Spay & Neuter – Arcata Animal Hospital

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Spay and neuter care for dogs and cats.

Spay and Neuter Your Pet for Maximum Health

You may have heard the saying “spay or neuter your pet.” but have you thought about all the reasons why this routine procedure is recommended for most? It’s true that unless you are a breeder or plan on responsibly breeding that your pet should be spayed or neutered. The fact of the matter is that spay and neuter surgery lends individual health advantages as well as furthers the well being of pet populations as a whole. When your female pet is spayed and your male pet is neutered is dependent on a number of factors. We’re here to guide you through all aspects of your pet’s health at Arcata Animal Hospital. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions about spay and neuter surgery for your four-legged friend.

How Spay and Neuter Surgery Affects Pet Populations

Along with shelter adoptions and pet microchipping, spay and neuter plays an important role in controlling animal overpopulation. Unfortunately, there are more adoptable pets in shelters than there are people available to adopt them. Cats are capable of having multiple litters per year due to their frequent heat cycles. Female dogs may have less frequent heat cycles but are still nonetheless capable of birthing multiple litters in a year. Then, if we consider that cats have on average three to five kittens per litter and dogs can have as many as seven puppies per litter, we could imagine how many puppies and kittens that adds up to in a pet’s reproductive lifetime. When even just one pet is sterilized, the animal overpopulation epidemic is significantly controlled.

Behavioral Perks

Along with the reassurance that your pet will be free from unnecessary reproduction, sterilization offers a number of behavioral perks. Hormones that drive pets to mate also drives them to engage in some unruly behaviors. Furthermore, your pet will feel more at ease in general when they are not subject to heat cycles and/or mating tendencies. Some of the behavioral perks you might experience with your pet after spay and neuter surgery include:

Female cats are free from yowling and other disruptive behaviors associated with their heat cycle.
Female dogs are free from vaginal bleeding during their heat cycle.
Both male and female cats and dogs are less likely to engage in roaming behavior.
Male dogs are less likely to engage in inappropriate mounting behavior.
Risky behavior in general that can lead to pets becoming lost or injured is reduced.

Medical Advantages

After spay and neuter surgery, sex hormones are significantly reduced. Therefore, the chances for medical conditions that stem from sex hormones are either eliminated or significantly reduced. Some of the medical advantages your pet has after sterilization include:

Female pets are considerably less likely to develop breast cancer.
The chances for ovarian cancer are eliminated in female pets.
Unplanned and/or unwanted pregnancies are eliminated.
Male pets are considerably less likely to develop prostate disease.
The chances for testicular cancer are eliminated in male pets.