to adopt them. So you ask, why spay or neuter your pet? Isn’t that enough reason? Well, we know by past experience that it is not enough reason for many pet owners. So let us give you a few more reasons that can affect each and every cat or dog you own in your lifetime.

One obvious health benefit is to our female pets, preventing them from having to go through pregnancy and all the potential pregnancy complications. The incredible physical stress that our female pets go through during pregnancy and birth is eliminated. Spaying female pets also eliminates the following: spotting during heat period; false pregnancies; mammary tumors; uterine infections; tumors of the ovaries or uterus; and stress, leading to increased susceptibility to disease.

In female dogs, heat periods occur twice a year and last about 3 weeks each time. Female cats may come into heat every 2-3 weeks. During heat, both dogs and cats will be more irritable and nervous than usual, and may even become aggressive and damage furniture or attack strangers. Female cats may howl and rub excessively.

Male dogs being neutered will benefit even more than females. It is true; less testosterone does equal less trouble. An unneutered male can detect a female in heat even miles away. Neutering decreases roaming by 90%. Responding to the overwhelming urge to reproduce, he may often become nervous and irritable, perhaps picking fights with other dogs or become lethargic, less responsive to his owner, stop eating or act ill or depressed. Neutering male pets may reduce or eliminate the following behaviors: territoriality and aggression, including urinating to mark territory and fighting to defend it; wandering, escaping and automobile injuries; humping behavior; prostate enlargement; prostrate tumors and infections; tumors of the testicles, penis and anal area; hernia; and stress leading to increased susceptibility to disease.

So, besides the health of your animals, the saving of millions of animals, the improvement to our community as a whole, please also remember that neutered cats and dogs focus their attention on their human companions/families. Isn’t that one of the main reason we all love our cats and dogs? We love them and we love that they love us back!

(Credit to the ASPCA and Pawprints & Purrs for some of the information provided for this article.)