Paws and Claws

Six benefits of spaying/neutering your cat

by Cindy Anderson, DVM

Spaying and neutering your cat benefits you, the cat and your community. There are not enough homes for the cats currently in need of adoption. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 3.4 million cats enter shelters every year.
Some advantages of spaying or neutering your cat include:
1. It lowers the chances of your pet wandering off.
Grown, intact cats are likely to roam away from home in search of a mate. Even indoor cats may try to find ways to get out of your house. When cats do wander off, they are at risk of being hit by a car, being injured by other territorial cats in the area, or even being eaten by a
predator. Spaying and neutering your cat will help relieve your cat of the need to run off and find a mate elsewhere, thereby keeping your beloved pet safe at home.
2. It lowers the risk of cancers.
Spaying can help prevent breast tumors and uterine infections in up to 90% of female cats. The best practice for cancer prevention is to spay your cat before her first heat. In males, neutering can help prevent testicular cancer and health issues related to the prostate.
3. It helps improve your cat’s behavior.
You are likely to find that a spayed or neutered cat is a well-behaved cat. Cats that have not been spayed or neutered tend to mark their territory, which can leave your home reeking of cat urine. Males will benefit from neutering, as the surgery can help prevent embarrassing or aggressive behavior such as mounting on visitors.
4. It reduces cat overpopulation and homelessness in your neighborhood.
Cat overpopulation is an issue in many communities throughout the country. More than
3 million cats enter shelters each year, but shelters have capacities and cannot accept all the animals coming to them. They also cannot adopt out all of the animals, which sadly leads to the euthanization of more than 500,000 perfectly healthy cats each year. Spaying and neutering your cat can help control your local cat populations, reducing the number of cats on the streets or in overcrowded shelters.
5. It reduces the spread of disease.
Strays often don’t receive the medical care required, including vaccinations that can help protect them from contagious diseases. Fewer stray cats on the streets means fewer stray cats that can spread harmful diseases and parasites. Therefore, you aren’t just helping to protect your cat when you get it spayed or neutered, you are contributing to a greater societal good by keeping your cat off the streets and preventing it from interacting with or impregnating a stray.
6. It increases your cat’s life span.
Did you know that spayed or neutered animals tend to live longer than intact animals? By spaying and neutering, we have managed their chances of cancers and they are less likely to wander off, thus not getting hit by a car or attacked by another animal.
The benefits of spaying and neutering your cat far outweigh any drawbacks. Please talk to your veterinarian about spaying and neutering your cat as soon as possible. Feel free to contact Dr. Cindy and the staff at Lakelands Trail Veterinary Clinic, 4525 S. M-52, Stockbridge, MI 49285, or call 517-655-5551 if you have any questions.

Cindy Anderson, DVM

Cindy Anderson, DVM,  is a graduate of MSU Veterinary College (1992) and has practiced veterinary medicine for over 28 years.