World Spay Day on Tuesday 23rd February shines a spotlight on the problem of millions of unwanted pets that are born, adding to the overpopulation of dogs and cats globally. Not only does neutering a pet help towards alleviating this chronic situation, neutering and spaying is the best thing that you can do for your pet in terms of improved health and behaviour. Your pets will live a longer and healthier life as neutering prevents so many diseases and cancers.

Did you know that cats can get pregnant from 4 months of age, when they are kittens themselves, and 78% of feline pregnancies are unwanted and unplanned. One cat can have up to 6 kittens and 4 litters per year, so the number of cats soon spirals out of control. We see this with the numbers of unwanted kitten litters and feral kittens born every year and our innovative Trap Neuter Return programme neuters feral cats and kittens to prevent the feral cat population increasing. Dogs can get pregnant from around 6 months old depending on breed.

There are so many health benefits and good reasons for neutering your dog or cat.

Dogs

Spaying a bitch before her first season can significantly help your pet’s health:

• There is a 70% reduction in the risk of mammary tumours (breast cancer).
• Removes the risk of  pyometra, a condition where the womb becomes filled with pus after a season and spaying needs to be carried out as an emergency procedure. This can be a very serious and in some cases it is a life threatening condition.
• Removes the risk of ovarian cancer.

Read Olive’s story here. Olive, unneutered, used for breeding and cruelly dumped in a park, had mammary tumours that we luckily caught in time.

Neutering a dog will:

• Decrease the risk of  prostatic disease which is influenced by the presence of testosterone and so is extremely uncommon in neutered dogs
• Remove the risk of testicular cancer
• Decrease the risk of perianal tumours which are influenced by the presence of testosterone.
• Decrease levels of aggression towards other dogs and humans.

Cats

Many cat owners believe that female cats should be allowed to have a litter of kittens before they are spayed, however this myth is not true. The benefits of spaying a female cat are:

• Eliminates the risk of unwanted kittens. Unfortunately unwanted pregnancies in cats are very common
• There is no need to manage a cat in heat. Female cats will come into season regularly through the summer and they will often howl, pace the house and wander, and sometimes soil in the house.

The advantages of neutering a male cat are:

• Reduces the risk of contracting FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus). This is a fatal virus that is passed on through fighting or sexual contact and neutering greatly reduces the risk of infection
• Reduces the risk of fighting. Unneutered male cats are much more prone to fight over females and therefore more prone to injury and FIV infection
• Reduces the inclination to wander. Unneutered male cats will often roam long distances from home to try and find a mate. They can also be involved in road traffic accidents.

Rabbits

We also neuter rabbits in our Vet Clinic. The benefits of neutering rabbits are:

• Removes the risk of womb cancer. In unneutered rabbits, womb cancer is common, and will often be fatal if not caught early. Neutering removes the risk of this disease completely
• Neutered rabbits of both sexes become easier to manage and care for. This can be particularly important when the rabbits are cared for by children, as they tend to become easier to handle and are less likely to nip or scratch
• Easier integration of pet rabbits. Rabbits are sociable and neutering allows male and female rabbits to be housed together without the risk of unwanted pregnancies

We offer affordable and low cost neutering for dogs, cats and rabbits at our Vet Clinic. Find out more about our neutering service and read our neutering guide here. We also offer free bull breed neutering and a Pick and Snip service in Brent where we collect, neuter and return your pet.