Question: When do you believe the best time (age) is for a male cat to get neutered?

Answer: Any weight over two pounds or after both testicles have descended is the best time, but if your vet is not comfortable with that, then any time after 4 months of age. Once the cat starts marking territory (about 8 months of age), neutering does not always solve the problems of inappropriate urination. Studies do show that altered pets live 4-5 years longer than intact pets. And if you want to know how many kittens can be produced by one female cat if she lives through her productive years or what other benefits are received from neutering your pet, this is a mind-blower:

Benefits of Spaying/Neutering Your Pet

 Start with just one female dog, don’t spay her, and what do you get in just 7 short years? 

• Year 1: She will produce and average of 4 puppies, two of which are female.
• Year 2: Production of the first and second generation females is 12 pups, 6 are female…
• Year 3: Production from three generations of females is 36 pups, 18 of which are female…
• Year 4: Production of four generations of females is 108 pups, including 54 females…
• Year 5: Production of five generations is 324 pups, 162 females…
• Year 6: Production of six generations is 972 pups, 486 females…
• Year 7: Production is 2916 pups, 1458 are female!

Now, cats produce an average of 2.3 litters/year. That equals about 10 kittens/year, Five of which are female…Take it from there! 

How much does your pet cost you over the period of its life? 

One cat, if it lived its full lifespan, costs the owner between $8000-10,000 over the years. A dog costs $10,000-$14,000. This includes the price of the pet, food, toys, boarding, shots, trips to the vet, etc. 

I’ve been volunteering at our local feral cat clinics for about four years now. Last clinic we spayed and neutered 60 WILD cats. Once neutered, the right ear is clipped. This way, if it is caught in the live trap again, it can be set free. Unfortunately we can’t tame most of these animals.

Here are the facts: 

• Did you know that over 17 MILLION cats and dogs are turned into animal shelters every year?
• Did you know that only 1 in 10 found a home? The rest either starved, got diseased and died, were hit by cars, or put to sleep. It’s inhumane! 

Please be an RPO (Responsible Pet Owner)! Neuter your beloved pet.

Neutering Benefits for Male Dogs: 

• Eliminates annoying sexual habits such as mounting behavior or lifting his leg to “mark” his territory both outdoors and in the house.
• Eliminates roaming in search of females. If allowed to run loose, he may fight with other males, be injured by automobiles, or run away. If confined, he may become hyperactive or aggressive.
• Reduces the chance of developing infections. Neutering also reduces prostate and testicular cancer. These are all problems of older unaltered males.
• Reduces the chance of your dog later biting or being aggressive towards other dogs and humans. Statistics show that most dog bites are inflicted by unaltered males.
• Less roaming behavior means less external and internal parasite infestations.

Neutering Benefits For Male Cats: 

• Eliminates spraying to “mark” his territory both outdoors and in your home.
• Eliminates roaming in search of females. If allowed to run loose, he may fight with other males, be injured, killed by automobiles, or run away.
• Greatly reduces the medical costs related to treating abscesses or wound injuries.
• Helps control the pet population crisis by avoiding unwanted pregnancies.
• Statistics reveal that the average life span of an unaltered male cat is six years. This average can more than double is you have your kitten neutered.

Neutering Benefits for Female Dogs: 

• With each heat cycle your dog goes through, more and more mammary tissue is sensitized to the estrogen flux of the cycle. There is an increased incidence of mammary adenocarcinoma (cancer) with each successive heat cycle.
• Helps control the pet overpopulation problems.

Please understand that small dog breeds are easy to sell or give away. The larger the breed the more puppies they have. Bigger dogs and especially mixed breed dogs are at times very difficult to get rid of. National statistics show only one out of every ten dogs and cats being born get a good home. The others are either euthanized or die of diseases. 

Neutering Benefits for Female Cats: 

• Reduces overpopulation.
• Diminishes the need for some people to “dump” animals at peoples barns who have WAY more pets than they want already!
• Altering will not change your pet’s personality except to make him a calmer pet in many instances. The surgery will not cause him to become fat and lazy. An older, less active pet may experience weight gain. This can be easily controlled by proper diet and exercise.
• Unless you are convinced that you will want to show or breed your pet, we recommend that you call for a surgical appointment soon. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding this important procedure.

How to choose a vet to do the surgery: 

I used to own an Affordable Pet Clinic. I did an average of 17 surgeries every morning. That adds up to a lot of surgeries over the years. Last time I figured I was at around 12,000 surgeries completed. If you were to need a heart surgery, wouldn’t you want to have a surgeon cut on you that has had a lot of experience? 

Look for a veterinarian that can do this kind of surgery with their eyes closed. Also ask around and make sure others were pleased with the surgery and that the animal woke up in a few hours and wasn’t over drugged. Don’t schedule the surgery (especially if you have a dog) to go in when there is a full moon. They bleed more. 

Some practitioners like one species more than another. Others have better luck with large animals. I enjoyed doing the little ones, and only lost two (large) dogs to anesthetic death in 12 years of doing that kind of work. One of those had parvo which we didn’t know at the time. It actually went into a coma at the end of the surgery. The other one was toxic from porcupine quills that the owners had left in for three days before bringing the dog in. Sad case. Those are the statistics you want to look for.

Animal Shelters and Rescue Organizations: 

• www.rescueclearinghouse.com (A state by state directory of shelters)
• www.lcshelter.com (Lewiston, ID)
• www.mcpaws.org (McCall, ID)
• www.homeatlastrescue.org (Berkeley, CA)
• www.whitmanpets.org (Pullman, WA)
• www.caapsnorthwest.petfinder.org (Pullman, WA)
• www.humanesocietyofthepalouse.org (Moscow, ID)

Be a Responsible Pet Owner–Spay and Neuter your Pets!