The Benefits of Spaying and Neutering Your Pet

As a pet parent, there are certain things you have to do to keep your pets healthy. When you get a new pet, it’s your job to ensure they have all the vaccinations they’re required to have as they age. It’s also a good idea to get your pet fixed if you don’t want them having babies with neighbors’ pets or nearby strays.

Getting your pet spayed or neutered is one of the first things many new pet parents do. The sooner you get your pets fixed, the less you have to worry about them getting pregnant or impregnating someone else’s pet. There are even health benefits your pets can enjoy when they’re spayed or neutered. Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of spaying and neutering your pets and why you should consider it.

Preventing Reproduction

Having a few pets at home is one thing, but caring for a litter of puppies or kittens is an entirely different story. A litter of puppies can leave you with anywhere from one to 12 puppies to care for, while a single litter for cats can produce up to nine kittens. Not only do pets reproduce in large numbers, but puppies and kittens require special care that you’re probably not equipped to provide. If you don’t know how to raise kittens or puppies or simply don’t want too many pets, you should get your pets fixed as soon as possible.

Another thing to remember is that neighboring pets may or may not be fixed. If your male dog isn’t fixed, they could get another dog pregnant. Letting your dog run around without being fixed is unfair, especially if you live in a rural area where you and your neighbors let the dogs run more freely.

Less Roaming

If you let your dog or cat outside without keeping them in a fenced area, they’ll naturally want to roam and explore. Roaming is something cats and dogs do for several reasons, but it can often lead to fights, car accidents, and other injuries. Because cats can venture so far from home, you might even have difficulty getting your cat to come home for a few days or a week.

Getting your pets fixed gives them less of a desire to roam, which means you don’t have to worry about your pets running off and getting in fights or getting hit by cars. You also don’t have to worry about your cat or dog eating anything out of the ordinary during their adventures, which is a big concern considering all the foods that are toxic to cats and dogs.

Lowering the Risk of Disease

You might think getting your pets spayed and neutered is all about preventing reproduction, but there are some major health benefits. Certain medical conditions are significantly less common (or even non-existent) in cats and dogs that have been fixed.

If you neutered your dog or cat, you don’t have to worry about your pet getting testicular cancer. Neutering also lowers prostate disease risk, a common medical issue in male pets.

Female pets can also benefit from getting fixed. Female pets that are spayed have a lower risk of memory gland tumors, ovarian cancer, and uterine cancer. These benefits are amplified if your pet is spayed before the first heat cycle begins.

If you recently brought a new pet home, you should talk to your vet to learn more about the health benefits of getting them fixed.

Behavioral Benefits

It’s no secret that pets aren’t always on their best behavior. Like humans, hormones such as testosterone play a crucial role in how pets behave. If you have a dog or cat that’s particularly aggressive, you can calm them down a bit by getting them neutered. Neutering lowers the testosterone in your pet’s system, making them a little more relaxed and less aggressive.

Neutering can prevent many headaches depending on the type of dog you have and how they behave. You don’t want your dog biting any of your neighbors or attacking children; they’re much less likely to do that when they’ve been neutered.

No Heat Cycle

Female dogs and cats go into a heat cycle when they’re ready to reproduce, and male cats and dogs can tell when a female is in heat. As a result, male pets flock to females that are in heat in an attempt to reproduce. When you have your cat or dog spayed, they won’t have a heat cycle anymore. Dealing with heat cycles can be a real pain for pet parents, but they’re eliminated when your pets are spayed.

Longer Lives

On average, dogs and cats that have been fixed live longer lives. This is partially because pets that have been fixed typically behave better than pets that haven’t. When you get your pets spayed and neutered, you don’t have to worry about them roaming and fighting with other animals. There are also some real health benefits of spaying and neutering, including a reduced risk of certain types of cancer.

Schedule an Appointment Today

A lot goes into being a responsible pet parent, but it all starts with getting your pets the care they need when they’re young. Talk to your vet to ensure your pets get the vaccinations they need, and ask about spaying or neutering when they’re old enough. If you want to get your pet spayed or neutered, Rolling Plains Veterinary Corporation can help. Call today to schedule an appointment at one of our three locations so you can get your dog or cat fixed.

Categorised in: Cat Care, Dog Care, Pet Owners

This post was written by Dr. Marc Phillipot