Talking With Pet Doctors

3 Reasons To Spay Or Neuter Your Pet

by Christy Adams

When you have a pet, it is your responsibility to ensure they are healthy. There are a lot of things that you have to do to make sure that they stay healthy. That includes making sure they get all their shots. It also includes making sure that your pet is spayed or neutered. Spaying or neutering your pet has a lot of benefits for the animal.

Healthier

In general, altering your pet will make them healthier. For example, spaying a female cat or dog can help prevent things like breast or ovarian cancer. Neutering your male pets can also help them avoid certain forms of cancer. Cancer is a terrible disease for your pets to go through because they don't understand what is going on. All they know is that they're hurt. Anything you can do to help your pet avoid that pain is good. Spaying or neutering your pet is relatively non-invasive, inexpensive, and easy for your vet to do. It is usually a same-day surgery, and it can save your pet from much worse treatments.

Marking

Male pets, especially cats, tend to mark their territory by spraying urine everywhere. It doesn't matter if it is outside or inside your house; your pet is going to spray. Having your male pet neutered helps to get rid of that issue. Ideally, it would be best to get them fixed when they are young, generally under a year old. However, you can neuter an older pet, which should help stop them from spraying. It is not a guarantee that they will, but in most cases, they will stop spraying after the testosterone has left their body.

Safer

Altering your pet will also keep them safer. One reason is that getting rid of all those sex hormones cuts your pet's need to breed. They aren't going to be running around trying to find a partner to make babies. For a male, being neutered will also help to keep them safer because they won't fight as much. Intact males of all species need to prove their dominance over one another, and so they fight. Being neutered eliminates testosterone, and your pet will have a much smaller interest in fighting.

As a responsible pet owner, you must do several things to ensure your pets live a longer, happier, healthier life. One of those things is to take your pet to the vet so that they can be spayed or neutered.

Contact a spay and neuter vet to learn more.

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