Spay & Neuter program
Population Facts
You Can Help
Spay/Neuter Procedure Explained
Female Heat Cycle
Health Benefits of Spaying and Neutering
How to Find Low Cost Spay or Neuter For Your Cat
Population Facts
Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U.S. - and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. As long as these birth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals. As a result, every year 4 to 6 million animals are euthanized because there are no homes for them.
You Can Help!
One of the most important things you can do to help is to spay and neuter your pet! In addition to saving lives, spaying and neutering can also drastically improve your pet's health and life expectancy. The idea that pets become fat or lazy when they are spayed or neutered is a myth. Sterilized pets lead healthier, longer lives. Spaying a female eliminates the possibility of uterine and ovarian cancer and greatly reduces the risk of breast cancer. Neutering a male reduces the risk of both prostate enlargement and prostate cancer. Neutering also will make your pet less likely to roam, get in fights or become lost.
Spay/Neuter Procedure Explained
Spaying (ovario-hysterectomy) is the surgical removal of the reproductive organs (ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes) of the female cat. Neutering (orchectomy or castration) is the surgical removal of the reproductive glands (testes) of the male cat. The outer is left, only the testes are removed. Females and males should be spayed or neutered by 6 months of age. Currently some clinics are performing surgeries on animals as young as 8 weeks of age. As this procedure becomes more common, perhaps it will be available in all areas. Older animals can be done as long as they are in good health. All sterilization surgery is performed under general anesthesia by a licensed veterinarian. Female cats can be spayed when in heat or pregnant. This can usually be done up until a few days before delivery. These surgeries can take longer and can therefore cost more. Spaying before having a first litter or heat cycle is usually a simpler procedure.
Female Heat Cycle
Heat cycles in cats start as early as 6 months and occur every 3-4 weeks during spring through early fall. The gestation period for cats is 63 days. Female cats can become pregnant again as soon as 10 days after giving birth (while still nursing the first litter).
Health Benefits of Spaying and Neutering
Spayed and neutered cats no longer feel the need to roam to look for a mate. The result is that they stay home and have less chance of being involved in traumatic accidents such as being hit by a car. They also have a much lower incidence of contracting contagious diseases, and get into fewer fights.
In males, neutering decreases the chances of developing prostatic disease and hernias, and eliminates the chances of developing testicular cancer. It also reduces problems with territorial and sexual aggression, inappropriate urination (spraying) and other undesirable male behaviors.
In females, spaying decreases the incidence of breast cancer (the rate goes down to almost zero if the spaying is done before the first heat cycle). It eliminates the chance of developing a serious and potentially fatal infection of the uterus (pyometra) experienced by many mature, unspayed cats. Spay surgery also eliminates the heat cycle and the attraction of all available males to your yard.
The simple fact is that spaying and neutering greatly increases the lifespan of your pet and increases quality of life as well!
How to Find Low Cost Spay or Neuter For Your Cat
www.massanimalcoalition.org/spayneuter%20info.html
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