Why Fix by Five Months?
Why Fix by Five Months?
Our animal shelters are full and homeless cats and dogs are a common problem in the United States.
According to an IPSOS survey conducted for PetSmart Charities, nearly 75% of people either “do not know” , or think that 6 months or later is when a pet should be spay/neutered. To end pet overpopulation, we need to update the public’s knowledge about this important subject.
Three main reasons why you should Fix by Five Months – Medical, Behavioral and Community. All are objective, and all backed by studies that you can read in-depth on our Resources & References page.
Medical Reasons
Recent research has revealed that cats spayed before their first heat cycle have a 91% lower risk of developing mammary cancer. Cats and dogs in the United States have a far greater risk of dying from mammary gland cancer than from contracting rabies (about 1500 times greater). The morbidity and mortality of feline mammary gland cancer are so great that it takes the lives of an estimated 75,000 cats every year.
One could argue that the standard of vet care requires practitioners to advise their clients of this at the first puppy or kitten visit. The risk of pyometra is eliminated.
Behavioral Reasons
Spaying/neutering generally results in the following behavioral changes:
reduces roaming behaviors, aggression, territorial marking, howling and other heat-related behaviors and is therefore useful in keeping cats in homes. Over 80% of cats relinquished to shelters or abandoned are unspayed or unneutered.
Community Reasons
Shelters are inundated with kittens, and older cats who may have found homes are often passed over. Cat complaint calls are at or near the top of the list of complaint calls to public health and/or animal control departments. And there are millions of feral cats, the result of people abandoning cats often due to preventable behavioral problems and unwanted litters.