A long-term benefit of spaying and neutering is the improved health for both cats and dogs.
It has been proven that sterilised dogs and cats tend to live longer. It is the best and most efficient weapon against the indiscriminate reproduction and consequent overpop-ulation of dogs and cats.
In females:
- It eliminates the possibility of contracting cancer of the ovaries or the uterus (the number one cause of death amongst un-spayed females);
- It prevents pyometra, an inflammatory process of the uterus that, if not treated in time (the treatment includes sterilisation), can lead to the death of the animal;
- It prevents pseudocyesis, commonly known as psychological pregnancy or false gestation/phantom pregnancy, which is a common hormonal disturbance in females;
In female dogs, sterilised before their first heat (approximately at six/seven months) the risk to develop breast tumours is practically zero.
In males:
- It contributes to reduced aggressiveness towards other males, especially when fighting for females;
- The ritual of territory marking with urine and possessive or dominant behaviours also tends to diminish;
- It reduces anxiety and the habit to run away or to attack other animals, people or even furniture;
- It spares the animal some instinctive reactions related to the reproductive system, for example, the males stay much calmer. It avoids testicular tumours, perianal hernias, tumours of the hepatoide glands, perianal gland tumours, prostate tumours and cysts, among others.
However, it is necessary to emphasise that sterilisation does not change anything in relation to territorial defence or aggressiveness caused by fear. In other words, the sterilisation does not leave the dog less or more fearful, nor does it intervene with its ‘instinct to guard’.
By neutering your dog or cat you can help them live a happier, healthier and longer life. If you have more than one pet in your household, all the pets will generally get along better if they are sterilised. Please realise kittens can become pregnant as young as 3 months of age! The benefits of early age neutering are numerous, kittens and puppies can be safely sterilised as young as 8 weeks of age.
Sterilise Our Strays
Did you know that leaving two cats and their offspring un-sterilised for a 10 year period can amount to between 2 million and 80 million cats! These are serious numbers!
Allowing two dogs and their offspring to breed over a 10 year period can result in 589824 dogs being born!
What is the True Benefit of “Trap Neuter Return” (TNR)?
Is it curbing cat over-population? Is it helping members of our community with colony cat issues? Is it reducing the number of shelter cats euthanised every year? Yes, it is ALL of that, and more!
TNR reduces the suffering of colony/feral cats caught in an endless cycle of reproduction. One cat at a time, TNR dramatically improves the quality of life and increases the life span of free roaming cats.
One before and after look at a TNR’d colony shows cats who are visibly healthier. As fighting and the stress of bearing and raising multiple litters a year comes to a stop, the cats begin to gain body weight and even their fur looks sleeker.
SOSAA volunteers who have been feeding colony cats in their back yard or neighbourhoods for years, have managed to stop and reduce a skyrocketing population down to a manageable colony.
You may not have the time or resources to go out and trap feral cats, but you can help change the life of a colony cat forever by donating. It costs €55 to stop a female cat having to raise another litter of kittens.
We clip all our cats ears, the tip of the left ear is clipped under anaesthesia. It is a internationally recognised sign of a spayed cat.
Help and SPAY A STRAY:
A donation of €55 will allow us to sterilise one female cat and partially pay for a female dog and help curb the epidemic of uncontrolled breeding and number of unwanted and abandoned animals. Please donate and make a contribution towards creating a better future for a dog/cat.
