Why Spay or Neuter?

Every day, 70,000 puppies and kittens are born in the U.S. Only one out of every 10 of these creatures will ever find a lifelong home.

The rest of them wind up on the streets, in shelters, in the clutches of animal hoarders, or dead.

For the animals that wind up in shelters, roughly 4,000,000 – 7,000,000 of them are euthanized each year. This means that every single day, somewhere between 11,000 and 19,000 cats and dogs are killed in shelters, simply because we do not have enough homes for them. Think about your own beloved pet, and how awful it would have been for him or her to wind up as one of the unlucky ones. Thank goodness your pet found a loving home! But sadly, so many other pets who are just as deserving of love never will.

Fortunately, there is a very effective way to combat our pet overpopulation: spay and neuter.

Of course, it’s quite likely that you never plan to breed your pet. That’s great! However, controlling the pet overpopulation is not the only reason to spay or neuter your pet. The reality is that sterilizing (spaying or neutering) your pet comes with a host of other benefits. Most importantly, you will be drastically improving the chances that your pet will live a long and healthy life.

Benefits of Spaying

1. She will never develop uterine cancer.

2. She will never develop ovarian cancer.

3. She will likely never develop breast cancer, especially if spayed before her first heat cycle.

4. She will never develop “pyometra”, a very common, painful, and potentially deadly infection of the uterus.

5. She will not have a vaginal prolapse, when is when part of the vagina slides out of the opening and exits the body.

6. She won’t go “into heat” and be sexually receptive.

7. She will be far less likely to roam, and won’t run away in search of a mate.

8. Dog licenses are cheaper is she’s spayed.

Benefits of Neutering

1. He will never develop testicular cancer.

2. He will likely never develop prostate cancer.

3. He will likely never develop a perianal tumor or hernia.

4. He will be far less likely to bite a child or initiate an unprovoked attack against a person during a period of sexual frustration.

5. Male cats who are neutered almost never spray to mark their territory.

6. He won’t be as likely to roam or run away in search of a female in heat.

7. Neutered cats are far less likely to fight, thereby drastically reducing their chances of contracting FeLV or FIV.

8. Dog licenses are cheaper if he’s neutered.

The City of Los Angeles requires all dogs to be licensed.

For dogs who are spayed or neutered: Each dog license costs $18.33 – $20 per year.
For dogs who are not spayed or neutered: Each dog license costs $100, plus an additional $235 for the mandatory “intact dog permit” per year.

The County of Los Angeles (covering cities other than the City of Los Angeles) also requires all dogs to be licensed.

For dogs who are spayed or neutered: Each dog license may cost as little as $7.50 per year.
For dogs who are not spayed or neutered: Each dog license may cost up to $72 per year, plus possible penalties.

If you live in Los Angeles, you are responsible for licensing your dog with either the City or the County. To find out which jurisdiction you live in, click on the links above.

Spay Myths

I don’t want my pet to get fat and lazy.

FACT: Pets get fat and lazy because their families feed them too much and don’t give them enough exercise. It has nothing to do with whether or not they have their reproductive organs.

It’s not fair to deprive my pet the joy of having babies.

FACT: With each heat cycle and pregnancy, a female’s chances of developing breast cancer increase, even if she’s eventually spayed. Furthermore, having a litter doesn’t “fulfill” a cat or dog the way it does a human. Nursing 4 – 16 screaming offspring for 6-8 weeks takes a huge physical and emotional toll on the mom, and many wind up abandoning their litter or becoming malnourished.

I want my children to experience the miracle of birth.

FACT: Children can experience the miracle of birth by watching videos or movies. Watching a live birth is not nearly as enriching for your child as you might imagine it to be; rather, it’s actually damaging to your beloved pet. And remember: the miracle of birth is always accompanied by the miracle of death. Let’s not create more of both.

My pet is a purebred, and the litter would be worth a lot of money. Purebreds are too rare to spay and neuter!

FACT: At least one out of every four pets brought to animal shelters around the country are purebreds. There are just too many dogs and cats – mixed breed and purebred.

I love my pet so much, and I want more of him/her to love.

FACT: Just as you are not a carbon copy of your parents, neither are your pet’s offspring carbon copies of her. More than that, if you love her that much, the best thing you can do for her is to put her needs ahead of your wants. Allowing your pet to give birth is not a loving act; it’s a selfish one. With each litter she has, even if it’s only one, her health and well-being is being endangered. And finally, remember that most of us grow to love our cats and dogs enormously without ever having known their parents!

But I already have homes for all the puppies/kittens we’re going to have!

FACT: You may have found homes for all the individuals in your pet’s litter, but do you have homes for the offpring of each one of those pet’s puppies or kittens? And then their puppies or kittens, as well? On so on, and so on? Doubtful. Furthermore, for each family that plans to take one of the puppies or kittens that you plan to breed, that’s one more innocent shelter animal who will be killed. We know that’s it’s “just one time” or “just one litter”, and that might not sound like much to you, but remember that the pet overpopulation crisis is caused by “just” one litter at a time.

Neuter Myths

My dog will no longer protect me and my family.

FACT: Neutering your dog will not affect his natural instinct to protect your family and home. A dog’s personality is formed more by genetics and environment than by sex hormones.

My dog or cat will feel less masculine.

FACT: Pets don’t have a concept of sexual identity. Neutering will not change a pet’s basic personality or psychology. He will not suffer any kind of emotional reaction or identity crisis when neutered.

Castrating my dog will traumatize him.

FACT: Not only is being neutered not a traumatic experience (he’ll be asleep), but he’ll actually have a much happier life. He won’t be frustrated when confined to the house or yard if there’s a female in heat nearby, and he’ll bond better with his human family.

My pet will get fat and lazy.

FACT: Pets, like people, get fat and lazy because they eat too much and don’t get enough exercise. It has nothing to do with their reproductive organs.

I’ve never neutered by dogs, and they’ve never gotten cancer.

FACT: You’ve been lucky. But just because none of your dogs ever developed cancer, doesn’t mean they won’t. Individual experiences do not diminish the reality that intact (non-spayed or neutered) dogs statistically have shorter lifespans due to illnesses related to their reproductive organs.

We don’t need to neuter males, because they’re not the ones having babies.

FACT: While it’s true that male dogs can’t actually give birth, they are enormously responsible for the creation of more litters. Think of it this way: Males are not limited by a “heat cycle”, the way females are. This means that males can mate with an unlimited number of females each year, while females only mate twice a year. This means that one male can create a far greater number of litters than a female can over the course of their lifetimes.

Neutering male cats causes urethral obstructions.

FACT: Urethral obstructions can occur in a cat whether or not he’s neutered. A good diet (a diet not limited to dry food, excessive protein, calcium and salt), as well as early prevention, are the best ways to prevent a urethral obstruction in your cat.