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Spaying or Neutering Your Pets

Catherine Forman
April 6, 2006

Neapolitan MastiffCall up your local shelter and ask them how many dogs they have. Ask them how many cats they have. Ask them how many pets come through the doors each month, or each year. If it is a kill shelter, ask them how many pets have been euthanized because there are too many homeless pets and not enough space.

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When you adopt a pet from a shelter, most will require that you spay or neuter your new pet. Many will point you to a vet that offers discounts on the procedure, or even give you a coupon so the surgery will be free.

You may think that spaying or neutering your pet is cruel... but unless you are planning to become a breeder, spaying or neutering is essential.

  1. Spaying and neutering helps your pet live a longer, healthier life.
  2. Spaying eliminates the possibility of uterine and/or ovarian cancer and reduces the risk of breast cancer in female animals.
  3. Neutering eliminates the possibility of testicular cancer and lowers the chances of prostate disease in male animals.
  4. Pets that are spayed or neutered are often more affectionate, and have less temperament problems.
  5. Neutered cats are less likely to spray to mark territory.
  6. Spayed and neutered pets are less likely to roam the neighborhood or get into fights.
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  7. A dog or cat in heat is a target for the other animals in the neighborhood. When my parents' dog was in heat, we had a hard time keeping other dogs away from the yard. There was a LOT of howling.
  8. A pregnant dog or cat is an extra financial burden -- vet visits and special food and then how many more new mouths to feed?
  9. Animal shelters are full of animal mothers who got pregnant and got abandoned by their people.
  10. Communities spend millions of dollars to help control unwanted and/or stray animals.

So, for a happier, healthier pet, please spay or neuter!

By Catherine Forman

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7 More Solutions

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January 14, 2005

Over 56% of dogs and puppies entering shelters are killed and approximately 71% of cats and kittens entering shelters are killed, based on reports from 1,055 facilities across America.

A cat with a collar after being spayed.

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Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

March 3, 2006

I have a 7 month old female mix, we think she's mostly Brussles Griffon. When do I get her fixed? I hate the thought of her little tummy being cut. Do they do laparoscopic spaying?



Valery from NJ

Answers

By (Guest Post)
March 3, 20060 found this helpful

Check with your vet. They usually do it at 6 months.

 
By Donna (Guest Post)
March 3, 20060 found this helpful

Your vet will tell you what time to get your dog spayed. They do lapriscopic spaying and it actually does alot better job. It is less painful and it heals faster but make sure you use the good anestetic.

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If you don't, there is a good chance your dog will be sick.(throwing up) We adopted a female rottie from the humane society and we had to get her spayed. Worked out well.

 
By Robin (Guest Post)
March 3, 20060 found this helpful

You should spay your dog at 6 mos. of age, so yes, your dog is old enough. Also, they do not make a large incision at all. Our Golden Retriever's scar is less than 2 inches long and it sounds like she is quite a bit bigger than your dog so I'm sure your dog's incision will be even smaller.

 
By (Guest Post)
March 4, 20060 found this helpful

You would be surprised how dogs bounce back after "being fixed"! I swear my mother's 6 mo. old pom didn't even know she had had anything done the day after surgery.

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She had to keep her in her cage for three days to keep her quiet.

 
By Donna (Guest Post)
March 4, 20060 found this helpful

As they said, check with your vet as each has their own preference. It is very common now to have animals spayed and neutered at 8 weeks (yes I said weeks!) which used to be unheard of. You should check with your vet right away, as depending on the breed of dog, your dog could come in heat any time now.
One of our rescues was spayed 2 days ago and she is acting as good as ever.

 
By Brandon (Guest Post)
March 14, 20060 found this helpful

My dog is in heat and has been for about 1 1/2 weeks but is scheduled to get spayed on March 24th. When will she be out of heat? Is it safe to get her spayed on this date?

 
By dwaynedevoid (Guest Post)
March 16, 20060 found this helpful

pllese send email to ddevoid @ cfl.rr.com (remove spaces)

 
By aubrae (Guest Post)
April 5, 20060 found this helpful

I have a 1 yr and 6 month old femal lab, how soon after she stops bleeding can I get her fixed?

 
By angie (Guest Post)
March 26, 20070 found this helpful

Can I get my Weimaraner fixed if she is in heat?

 
By Beka (Guest Post)
May 26, 20070 found this helpful

My dog is showing male dominance around the house such as snapping at us when we push him away because he is too close to us when we are eating on the couch. Is this dominance normal with him not being fixed?

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Editor's Note: He will be a much nicer dog if you get him fixed, plus as soon as a dog goes into heat in a 5 mile area of your house, he will do everything he can to escape. Many male dogs get lost or hit by cars if they are not altered because their drive to find a female is strong.

 
By Renee (Guest Post)
July 16, 20070 found this helpful

My dog is 4 years old. She is a Black Lab. Can I still get her fixed or is she too old?

