ABOUT SPAYING & NEUTERING

All dogs and cats, male and female, should be spayed and neutered unless the owners plan to breed them in a responsible and caring way.

Spaying (sterilisation) a female dog or cat is a surgical procedure to remove the uterus (womb) and ovaries. This ensures that she does not come into season (heat), nor can she become pregnant.

Neutering (castration) a male dog or cat is a surgical procedure to remove the testicles.

All of these surgeries are performed using good pain control, general anaesthesia and careful surgical practices performed by a veterinary surgeon. All of these surgeries can be done at a young age, prior to puberty. We recommend that they are done by six months of age.

• Did You Know?? In 7 years, 1 unspayed dog + her offspring can produce over 4,000 dogs!

DOGS

Pet owners will be pleased to learn that the Department of the Environment is promoting Spay Week. Veterinary Surgeons and Animal Welfare Groups have advised the Department that spaying dogs is a big step in reducing the high number of unwanted dogs euthanised in Ireland every year. Spaying and neutering needs to happen all year. The DOE is the government body that administers the Control of Dogs Act, and this participation shows that they support education, spaying and neutering as a way of addressing the unwanted dog overpopulation crisis.

Why spay your female dog?

Stopping seasons

Twice a year, for approximately a month, a female dog comes into season. During this time she is attractive to male dogs, and despite every effort can become pregnant. This attractiveness can be a nuisance to you and your neighbours as large numbers of dogs can congregate outside your house. There is absolutely no advantage to letting a bitch come in heat before being spayed.

• Did You Know???? Every year up to 30,000 dogs are destroyed in Irish pounds: per capita, a destruction rate 10 times that of both England and Wales.

Spaying your dog is the best way to ensure she never has puppies. It is also an important way of reducing the numbers of unwanted puppies and dogs needlessly euthanised. (Every year 30,000 dogs are destroyed in Irish pounds.)

Preventive Health

Breast cancer accounts for a significant proportion of all cancers in female dogs, half of which are malignant. Sadly, by the time owners seek veterinary attention many malignant cancers have already spread to other parts of the body making successful treatment almost impossible. Breast cancer can be almost completely prevented by spaying your female dog before her first season.

Unspayed middle to older aged dogs that have had several heat cycles or have been given mismate injections run a high risk of Pyometra. This condition can be life threatening, requiring emergency surgery to remove the diseased womb. False pregnancies commonly occur after a season and can be extremely distressing for your pet.

Throughout their seasons, female dogs are at increased risk of injuries from cars, or being picked up as strays, as they may try to escape while looking for a mate or are chased by male dogs.

Why neuter your male dog?

Prevention at a younger age is easier than the problems of middle age

Cancers of the prostate gland, the anus and the testicles do not happen in dogs who are castrated before they are one year old. Prostate changes, which start at middle age, can lead to infections or painful prostate gland swelling. This can be treated with antibiotics, hormone injections, and, if that is not successful, major surgery. Dogs who are neutered when they are young are very unlikely to develop these prostate gland diseases.

Controlling behaviour problems

Reducing certain types of aggression towards other dogs or people. Stopping excessive urine marking. Reducing the urge to roam after female dogs in heat

• Did You Know?? In 9 years, 1 unspayed female cat, her unneutered mate + all their offspring can produce over 11,606,077 cats!

Why spay your female cat?

Cats are a reproductive success story. They are very fertile, and will come into heat any time during the year, for one week every three weeks until mated. Female cats call and leave a scent which attracts the attention of unneutered tom cats from miles around.

Cats often become pregnant when they are still very young themselves.

Cats can have at least two litters of kittens per year. You could find yourself with ONE cat who can populate her environment with 12 kittens a year or 60 kittens in her life time.

Cats feeding kittens can become pregnant again as soon as 4 weeks after giving birth.

Why let this happen - there are not enough good homes. Cats who are spayed are less likely to have womb infections or breast cancer.

Why neuter a male cat?

Prevention is better than the cure

Tom cats (unneutered males) get into cat fights. If a cat is neutered before six months it is very likely that they will not roam, spray urine and fight.

During cat fights injuries leading to infections can occur. The simplest problem is a cat fight abcess. This will require a visit to the vet and at a minimum antibiotics - and more often surgical treatment. However, much more serious diseases such as Cat AIDS can occur when cats infect each other with a virus in a bite wound. There is no cure for cat AIDS.

Tom cats will roam for miles and can be badly treated as unwanted animals by home owners frustrated by the noise of fighting cats or cats spraying their house.

Tom cats mark their territory with a strong smelling urine which is difficult to remove.

Tom cats are six times more likely to die at a younger age than neutered cats.

Tom cats father lots of kittens, many of whom die or are unwanted.

How does spaying and neutering my pets contribute to the community?

On three levels:

1) Ethical: Reducing the number of animals born is the only ethical solution to overpopulation that will have a long-term effect. Killing is not an ethical means of reducing the number of animals.

2) Financial: Increasing the number of animals sterilised will reduce the number of animals born and will, therefore, reduce the number of animals entering pounds and shelters. This, in turn, will reduce animal control costs.

3) Public health and safety: Reducing the number of animals born will benefit public health and safety. For example, a reduction in the overpopulation will mean a reduction in: dogs running loose, causing traffic hazards, dog bites, dog fights, barking complaints and dog droppings. For cats, it will reduce feral colonies, cat fights, spraying, pregnant strays, etc. (Source: The Fund for Animals)

Common concerns about Spaying & Neutering

Is my pet at risk having this operation?

No! provided they are young, well and healthy. Your vet will explain this routine surgery to you, and the fact that it does require general anaesthesia, pain control and careful surgical procedure. Recovery is usually uneventful. Your vet may advise that if your female pet is in heat that you should wait until they are not. This is to avoid the problems of bleeding and shock when operating on a cat or dog in heat.

If your pet is older or already has signs of diseases because of being unspayed or unneutered, the risks of surgery and the advantages of surgery will be explained by your vet.

Will my pet gain weight and become less playful?

No! Pets become fat and lazy as a result of overeating and a lack of exercise, not from spaying or neutering.

Will they be less able to guard my place?

No! provided they are trained to guard.

Spaying and neutering isn't "natural".

Humans domesticated animals and brought them into our lives. The environment we and our pets live in is very different from the 'natural' one. We have made them dependent on us, which means we are responsible for their well being, just as we are with any other family member.

Shouldn't a female pet have one litter first?

Allowing a female dog or cat to produce a litter does not have any benefits. There are health risks to the mother during the pregnancy and when giving birth. Finding good homes for puppies and kittens isn't easy. Plus, even if you manage to place your pet's offspring, you are in essence condemning to death that number of unwanted shelter and pound animals who need a home too.