It's World Spay Day - The importance of neutering your pet

Submitted by Steve on 09:31, 24th Feb, 2015 | 0

The last Tuesday of February is World Spay Day.

With tens of thousands of pets owned in Guernsey and across the EU 61 million dogs and 66 million cats it is important that unwanted litters are avoided.

In Guernsey we are lucky in recent years to rarely see puppies and the number of unwanted kittens have slowly declined.

Unfortunately the numbers of ferrets and rabbits have increased and the GSPCA each year has seen an increase of unwanted adults and youngsters.

Spaying your female pet is an easy way to help prevent unwanted litters and can have a number of other health benefits.

If your pet isn't spayed then speak to your local vet fro details and advise -

The Vetcare Centres

Isabelle Vets

Vets 4 Pets

At the GSPCA all of our rabbits, ferrets, dogs and cats are neutered as part of the rehoming process.

Here are a few neutering facts:

Your female pet will live a longer, healthier life. Did you know the oldest cat reached the grand old age of 38!
Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer, which is fatal in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats.
Spaying your pet before her first heat offers the best protection from these diseases.
Neutering provides major health benefits for your male.
Besides preventing unwanted litters, neutering your male companion can help prevent testicular cancer.
Your spayed female won't go into heat. While cycles can vary, female felines usually go into heat four to five days every three weeks during the breeding season which with mild winters and heated homes can extend all year round.
In unneutered in an effort to advertise for mates, they'll yowl and urinate more frequently—sometimes all over the house!
Your male dog won't want to roam away from home. An intact male will do just about anything to find a mate! That includes digging his way under the fence and making like Houdini to escape from the home. Once he's free to roam, he risks injury in traffic and fights with other males. Your neutered male will be much better behaved. Each year the GSPCA help around 300 road traffic accident cats and 200 stray dogs in Guernsey.
Neutered cats and dogs focus their attention on their human families. On the other hand, unneutered dogs and cats may mark their territory by spraying strong-smelling urine all over the house.
Many aggression problems can be avoided by early neutering.
Spaying or neutering will NOT make your pet fat and shouldn't be used as an excuse! Lack of exercise and overfeeding will cause your pet to put on the extra pounds, not neutering. Your pet will remain fit and trim as long as you continue to provide exercise and monitor food intake.
It is highly cost-effective. The cost of your pet's spay/neuter surgery is a lot less than the cost of having and caring for a litter. It also beats the cost of treatment when your unneutered tom escapes and gets into fights with a local stray.
Spaying and neutering your pet is good for the community. Stray animals pose a real problem in many parts of the world. They can prey on wildlife, cause car accidents, damage the local fauna and frighten children.
Spaying and neutering packs a powerful punch in reducing the number of unwanted animals.
Your pet doesn't need to have a litter for your children to learn about the miracle of birth. Letting your pet produce offspring you have no intention of keeping is not a good lesson for your children, especially when so many unwanted animals end up in shelters. There are tons of books and videos available to teach your children about birth in a more responsible way.
Spaying and neutering helps fight pet overpopulation and especially with the number of ferrets and rabbits in Guernsey it is extremely important to help prevent this.
Every year, hundreds of animals of all ages and breeds are found as strays in Guernsey with a growing number of stray rabbits and ferrets.

Steve Byrne GSPCA Manager said "Today is World Spay Day and the GSPCA would like to highlight the importance of neutering your pet."

"Thankfully we have seen a decline in the number of unwanted litters from cats and dogs in Guernsey, but we have certainly seen an increase in unwanted ferrets and rabbits."

"If you have a pet at home or thinking about adopting or purchasing one it is always a good idea to speak to your vet about neutering to help prevent unwanted litters and the possible health benefits this can bring."

Sarah Creasey Animal Welfare and Education Officer said "We often speak to owners that have collections of animals that have produced unwanted litters as a male has got in with a female unexpectedly."

"At the GSPCA we always have dozens of animals looking for homes and we ensure that if it is a species that can be neutered that this is done to help the owner have a pet that won't experience the issues that an unneutered animal can have."

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