Editor's Note: I don't think she is too old. Call the vet to be sure but I think they will agree.

 

Silver Post Medal for All Time! 277 Posts
July 17, 20070 found this helpful

we had our dog fixed last year and she was 9 at the time and has medical problems and all went well

 
By SELENE (Guest Post)
September 22, 20070 found this helpful

SHOULDN'T THEY BE A LITTLE OLDER

 
By stacy (Guest Post)
March 21, 20080 found this helpful

I looked on the internet and I just cant find a place to get my dog fixed. It seem as nowhere in my area fix dogs.


Editor's Note Call a local veterinary clinic.

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They should be able to help you.

 
By Jessica (Guest Post)
August 16, 20080 found this helpful

My dog is 7 this year. Should I still get her spayed? I worry that like people, she's old and may take longer to heal.

 

Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 239 Feedbacks
August 16, 20080 found this helpful

To Jessica: Your dog isn't too old to spay. In my experience, dogs heal just fine and it doesn't matter the age. I've always figured it was because nobody told them they were supposed to whine and cry. :-) Spaying is better than constantly watching for messy heats, avoiding unwanted pregnancies, and stepping over the male visitors! Do it. You won't be sorry.

 
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August 1, 2015

My Pit Bull had a litter of 7. They are about 7 weeks now. She only feeds them about an hour a day now. Can I take her to get spayed now?


Answers


Bronze Answer Medal for All Time! 220 Answers
August 1, 20150 found this helpful

She is still nursing her puppies and they need every drop of her immune system, etc., they can get, even a bit a day. The snuggling is very important too.

Also, she is still in recovery from birth (7!!!)! Give her a break for awhile before you put her under for the cut!

 
August 3, 20150 found this helpful

A spay is a complete hysterectomy. That means all internal reproductive organs are removed.

Your dog will require anaesthesia and pain medication which will affect the puppies through the mother's milk. Wait until the puppies are completely weaned.

 
August 4, 20150 found this helpful

I would wait till the babies are NO LONGER nursing....

 

Silver Feedback Medal for All Time! 337 Feedbacks
August 5, 20150 found this helpful

I think you should wait till the puppies are completely weaned. Also, you should certainly discuss this with your vet. This is major surgery and you should not put such a strain on your mother dog when she has her puppies to care for.

 
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April 25, 2015

Last year my neighbor moved and left her outdoor cats; which I have inherited. They followed me home and did not leave. So now all 3 cats have had kittens and I now have 13 cats and kittens to care for. Some of them are very unusual with thick furry hair and look like Siamese without the narrow face.

I have become fond of the mothers and want to keep a few of them outside, but need help with neutering and spaying. I have no income because I moved here to take care of my wheelchair bound mother. Is there help out there for someone like me?

Answers

April 25, 20150 found this helpful

I was on tight income and asked on freecycle. I had two cats done for free as long as I agreed to keep them. It was from a shelter that dropped off cages and we dropped them to the shelter in the next town over night. Jut go to freecycle with what you have here. If there is help you will find it.

 

Bronze Answer Medal for All Time! 220 Answers
April 26, 20150 found this helpful

Check for animal shelters run by counties, cities, etc. They usually offer much reduced services for neutering to avoid the problem you now have.

 

Bronze Tip Medal for All Time! 75 Tips
April 27, 20150 found this helpful

I found a couple resources online. A good place to ask would be your local pet stores. Petco and Petsmart often have days when they do free or low cost spaying or neutering. If you let a vet know that you are taking care of abandoned cats, many may do the services for free as well.

www.aspca.org/.../spayneuter

www.petsandanimals.org/spayneuter_services.html

 
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October 9, 2016

How old do cats have to be before being neutered/spaded?


Answers


Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 226 Feedbacks
October 10, 20160 found this helpful

A number of Humane Societies require that a cat be 8 weeks of age or weigh 2 pounds. I prefer to wait until a cat is 6 months old. This allows them to be spayed before they come into heat for the 1st time at 7 or 8 months old.

 
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February 25, 2016

My dog is 8-10 months old and is menstruating. How long should I wait to have her spayed?


Answers

February 26, 20160 found this helpful

Wait until her "heat" is over, then make the appointment. She is old enough now.

 
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September 1, 2015

I am hoping to have my 4 year old Pomeranian spayed, but the vets are asking for close to $400 and that is too much as I am on disability and cannot afford that on a fixed income :-( Is there any place in the Nashua New Hampshire area that will spay a 4 year old female Pomeranian for an affordable price? Thanks for any help I tried my humane society, but they are only doing males.


Answers


Bronze Answer Medal for All Time! 220 Answers
September 1, 20150 found this helpful

A very easy search for "low cost spay service new hampshire" produced many replies. You can try a search yourself or this site to consider if you can qualify for their services:

nhpetsonline.com/.../

 
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