Cat Spaying and Neutering - the Facts

Imagine my horror, when I was researching into 'Spaying'. The estimated number of cats and dogs that are brought into shelters throughout the United States is between 8 and 10 million.

Then reading the research, came more bad news, half of these cats and dogs are put to sleep in the shelters because of a lack of good homes. Then I had a change of heart, being put to sleep in a shelter surrounded by loving caring staff is a lot better than being left to die on the streets with no food or medical care You may think that if there's millions of cats in shelters, then there cannot possibly be any left on the streets suffering terrible conditions, think again. Where do these pets come from? I would guess that they come from homes where dogs and cats are allowed to breed indiscriminately. Are we responsible for their breeding? I would say that as pet owners it is our responsibility not to stop them from doing what comes naturally but to try and reduce the amount of cats that suffer terrible ends. There is a simple solution to this, we need to spay / neuter our cats and urge all lovers of cats to do the same.

What are Spaying and Neutering?

As a cat lover, I don't profess to know much about spaying and neutering, but I hope that by researching this subject I can let myself become more knowledgeable, and by writing about it I can spread the word. Spaying and Neutering cats are probably the most common procedures in veterinary clinics throughout the UK. The cats feel no pain as both are done under a general anesthetic. Neutering a male cat involves making small incisions in the scrotum and removing the testes. No sutures are made and the scrotal sacs are usually covered with antibiotics and left to heal. Spaying a female cat is an abdominal surgery, which requires the removal of the cat's uterus and ovaries.

The Benefits of Spaying a Female

Spaying your female cat will prevent unwanted litters. That is the fundamental issue, because if your cat gives birth, you are the one faced with the task of finding new homes for the kittens. However, there are other benefits to having your cat spayed, the removal of the ovaries and the uterus will obviously prevent infections or tumors of these parts. Spaying a cat before she goes into her first heat is probably the best time, as this will also greatly decrease the risk of mammary cancer. Even If you receive an unspayed older cat as a pet, having her spayed will still decrease the risk of mammary cancer. If your cat is in heat, she will be doing her best to attract lots of male cats, I wouldn't advise waiting for the heat cycle to end because if your cat doesn't mate, she will keep going into heat every few weeks.

The Benefits of Neutering a Male

(Continued on next page)