Because We Care

Neutering of pets

We do recommend that pets that are not to be used for breeding be neutered at an early age. The reasons for this include the prevention of unwanted pregnancies; prevention of undesirable behaviour when the females are in season; reduced wandering by male dogs and cats; reduced aggression in males, and the prevention of health problems that can develop in middle to older aged animals, especially bitches. For example, mammary tumours (the equivalent of breast cancer in ladies) are ten times more common in unspeyed bitches compared to bitches speyed between their first and second season; if speyed before their first season, bitches are thirty times less likely to develop these tumours compared to unspeyed bitches. In addition, a very common and potentially fatal condition called a pyometra occurs in middle- to older-aged bitches when a womb infection follows a season and leads to kidney and liver damage; the result is a very sick animal indeed, and it is prevented by speying the bitch. The condition also occurs in female cats (queens) but is less common.