Spaying and Neutering

Paper Summary:

The paper shows how we need to overcome the myths that many people believe about cats and dogs and about what spaying and neutering really accomplishes. So long as people believe that cats should not be spayed or neutered until after the female has had a litter or the male has reached a certain age, the problem will continue and grow more marked. The paper shows that those who want to prevent animals from suffering should think about the suffering caused by the huge cat and dog population that exists now and how much more cruel it would be if that population increased any further. Veterinarians know full well what benefits are achieved through spaying and neutering and also know that it is more cruel to allow these animals to grow old, get sick, live in the wild, or otherwise be unwanted and unloved because there are simply too many animals. The paper argues that we worry greatly about overpopulation in the human community in the future, but we have a clear vision of what overpopulation causes in our cat and dog population today. As hard as some people worked to reduce human population growth to a manageable figure, so should we work today to assure that the animal population also is under control.

From the Paper:

"However, as Adams (1997) notes, spaying and neutering is actually beneficial for the pet and for the owner alike. Spaying and neutering gives the pet a longer and healthier life. With spaying, a female's reproductive organs are removed, eliminating the chance of uterine and ovarian cancer. The risk of breast cancer also is greatly reduced. Spaying a female dog before her first heat cycle virtually eliminates the risk of breast cancer. Neutered males have their testicles removed, so there is no chance of testicular cancer. The chance of prostate problems in neutered male dogs is greatly reduced. Some pet owners worry that their pet will get fat or lazy after spaying or neutering. Their metabolism slows as they mature, but whether an animal is overweight is within the owner's control (Adams, 1997, 38)."

More papers on Spaying and Neutering:

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