Whether you’re a cat or a dog person, you’ve likely been presented with the following information in your search for a pet: “make sure that your pet is spayed or neutered.” This best practice is well understood by pet owners both novice and seasoned, but what’s less understood is why it’s strongly recommended (and in many cases, required) to cease the reproductive capabilities of your cat or dog. Perhaps that phrasing sounded a little harsh, but it is the truth.
Enhancing The Quality Of Your Pet’s Life
Goshen Animal Clinic proudly offers both spaying and neutering services in Gaithersburg, MD and the surrounding area. Before you continue to read about the benefits of spaying and neutering and why owners are encouraged to make sure that their pets have undergone these procedures, know that these services play a big part in extending your pet’s life as well as their quality of life. Again, this is something that we take immense pride in.
Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the specific reasons why cat and dog owners need to make sure that their pet has been spayed or neutered. If you have any questions or you’d like to know more about our services, contact our animal hospital in Gaithersburg at any time.
Why Spay Or Neuter?
It’s Incredibly Cost-Effective
Spaying or neutering your pet isn’t just an investment in their long-term health and well-being; you’ll be saving yourself a lot of money as an owner as well. The procedure is rather cheap to begin with, and it’ll be saving you countless dollars on having to raise and take care of a litter. Furthermore, an unneutered dog is more likely to escape your house and start fights with other dogs, which poses the cost of treatment as well as sheer emotional guilt.
It Prevents Overpopulation
The number of cats and dogs that either suffer as strays or become euthanized every year due to overpopulation is absolutely staggering (it’s in the millions). A large contributor to this rampant pet overpopulation dynamic is due to unplanned litters from owners who didn’t spay or neuter their pet.
It Benefits The Community
Un-spayed and unneutered pets are more likely to cause trouble. It’s true; just think about what stray animals are capable of doing: preying on wildlife (or falling prey to wildlife), causing car accidents, eating and destroying protected plants, and even flat-out scaring kids. Going back to what we said above, your dog is much less likely to escape and attack anything when they’re neutered or spayed and, therefore, more docile.
It Prevents Females From Going Into Heat
It’s not uncommon for female felines to go into heat roughly 4-5 days every three weeks of the breeding season. The incessant yowling and meowing will be the least of your problems, because they’ll urinate more frequently and it doesn’t always make it into the litter box.
It Doesn’t Negatively Affect Your Pet’s Weight
There’s a long-standing myth/excuse saying that spaying or neutering will make your pet lazier or prone to weight gain. While that makes sense from a logical perspective, it’s entirely reasonable for your pet to maintain a healthy weight after they’ve been “fixed.” With a healthy, well-balanced diet and moderate exercise, most pets should stay in their normal weight range.
It Makes Your Dog More Trainable
Though this could apply to certain cats (but really, mostly dogs), an un-fixed pup is much more likely to be resilient to training and authority. Conversely, a neutered or spayed dog will behave better and they won’t mark their territory by spraying urine throughout your house. Surely, everyone wants to avoid the latter.
It’s Designed To Prolong Their Quality Of Life
Again, as we mentioned above, this routine process is guaranteed to provide your cat or dog with much better long-term health. Neutering helps prevent testicular cancer, and spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer.
Do The Right Thing — Inquire About Our Spaying Or Neutering Services In Gaithersburg
If you’re adopting a cat or dog and they’re not already spayed or neutered, Goshen Animal Clinic can help. Learn more about our rescue and foster discount or contact our animal clinic in Gaithersburg to schedule an appointment.
