World Spay Day is celebrated each year on the fourth Tuesday in February. In honor of this day celebrated throughout the veterinary field, we would like to provide some resources about spaying and neutering your pet.
In this article, we’ll examine why you should spay or neuter your pet. We’ll also address some concerns by identifying the risks associated with these procedures.
Why It’s Important to Spay or Neuter Your Pet
According to the ASPCA, 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized annually in the United States alone. While this number may seem alarming, it’s important to note that pet owners can make a difference by sterilizing (spaying females or neutering males). You can do your part to prevent the birth of unwanted kittens and puppies by having your cat or dog fixed.
In addition to helping reduce the number of unwanted offspring, spaying and neutering your pet also has behavioral and health benefits as well. Sterilization may mitigate many of the behavioral problems associated with the mating instinct and can also help protect against some serious health problems in cats and dogs.
Spaying Your Female Cat or Dog
Spaying your female cat or dog involves removing its ovaries, eliminating naturally occurring heat cycles. In turn, this procedure generally reduces owner frustration that comes along with the unwanted behaviors of these cycles in our pets.
Threats of uterine infections and breast cancer can be minimized and, in some cases, eliminated with the early spaying of female cats and dogs. You can help protect your pets from serious health problems later in life by proactively spaying.
Neutering Your Male Cat or Dog
Neutering your male cat or dog involves removing the testes, which helps with reducing the natural breeding instinct found in all animals. As a result, this procedure makes your cats or dogs less inclined to roam and more content to stay at home, minimizing their risk of getting in harm’s way.
The risk of developing benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate gland) and testicular cancer can be minimized in male pets by neutering.
Risks Associated with Spay/Neuter Procedures
Contrary to popular belief, spaying and neutering your pet in no way negatively impacts their intelligence or their ability to:
Hunt
Work
Play
Learn
In fact, some pets become more desirable companions following these procedures as they tend to be better behaved.
Anesthetic and Surgical Risk
The most common surgeries veterinarians perform on cats and dogs are spaying and neutering, despite being major surgical procedures. The overall incidence of complications during these procedures is very low, but it’s important to note that, like any surgical procedure, they are associated with some anesthetic and surgical risk.
Ensuring that your pet is in good health before the procedure is critical. That’s why your veterinarian will provide your pet with a thorough physical examination.
Aloha Veterinary Acupuncture Wants to Keep Your Pets Healthy
Here at Aloha Veterinary Acupuncture, we are committed to helping you keep your pets healthy. That’s why we want to provide you with veterinary tips and tricks that sometimes won’t necessarily correlate with acupuncture.
Of course, if you’re interested in exploring the world of veterinary acupuncture, we’re here for you, too!
Take a look at the benefits of veterinary acupuncture, and feel free to contact us with any additional questions you might have. Dr. Kho is happy to discuss your pet and address any questions or concerns you may have about veterinary acupuncture.