The Choice To Neuter Your Cat Or Dog (Part 1)

You are deciding to neuter your dog or cat. What are the disadvantages and advantages? And what will happen from going ahead with the operation?

If you search the literature, you’re rarely shown both sides of the discussion. This is probably because, aside from rare instances of poor health (making any surgery risky), or wanting the pet to reproduce (for example, a show dog or cat), there are few good reasons to avoid neutering your pet.

Studies have shown that there are solid benefits to neutering. In the case of females, spaying the dog or cat before six months, or the first heat, greatly reduces the chance of breast cancer in later years. Breast cancer has a high mortality rate, with 90 percent for cats, fifty percent for dogs, so early prevention by neutering is significant.

Also, the risk of cancer (uterine) in both dogs and cats also increases, unless spaying is performed.

Neutering also helps reduce the pet population. While kittens and puppies are cute, few pet owners are willing to raise a complete litter. These pets must go somewhere, and so are often times set loose or placed in animal shelters, where they may die. Unwanted litters also result in more wild dogs and cats, with the associated problems in towns and cities. The life of a wild animal is not a good one, so neutering prevents any dog or cat from experiencing that life.

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