Desexing Your Pet

For every person that is born, 15 dogs and 45 cats are born.

Pet overpopulation is a big problem. As these statistics show, in order to help keep up with the current flood of puppies and kittens, every person would have to own two dogs and six cats at all times.

A household of five would have to harbor 10 dogs and 30 cats! Adoption alone is obviously not the answer. Desexing is. Please spey or castrate your pets.

All pets should be desexed for many reasons:

FEMALES (Speying = Ovariohysterectomy)

  • Prevents signs of oestrus (heat).
  • Prevents blood stains on the carpet from the heat cycle.
  • Decreases surplus of puppies and kittens.
  • Decreases the chance of developing mammary (breast) cancer later in life
  • Decreases the chance of cystic ovaries and uterine infections later in life.

MALES (Castration)

  • Decreases the desire to roam the neighborhood.
  • Decreases aggression — less chance of Cat AIDS infection and vet bills from fights
  • Decreases incidence of prostate and peri-anal cancers later in life.
  • Prevents testicular tumours
  • Prevents Tom Cat spraying and marking furniture and walls.

Other Desexing Facts

  • Speying does NOT cause a pet to get fat or lazy. This comes from overfeeding or lack of exercise.
  • Personalities are NOT altered by speying. Personalities do NOT fully develop until two years of age. Aggressiveness and viciousness are not the result of surgery. Guard dogs will still remain protective. Your pet’s personality will ONLY get better!
  • Surgical risk is very slight due to modern anaesthesia and techniques, but there is ALWAYS some SMALL risk when an anaesthetic is used.
  • It is much easier on the pet to be speyed before going through a heat cycle, due to the smaller size of the reproductive tract.
  • The best age to spay or neuter pets is 4-6 months of age.
  • Surgery is performed painlessly while your pet is under general anesthesia. Post-surgical pain is treated aggressively at the West Toowoomba Vet Surgery. Most pets go home the same day surgery is performed.