February is Spay and Neuter Awareness Month, also known as Beat the Heat Month! Created by a coalition of veterinary clinics, rescue centers, and animal welfare organizations, the goal of the month is to raise awareness about the benefits of spaying and neutering pets. While the decision to spay or neuter is deeply personal, that decision impacts the community as a whole. Here’s how spaying or neutering can help keep your pets healthier and better behaved while preventing unplanned litters.
What Do We Mean By “Spaying and Neutering Pets”?
Spaying and neutering are two routine surgical procedures that make it so animals cannot reproduce. Spaying typically means removing a female animal’s ovaries and uterus (ovariectomy or ovariohysterectomy). Neutering means removing a male pet’s testicles (orchiectomy). Pets that have not been spayed or neutered are referred to as “intact,” while spayed/neutered pets are “altered” or “sterilized.”
Both spaying and neutering are performed under general anesthesia. Like all surgical procedures, there are some risks associated with anesthesia and recovery. However, most pets fully recover within 7-14 days. Healthy young animals have the lowest risks and are less likely to have any serious complications.
Benefits of Spaying and Neutering Pets
Prevent Certain Health Conditions
Early spaying of female dogs and cats can help protect them from serious health problems later in life, including uterine infections and breast cancer. For male pets, neutering reduces the risk of developing benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate gland) and testicular cancer.
One study conducted by Banfield Pet Hospitals on a database of 2.2 million dogs and 460,000 cats concluded that neutered male dogs lived 18% longer and spayed female dogs lived 23% longer. Spayed female cats in the study lived 39% longer, and neutered male cats lived 62% longer.
Curb Unwanted Behaviors
Intact animals, especially male animals, are more likely to display a wide range of socially unacceptable behaviors. These behaviors include:
- Increased aggression towards other animals, especially other intact animals
- Excessive urine marking
- Roaming in search of potential mates
- Mounting behavior
- Heightened territoriality or resource-guarding
Intact females also experience hormonal fluctuations during the heat cycle, which can lead to more aggressive behavior, especially towards other female animals.
Prevent Unwanted Litters
Most importantly, from a community standpoint, spaying and neutering pets prevents unwanted litters of puppies and kittens. The ASPCA has declared a pet homelessness crisis, with approximately 6.3 million companion animals entering shelters nationwide every year. Each year, about 920,000 animals are euthanized due to overcrowding in shelters and rescues.
Considering female cats reach reproductive age at just four months old and dogs can reproduce between six and twelve months old, early spaying and neutering can prevent hundreds of unwanted births over a single animal’s lifetime.
Accessible Spaying and Neutering for Pets in Damascus, Oregon
At Pine Point Animal Hospital, our mission is to help all animals—big and small! That means providing affordable, accessible care for pets at every stage of life. To learn more about pricing, scheduling, and pre-operative care for your pet’s procedure, give us a call at 503-912-4477. Together, we can decide if spaying or neutering is the right course of action for your pet!