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Why Spay or Neuter? -
To end pet
overpopulation - About 70,000 puppies and kittens are born daily in the U.S. Approximately 60% are killed in shelters. Here at home, an average of 166 healthy pets are killed each day in metro Atlanta shelters. By spaying and neutering your pets, you can help reduce the need for more animal shelters - thereby saving tax dollars.
- To improve your pet's health - Neutering a male cat or dog by six months of age prevents testicular cancer, prostate disease, and hernias. Spaying a female cat or dog prevents pyometra (an infected uterus) and breast cancer. Having this done before the first heat offers the best protection from these diseases. Breast cancer is fatal in about 50% of female dogs and 90% of female cats. With an older, seriously ill animal, anesthesia and surgery are complicated and costly.
- To improve your pet's behavior - In female cats and dogs, spaying eliminates "heat" periods, which include bloody discharges in dogs, and frantic pacing and wailing in both dogs and cats. Neutering male dogs and cats usually stops them from spraying foul-smelling urine, stops embarrassing mounting behavior, reduces their aggressiveness, and reduces their desire to roam far and wide in search of a mate.
- To reduce expenses - Owners of unneutered male cats and dogs often incur large veterinary bills as a result of fighting with other animals, or getting hit by a car as they search for a mate. Owners of unspayed female cats and dogs must care for mothers who have difficult pregnancies, and should start the kittens' or puppies' shots. In many locations, owners of spayed or neutered cats and dogs receive a discount on local licensing fees.
- To improve the community - Homeless cats and dogs eliminate in neighborhood yards, pass diseases to other animals, spread fleas and flea eggs, fight and mate loudly in the night, turn over trash cans, and otherwise disrupt quiet community life.
Communities spend millions of tax dollars each year to control unwanted
animals.
Some stray animals
also scare away or kill birds and wildlife.
Animal shelters
are overburdened with surplus animals.
Myths and Facts About Spaying and Neutering
Source:
SpayGeorgia.org and
The Humane Society of the United States
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