SPAYING:
Spaying a female pet is a surgical procedure which surgically removes both the ovaries and the uterus. In the dog and cat, one of the major reasons for performing the sterilization surgery is to eliminate the “signs of heat” which cause males to be attracted. If the uterus alone were removed, the pet would still “come into heat,” but could not get pregnant. Removal of both the ovaries and uterus completely eliminate the signs of being “in heat.” Spaying a dog or cat before her first estrus cycle (or “heat”) substantially reduces her chance of developing ovarian or uterine cancer. Spaying early may also reduce her risk of developing breast cancer (the second most common malignancy in pets). In addition, spayed pets will not develop pyometra (an infection in the uterus), which can be life threatening and require emergency surgery. Pyometra is common in older, unspayed females.
NEUTERING:
Neutering a male pet is a surgical procedure which surgically removes the testicles because they are the major source of male hormones. Neutering substantially reduces the chance of males developing testicular cancer and can help prevent development of perianal tumors and some diseases of the prostate. As males mature, they become increasingly protective of their territory. Undesirable behaviors associated with territorial protection include aggression toward other animals (particularly males) that enter a male’s self-established territorial boundaries and urine marking of those boundaries. Fights caused by territorial aggression often result in severe injury to one or both animals involved. Stains and odors resulting from urine sprayed on walls, carpets, and furniture can be difficult to impossible to remove. Intact (unneutered) males will also actively seek out receptive females, which means that roaming and escape are potential problems. Males that roam may be injured by other animals, be hit by cars, consume garbage or contaminated water, or become lost. Roaming animals also cause problems for communities by getting into trash containers, defecating in public areas or on private lawns, ruining shrubbery, creating noise and other disturbances, and posing a risk of injury and disease to themselves and to community residents.