Spay & Neuter Benefits Part I

Don't Litter - Spay Neuter

Guest Blogger Janet Gray, DVM shares insights on the topic of spaying and neutering dogs and cats. Dr. Gray is Lead Veterinarian for the Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project.

I received an urgent call one morning last week.  A cat had given birth to a single kitten 2 days prior, but had done nothing since: had not eaten, gone to the litter box, or moved around much.  An x-ray done at another veterinary clinic revealed a kitten stuck in the birth canal.  The cat was in bad shape.  Could we help?

I spend my days spaying and neutering cats.  “Spaying” is the common term for an ovariohysterectomy, the removal of the ovaries and uterus (the reproductive structures) of the female, and “neutering” refers to the removal of the testicles of a male.

Preventing problems during the birth of puppies or kittens is only one of the potential health benefits of spaying your pet.  I often hear clients who want their kids to experience the “miracle of birth.”  Today we have the luxury of YouTube and other video mediums which make it extremely easy for kids to “experience” that miracle at the computer screen without adding to the companion animal overpopulation problem.  Not many people think that their pet is going to have problems while having puppies or kittens, and even fewer are prepared for the costs associated with complications.  Still-births, dystocia (“difficult birth,” like what this cat experienced), and infections can affect the health, and even risk the life of your pet.

Pyometria is the term for an infected uterus (it means literally “pus in the uterus”).  It is not uncommon to find a pyometra in a cat that the owner thought was completely healthy.  Cats hide illness well.  Dogs usually give us a better signal that something is wrong, by not eating, moping around, and sometimes having discharge from their vulva.  Pyometras can be life threatening, and they usually occur after a heat cycle.  Spaying eliminates the risk entirely.

Contrary to often-held beliefs, females do not benefit from having a litter or even from going into heat, prior to being spayed.  Dogs spayed prior to their first heat cycle have very little risk of mammary cancer.  Dogs spayed later in life have a much higher risk of mammary tumors.  Female hormones can stimulate mammary cancer growth in dogs, similar to the link between estrogen and breast cancer in women.

Neutering also can diminish the risk of prostate disease and testicular cancer.  The first (and often only) treatment of enlarged prostate (which can result in painful or difficult urination) in unaltered males is to neuter them.  Once the hormonal stimulation is gone, the prostate shrinks.

There are still millions of dogs and cats being euthanized in shelters simply because there are not enough homes for them.  Please consider spaying and neutering your pets not only for their health, but for the prevention of litters of puppies and kittens.  Puppies and kittens are cute, and you may find homes for them, but that means those homes are no longer available for dogs and cats already in shelters.

So what happened to the cat with the kitten stuck in the birth canal?  The cat had surgery and the kitten was removed, no longer alive.  The mom cat was then spayed.  The baby born 2 days earlier did not survive either, likely because mom did not feel well enough to care for him the first 2 days of his life.  The owners were relieved that they did not lose their beloved “mom” cat.

The Feral Cat Project is responsible for altering nearly 75,000 Puget Sound area cats since1997!