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Spay/Neutering

Spay/Neuter
Millions of unwanted and homeless cats are born in our country each year. During the peak of the kitten season (late April to early September), pounds and humane shelters kill unwanted and abandoned cats at the rate of one per minute.

Others are left to wander, and become:

  • easy prey for larger animals
  • easy targets for automobiles
  • easy marks for cruel pranksters and fanatics
  • suseptible to starvation, disease or freezing to death

    If they do manage to survive these hazards and the elements, they soon attain maturity and bring forth five or six kittens, mostly females, to continue this vicious cycle. One female cat's cumulative kitten production in ten years could total more than eighty million cats!

    (Note: Spay/Neuter information provided by Spay, Inc.)

    The most important thing you can do to end this tragedy is spay/neuter any cats in your alley. Also, if you are a cat owner, please spay/neuter your pets. Every cat owner whose pet is un-spayed or un-neutered (and allowed to roam) adds to this terrible over-population problem. Communities that have established sterlization programs have seen the number of pets euthanized drop by 30 to 60%.

    Spay/Neuter Advantages

  • Neutered/spayed pets are less aggressive, less likely to fight, and less likely to bite, as documented in studies.
  • Neutered/spayed pets (especially males) are less territorial and less likely to roam. Research indicates that 80% of dogs hit by cars are unaltered males.
  • Neutered pets are less likely to mark furniture and rugs with urine.
  • Spayed females will not have heat cycles that soil rugs and furniture and usually shed less fur.
  • Neutered animals can't develop testicular tumors, the second most common malignancy in males, and have a lower incidence of prostate cancer, which is better for the animal and means lower medical bills.
  • Spayed females typically stay healthier and live longer. They have a lower incidence of mammary tumors and no uterine or ovarian cancers, which is better for the animal and means lower medical bills.
  • Sterilization does not change the animal's personality or cause weight gain.
  • Removes the urge to mate.
  • Sterilized pets behave better.

    When to spay/neuter
    Cats and dogs can become capable of reproduction as early as 6 months of age and should be spayed or neutered by age 6 months. Sterilization can safely be done before that age, as endorsed by the AVMA; the chief veterinarian of the Humane Society of the United States recommends 4 months as ideal. Older animals can safely be sterilized as well. This routine surgical procedure removes the reproductive organs. It does not cause the pet pain or stress, and most pets recover within a day.

    Sources: PAW, American Humane Association, Humane Society of the United States, Cornell University's Dog Watch

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