3 Major Reasons to Spay and Neuter Your Pets

When welcoming a new pet into a home, owners should make a point to bring their pet to the veterinarian for both a health checkup and to ensure that their new pet receives the appropriate vaccinations. You may have also been told to spay and neuter your animals so they don’t have kittens or puppies. But you may be feeling on the fence about spay and neuter. There are important reasons why your pet should be spayed or neutered. 

What Exactly Does It Mean To Get Your Pet “Fixed?”

It’s on the to do list of responsible pet owners when they adopt a pet: get them a check up, get their vaccinations, and get them “fixed”. What exactly does this mean? Typically when pet owners take their animals to the veterinarian to “get fixed,” male animals are neutered by having their testes removed. Female animals are spayed, meaning their ovaries, uterus, and fallopian tubes are removed. In both cases, this results in your pet being unable to reproduce. 

Some veterinarians may use other options, so if you have any questions about the procedure and what will work best for your pet’s health, it’s a good idea to get in touch with your vet so they can explain their recommendations to you. However, here are some compelling reasons to get your pet spayed or neutered: 

1) Health Benefits

There are serious health benefits for pets that are spayed and neutered. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, spaying female animals reduces the risk of breast cancer and uterine infections. Neutering male pets helps to prevent prostate problems and testicular cancer. Eliminating these potential health problems can add happy, healthy years to your pet’s life and give you some valuable peace of mind that you are taking steps toward your pet’s wellbeing.

2) Improved Behavior

Spaying or neutering your pet can cause big improvements in your pet’s behavior and can also prevent bad habits from forming. This works because once spayed or neutered, your pet will no longer produce the hormones that give them the drive to find a mate and reproduce. This typically means that pets are more docile and less likely to be aggressive toward animals that they may otherwise view as “competition.” They also will be less likely to try and physically mark their territory — behaviors like spraying are much less likely to develop. Female animals will not go into heat. 

Your pets will also be much less likely to wander away from home if they are spayed and neutered as they will not go out searching for a mate. This will save you a great deal of stress and will mean that they are much safer. It is also a popular belief that animals who are spayed and neutered form stronger bonds with their human owners, whether proven or not.

3) Reduced Number Of Unwanted Pets

Spaying and neutering your pets reduces the overall pet population. Every day, many homeless animals are euthanized in shelters because animal shelters are crowded and resources are sadly not always available. You can help shelters and homeless pets by not increasing the overall pet population. 

You might reason with yourself that you’ll definitely be able to find homes for your cat or dog’s entire litter; however, if everyone who took a kitten or puppy from you instead adopted a shelter pet, that would free up more space in the shelters. Male animals might also father kittens or puppies without you ever realizing it. If they mate with a stray pet, you might not know to help. 

If you have more questions about getting your pet spayed or neutered, want more information on the process, or want to figure out when the best time to get your pet in for the procedure, contact Bregman Vet Group today to schedule an appointment! Helping your pet can help the pet population overall!