Desexing your pet

face of a grey shaggy dog

There are several reasons why pet owners avoid having their pets desexed. Many pet owners believe desexing is important but don’t think they need to get their own cat or dog desexed because they are always kept indoors or on a leash.  While this decision makes sense on the surface, desexing can still bring many benefits for indoor pets and their owners. Desexing indoor felines eliminates the unpleasant spraying that male cats will do indoors and reduces the crying sounds that female cats make when they are in heat.

Desexing also plays an important role for indoor dogs and their owners. We all know male dogs will do just about anything to get to a prospective mate. A male dog confined indoors is likely to try and escape to follow his natural instincts, increasing the risks he will roam the streets and get hit by a car, get lost or end up in the wrong hands, while having a female dog on heat in a confined space can bring behavioural changes and bleeding in the house. Desexing can eliminate and reduce these issues, making life much less stressful (and messy) for inside dogs and their human companions and reduce the risk of indoor dogs developing prostate diseases, testicular cancer, uterus infections and mammary tumours.

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BENEFITS OF DESEXING

There are many reasons why pet owners should desex their pets. As well as helping to stop pet overpopulation, the following are some of the other benefits associated with desexing cats and dogs.

Cost

  • The discounted registration fee is available to owners who desex their cat before four (4) months of age. A discounted fee applies to dogs desexed before six (6) months of age.
  • Vets can update the NSW Pet Registry when a pet is desexed. Vets can also update the Registry to indicate that a pet should not yet be desexed for medical reasons.
  • Avoid paying an annual $80 permit fee for having an undesexed cat
  • Reduces the cost to the community of having to care for unwanted puppies and kittens in pounds and shelters.
  • No additional food or vet bills for the offspring.
  • No need to find homes for unwanted or unexpected litters of puppies or kittens.
  • Save money from expensive surgeries from car accidents or fights, which are less likely to occur if your pet doesn’t roam around.
  • Dumping puppies and kittens is an ethical cost, as well as being illegal and inhumane.
  • The price of desexing is more affordable to those in financial need with the assistance of organisations such as NDN, RSPCA and Animal Welfare League
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Health

  • Reduced risk of getting cancer or other diseases of the reproductive organs, such as testicular cancer, prostate cancer/disorders in males, and cystic ovaries, ovarian tumours, acute uterine infections and breast cancer in females, and also other diseases like mammary cancer, perianal tumours and perianal hernias.
  • Females can suffer from physical and nutritional exhaustion if continually breeding.
  • Pets generally live longer and healthier lives.
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Behavioural

  • Pets are less prone to wander, fight, and are less likely to get lost or injured.
  • Reduces territorial behaviour such as spraying indoors.
  • Less likely to suffer from anti-social behaviours. They become more affectionate and become better companions.
  • Eliminates “heat” cycles in female cats and their efforts to get outside in search for a mate.
  • Eliminates male dogs’ urge to “mount” people’s legs.

 

 
black dog lying on carpet with destroyed toys

Common questions about desexing

Will my animal’s personality change after spaying or neutering?

Desexing will only reduce or eliminate the behaviour that you don’t want, such as aggression and urine marking. Neutered males are less likely to roam, fight or mark their territory with urine, and spayed females do not experience hormone fluctuations and are no longer at risk of becoming pregnant

Will desexing affect my animal’s weight?

No. Cats and dogs become overweight and inactive because their guardians feed them too much and exercise them too little, not because they are desexed.

Should I let my female animal have one litter before having her spayed?

It’s best to spay animals before they reach sexual maturity in order to reap the full health benefits. Spaying your female companion animal before her first heat cycle means she will have one-seventh the risk of developing mammary cancer. Spaying also eliminates female animals’ risk of diseases and cancer of the ovaries and uterus, which are often life-threatening and require expensive surgery and treatment.

How can I teach my children about the “miracle of birth”?

Every year, 250,000 animals are killed in Australian animal shelters simply because of a lack of good homes. Bringing more animals into a world that is already short on homes means that animals in animal shelters will die. Numerous books and videos are available to help you teach your children about reproduction responsibly.

What if I can find homes for all my animal’s puppies or kittens?

Even if you manage to find loving, lifelong homes for all the puppies or kittens, that means that there will be that many fewer homes for puppies and kittens in animal shelters who desperately need to be adopted. And unless you ensure that every puppy or kitten you place is spayed or neutered before going to his or her new home, they can go on to produce litter after litter of offspring themselves.

 

RSPCA – Broken Hill South Rd Broken Hill 8087 7753

National Desexing Network - 1300 368 992 - www.ndn.org.au

Broken Hill Veterinary Clinic – 129 Rakow St Broken Hill 8087 4242

 

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