THE FAMILY PET
A Healthier Pet & Lower Veterinary Bills
A
healthier pet and likely lower veterinary bills — what more could you and your pet ask for ? It ’ s as easy a having your dog or cat spayed or neutered .
You ’ ve probably heard pet advocates say to have your pet spayed or neutered . There are good reasons to heed this advice , and it can be to your benefit . Here are ten reasons for you to join the crowd .
1 ) Lower vet bills . Pets that are sterilized are less prone to many diseases and ailments , many of which can be expensive . The cost of your pet ’ s spay / neuter surgery is a lot less than testing and treatment for something that could have been prevented with sterilization .
2 ) Sooner rather than later . Dogs and cats can be sterilized at an early age — a few months in fact . For females , it ’ s best before their first heat cycle . But even later is ok , especially if you ’ ve adopted an older dog or cat into your family .
3 ) Cancer prevention . For females , this includes reduced chances of breast , ovarian and uterine cancer . For cats with breast cancer , it is 90 % fatal ; for dogs it ’ s 50 %. For your male pet , neutering eliminates the possibility of testicular cancer .
4 ) No heat ( or for you , headaches ). Spayed females don ’ t go into heat . This is four to five days every three weeks during
breeding season for an unspayed dog / cat . You won ’ t have a pet advertising for a mate by yowling and urinating more frequently around your house . ( Meow … What litter box ?)
5 ) Less pee marking behavior . Speaking of urinating , sterilization can reduce urinating everywhere to mark their territory . Urine for setting boundaries is very powerful smelling . For you , sterilization means less cleaning up the mess left behind and fewer cans of air freshener . Your pet ’ s wonderful personality won ’ t change , just her behavior to mark and spray everywhere .
6 ) No more hump day . Any day of the week , unaltered pets may embarrass you and annoy those for whom your pet has decided to display their affection by humping everything and everyone in sight .
7 ) Fewer cats and dog fights . When unaltered animals fight it can be very aggressive , especially in males . Results can be serious , with deep wounds and transmitting potentially harmful diseases . This can mean more trips to the vet and , depending on the damage done to another animal or person , expensive or legal troubles .
8 ) Homebody pets . An intact male can go a bit crazy looking for a mate . This includes finding a way out of your home , under or over a fence , breaking away from a leash , etc . A wandering pet can easily get into trouble with other animals , traffic , or
not having a sense of direction to get back home .
9 ) Pyometria Prevention . What is Pyometria you ask ? It ’ s an infection of the uterus , a common health risk spayed female dogs can avoid . Pyometria is a serious , often rapid life-threatening illness that , by the time it is diagnosed , is often too late and the dog dies .
10 ) Pet Overpopulation . Every year millions of cats and dogs of all ages and breeds are euthanized or suffer as strays . There are dozens of rescue groups in WNY that would be happy to go out of business . While area animal shelters are mostly nonkill that doesn ’ t mean they have empty kennels , something they would love as well . In fact , any animal adopted through a local SPCA is already sterilized before you adopt your new four-footed friend .
The Niagara Frontier Veterinary Society is comprised of more than 80 small animal hospitals and nearly 200 practitioners in Erie and Niagara Counties . It serves to advance public awareness and understanding of appropriate pet health care , veterinary services and the veterinary profession .
June 2018 WNY Family 63