Choose For Your Pet. . . Pethood Or Parenthood Pethood Pethood is a way of life dogs and cats adapt to readily. Certainly it's a good life for most, with plenty of nourishing food and fresh water, a warm, dry place to sleep, medical care when needed and, of course, your affection.
Your dog or cat responds to these favors by making you and your family the center of its devotion. A well-trained canine or feline companion does its best to please you, and willingly accepts certain rules of "socialization." Your dog learns to accept house-breaking and not to chew up your socks. Your cat learns not to climb on the draperies or claw the furniture. But learning to control their mating instincts is something pets cannot do.
Aside from the possibilities of an unwanted pregnancy and litter, there are several aspects of a dog's or cat's natural reproductive processes and mating instincts, which interfere with the joys of pethood for both pet and owner. For example, you may have already endured the nervous pacing and plaintive meowing of a female cat "in heat." Perhaps you've had to remove bloodstains from your carpet or cope with unwelcome males during your female pet's "heat" periods. Or, is your tomcat one of the many that has developed the annoying habit of spraying foul-smelling urine on furniture and draperies to "stake out his territory"?
Your male pet's desire for romance may make him break loose and get into trouble. Even if these problems are under control, your pet may be frustrated if you block its mating instincts.
Fortunately, most of these problems and frustrations, along with the possibility of unwanted litters, can be eliminated by surgically removing certain reproductive organs. The result--a happier, healthier pethood for your dog or cat and an easier life for you. But your pet can't decide to have an operation. You must choose.
Parenthood
The transition from pethood to parenthood brings about a new way of life for most dogs and cats. In spite of what many people think, motherhood does not "round out" a pet's personality. As a mother, your pet must divide her affection between you and her litter. This may make her irritable and hard to get along with. And parenthood for your pet really means parenthood for you, too. You must share the burden of caring for the newcomers, particularly if they become ill or have other problems their mother can't cope with.
More importantly, you must find a good home for each new kitten or pup. No one really knows how many dogs and cats are born in the U.S. each year, but the numbers are staggering, and we do know that there is a total of well over 105 million dogs and cats. Since there are only 84 million households in the entire country, increasing numbers of these animals are finding themselves homeless. Even if you find someone to adopt each of your pet's offspring, every pup or kitten you place eliminates a potential home for some other animal.
Most animal shelters are overflowing with unwanted cats and dogs. Usually these agencies do well to find a home for 1 or 2 out of 10. The millions that cannot be placed in homes must be humanely killed. The fate of those that don't find their way to shelters is even more unpleasant. Left to fend for themselves, many abandoned animals die of starvation and disease. Others are killed by automobiles or poison, or injured by wild animals.
Your pet's search for parenthood could lead to similar circumstances. On the loose, it may eat garbage or drink contaminated water. Courting males - particularly tomcats - often fight and injure each other. Females that become pregnant may have to endure a difficult delivery or birth complication without assistance. And even if she never becomes a parent, your unspayed female is more prone to develop uterine infections and mammary cancer.
Surgical Neutering...What is it?
To accomplish surgical neutering, a veterinarian removes certain reproductive organs. If your cat or dog is a female, the veterinarian will remove her ovaries, fallopian tubes and uterus. The proper name for this operation is an ovariohysterectomy, although it is commonly called "spaying."
The testicles are removed from a male animal. This operation is properly called an orchiectomy, although it is usually referred to as "neutering."
What are the advantages?
For you, the operation results in added convenience. It eliminates blood stains on carpets and floors, and usually stops tomcats from spraying strong-smelling urine on furniture and drapes. You'll no longer have annoying or menacing suitors to contend with. There's no need to confine your pet during "heat" periods, and no unwanted litters to take care of or find homes for. Your pet will be more likely to stay home and devote attention to you and your family.
For dogs and cats, surgical neutering eliminates a female's chances of developing uterine infections and reduces the possibility that she might develop mammary cancer. Males usually become less aggressive and spend more time at home, thus decreasing their chances of being injured in fights or automobile accidents.
Your community will also benefit. Unwanted animals are becoming a very real concern in many places. Stray animals can easily become a public nuisance, soiling parks and streets, ruining shrubbery, frightening children and elderly people, creating noise and other disturbances, causing automobile accidents, and sometimes even killing livestock or other pets.
As a potential source of rabies and other less serious diseases, they can be a public health hazard. The capture, impoundment and eventual destruction of unwanted animals costs taxpayers and private humanitarian agencies millions of dollars each year.
Will it change my pet's intelligence or disposition?
Only for the better. The operation has no effect on intelligence. And most neutered pets tend to be more gentle and affectionate. They become less interested in other animals and spend more time with the family.
Will it make my pet fat?
Removing the ovaries or testicles does affect metabolism. This seems to make many neutered pets put on weight more easily if permitted to overeat. The diet of every dog and cat should be carefully regulated to prevent excess weight, and this is particularly true after a neutering operation.
Is the operation painful?
Spaying and neutering operations are performed painlessly while your pet is under general anesthesia. After the surgery there may be some discomfort, but this is part of the normal healing process and can be controlled with medication.
When should my pet have the operation?
Generally speaking, as early as possible. Most veterinarians recommend that a female be spayed before her first estrus or "heat" period (around 6 months of age). A male dog or a tomcat can be neutered at 6 months to a year old. Your veterinarian can recommend the best time for your pet.
Is the operation expensive?
Professional fees for spaying and neutering reflect the difficulty of the procedures involved. The actual fee varies from one area to another, depending largely on the economics of maintaining a veterinary hospital in a particular community. The size, age, sex and health of your pet affect the cost of the operation.
If the fee seems high, remember that surgical neutering is permanent. It's a lifetime investment in your pet that can solve a number of problems for you, your pet, and society already burdened with too many dogs and cats. In fact, it could save you money in the long run. The cost of boarding your pet during just one or two "heat" periods, for example, probably would pay for an ovariohysterectomy.
A litter--wanted or unwanted--also means added expenses. A nursing mother needs extra food and care, and once weaned, the offspring must be fed as well. New pups and kittens also need inoculations and they may have to be treated for parasites. Even if your pet never has a litter, she could develop "female disorders" that would require surgery similar to or even more serious than spaying.
Will it stop the "pet population explosion"?
Spaying and neutering pets will help reduce the problem of surplus cats and dogs, but surgery alone is not enough. Un-owned animals are a major part of the problem. In addition to creating a public nuisance and possible health hazard, stray dogs and cats give birth to unwanted pups and kittens at an alarming rate.
Many communities have tremendously reduced or nearly eliminated their unwanted animal populations simply by enforcing existing animal control regulations. Others have come to grips with the problem by passing more stringent laws and enforcing them rigidly.
As a concerned citizen, you should do everything you can to see that leash laws and other animal control regulations in your community are up to date and adequately enforced. And, as a responsible pet owner, you should make sure your pet does not contribute to the problem.
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