Cornish Vet March 2017
Spring is in the Air…! Having your pet neutered.
The daffodils have been out for a while, the days are getting longer and thoughts of spring bunnies and Easter
eggs are on our minds. A good time to give some thought to our pets and their needs regarding offspring!
Everyone loves a baby pet, whether it’s a rabbit, kitten, puppy, a baby gerbil or guinea pig pup, and having a
litter of small new lives can be very appealing to us pet-lovers – puppies and kittens may be sweet but to
neuter is even cuter! And in nearly all cases, our domestic pets are better off being neutered due to many
short-term and long-term benefits.
The advantages of neutering are fourfold: 1) It can improve your pet’s lifelong health prospects; 2) Can reduce
the likelihood of infections or injury in the course of natural mating behaviour; 3) It reduces the number of
unwanted litters especially of kittens or rabbits where the speed of reproduction often catches owners out and
4) it can have benefits on social behaviour.
It has been demonstrated that in male dogs, neutering eliminates the risk of testicular cancer and reduces the
incidence of prostate disease, while for females, it prevents the common problem of uterine infection
(pyometra) and mammary tumours; the more seasons a female has, the greater this risk. Doe rabbits are at
similar risk of uterine and ovarian tumours if they are not spayed. Female kittens mature quickly and can
reproduce a litter from the age of only 6-7 months, but pregnancy can stunt their growth and the cat may be
too young to properly nurture her litter. Additionally, there are often more offspring than there are loving
potential homes and it may be difficult to find suitable new owners and our rehoming charities frequently
struggle to rehome older pets without a home. It is also thought that overpopulation of homed cats in a
neighbourhood may cause greater levels of stress as competition over territory/hunting space increases.
With regard to behaviour, it has been commonly believed that entire male cats are more likely to wander
further afield in search of a mate but recent research indicates that being neutered does not necessarily affect
that tendency – perhaps some cats are just more inclined to roam than others! However, neutering of cats
does reduce the frequency of mating related fights with consequent injuries and infections. It also minimises
the calling and spraying behaviours that can be a nuisance. Among rabbits, neutering also has a positive
impact on group dynamics, making for calmer social groups with fewer causes for fighting, as well as improved
health outcomes. Unneutered males and females can become territorially protective and aggressive,
sometimes even biting and scratching owners.
Neutering a puppy or kitten when still young can prevent anti-social mating behaviours becoming an
established pattern. Rabbits should be at least 6 months old before neutering and we recommend neutering
of dogs from 6 months, but kittens can be spayed or castrated from the earlier age of 18 to 20 weeks. If you
would like more advice on your pet’s specific needs, please call or email us or get in touch via our Facebook
page.