Sterilizing companion animals is important to ensure they can't contribute to the homeless animal population.  Spaying is the removal of a female animal's ovaries and uterus; neutering is the removal of a male's testicles.  Both operations are safe and usually require only an overnight stay in a veterinary clinic.
Spaying or neutering can help keep your pet healthy and happy.

 

In six years, one female dog and her offspring can product 67,000 dogs.  In seven years, one female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats.

Every year in Ontario, tens of thousands of dogs and cats are destroyed.  The vast majority are young, healthy and friendly.  More animals are born than will ever find homes.

You can help these animals by having our pets spayed or neutered and encouraging others to follow your example.  Reducing the influx of puppies and kittens into shelters improves the odds for the wonderful animals who do enter our centers.  Because there are so many animals, if your pet has a litter, there's a good chance some of those animals will be abandoned later on.

Animals who haven't been spayed or neutered are more likely to roam.  When female dogs and cats go into heat, there attract males from great distances.

Some animals get hit by cars while searching for mates.  Many others are lost, stolen or injured in fights.  Others end up in pounds.  Both male and female animals are at risk.

Keeping an animal inside doesn't guarantee safety.  Accidental escapes occur, and animals who haven't been spayed or neutered and can't reach potential mates may develop stress-related health and behaviour problems.

Spaying or neutering eliminates or significantly decreases the risk of developing

certain health problems.  These include:
 
FEMALE DOGS AND CATS
  • ovarian tumours and uterine growths
  • pyometra, a potentially fatal uterine infection
  • false pregnancies
  • mastitis, a painful infection of mammary glands
  • mammary tumours and cancer
  • death when babies are born
MALE DOGS
  • testicular tumours and cancer
  • prostate problems
  • perineal hernias
  • adenomas and other skin & glandular growths
MALE CATS

  • abscesses

 FEMALE RABBITS
  • uterine cancer and other cancers
  • pyometra


MALES RABBITS

  • testicular disease
  • cancers


FEMALE FERRETS

  • potentially fatal anaemia

 
                                               

How safe is the operation?
The risks of spaying and neutering are very low and greatly outweighed by the benefits.  Talk to your veterinarian about any specific health condition that my affect your pet's risk from surgery.  

At what age should animals be spayed or neutered? 
The usual age is four to six months, sometimes earlier.  While it's best to have pets spayed or neutered before they reach maturity, older animals also require sterilization and derive many of the same benefits. 

Would having one litter make my dog a better pet?  I'm afraid her personality will change after she's spayed. 
There's no reason for your dog to have even one litter.  It won't make her a better pet, and it will put her at risk.  Spaying doesn't affect personality or disposition - she'll still be the same dog you know and love.

My aunt's cat is neutered, and he's fat and lazy.  Will this happen to my cat too?
It doesn't have to.  Sterilization might decrease an animal's activity level, but this need not result in weight gain.  Your aunt can correct the problem by changing her cat's diet and ensuring he gets lots of exercise.  You can prevent your pet from becoming overweight in the same way.

I wouldn't want to be castrated.  Why should I do that to my male dog?
Neutering your dog is in his best interest and will spare the lives of innocent animals.

 Spaying and neutering aren't natural.  Why not let our companion animals have families?
Wild animals produce only as many offspring as they can care for.  By domesticating dogs and cats, humans have made them completely dependent and they've lost many of their natural abilities - including the ability to control their numbers.  It's our responsibility to make sure the number of companion animals born doesn't exceed the number of available homes. 

What about rabbits, ferrets, and small animals such as hamsters and guinea pigs?
Female ferrets should be spayed.  If they go into heat and don't mate, they can become anaemic and die.  Spaying and neutering are recommended for rabbits - altered rabbits are usually less aggressive and easier to house train.  Because of their size, surgery may not be advisable for hamsters or guinea pigs.  Separating males from females is the best way to prevent these animals from reproducing.

I want my children to see kittens born.  It will be a learning experience.
If you want your children to learn about the birth process, many books and films are available on the subject.  As an even more valuable lesson, why not adopt some kittens from your local humane society?  They have them all spayed and neutered, and explain why.

 

 

For additional information contact your local SPCA.