Why Should You Spay and Neuter Your Pets?

All cats and dogs should be spayed or neutered before they can create more cats and dogs. We require that all our cats be spayed or neutered by 6 months of age.

• A female cat having just one litter can create thousands of cats and kittens in just a few years. Most of those will be killed if they reach a shelter as an unwanted cat.
• Intact male cats fight other male cats aggressively. The older an intact male cat is, the higher the risk they’ll become infected with FIV and/or the leukemia virus picked up during these fights. The fighting behavior also often causes severe injuries.
• Another important reason to spay and neuter cats is to prevent unwanted behaviors. Intact cats want nothing more than to find other intact cats. Male cats will actively prowl their territory to defend against other intact males and mark and spray to advertise their presence. It doesn’t matter to an intact male if their territory is your house, or the world outside. Spraying urine on a bush or a tree stump to declare their presence is the same to a cat as spraying on your wall, door, or couch. Female cats will constantly cycle in and out of heat (also known as estrus) during the summer months. These cats cry out all day and all night for several days to attempt to locate a male and will also use urine, feces, or scratch marks to help declare their territory and advertise their presence to other cats. Again, it doesn’t matter if their territory is in a home, or outside.
• Finally, intact female cats are at high risk for a life-threatening condition called pyometra. This term describes a condition where the female cat gets a bacterial infection in her uterus. Without surgery, she will die. Surgery for pyometra is many times the cost of a traditional spay as by the time she gets sick; she will likely be critically ill and will need intensive care for several days to survive the infection and the surgery.