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Spay or Neuter Your Pets!

Tell your friends, family and aquaintances about the importance of controlling the population of cats and dogs and urge them to do the same by having their pets spayed or neutered.

Q. Will sterilization harm my pet?

Experts say spaying or neutering is the best way to reduce the number of animals killed in shelters, but some pet owners fear sterilization will harm their animals. Here are some answers to common concerns about the process.

Q. What happens when my pet is fixed?

Female dogs and cats are spayed by removing their reproductive organs, and male dogs and cats are neutered by removing their testicles.

Q. Will the procedure hurt my pet?

The operations are performed while the pet in under anesthesia. Depending on its age size and health, the animal will need to stay at a veterinarian's office for a few hours or a few days. Your pet may be sore and need stitches removed after a few days, but it causes no long-term discomfort.

Q. At what age can a pet be sterilized?

Many veterinarians sterilize dogs and cats as young as 8 weeks old.

Q. What are the benefits of spaying or neutering?

Pets that have been fixed tend to live longer and don't suffer certain health problems, such as uterine or ovarian cancer in females and testicular cancer or prostate disease in males. Those illnesses can be difficult and expensive to treat.

Q. How does sterilization affect my animal's behavior?

It makes dogs and cats less likely to bite, maim or fight, and neutered males less likely to spray and mark territory. Unspayed females go into heat two or three times a year, often for more than a week, making them cry, exhibit nervous behavior and unwanted males.

Q. How does spaying and neutering help decrease the number of animals killed at shelters?

Many animals taken to shelters or captured by animal control are unwanted offspring of household pets. A single female dog that gives birth to two litters of puppies a year can produce more than 80 million descendants within a decade if her offspring reproduce at the same rate.

Q. Does it make my pet fat and lazy?

Veterinarians say no. Pets get fat and lazy from over feeding and lack of exercise.

Q. Isn't it better for my female dog to have one litter first?

No. Medical evidence shows that females spayed before their first hat are typically healthier.

Q. Does it make my dog less protective of my house?

No. Spaying or neutering does not affect a dog's natural instinct to protect it home and family.

Q. What if I want my pet to reproduce so I can have another puppy or kitten and find homes for the rest of the litter?

Animal welfare advocates say there's no guarantee a new animal will share your pet's personality. Often, people have trouble finding good homes for all of the offspring of their pet, and some eventually wind up euthanized.