There's
nothing cruel about
being sensible. And unless there are very strong reasons for wanting
your cat or dog to have a litter, the kind and sensible thing to do is
to have it neutered. This operation
is simple, painless and safe. In the long run it's better for
everybody, including the animal.
Before you decide however, you'll want to know some more about it. This
section gives the answers
to the sort of questions people ask about neutering their pet.
The
reasons for having an animal neutered
Why should I have my pet neutered at all?
Firstly, because it'll make your life
easier. Amorous cats and dogs can be a real handful and no-one enjoys
having to confine their pet.
Secondly, there are already too many unwanted kittens and
puppies who have to be destroyed and the least
we can do is not add to their number.
Thirdly and simply, neutering is kinder to the animal itself.
The necessary frustration of hormone activity
in a pet often leads to mental and physical ailments. Neutering removes
the source and hence the problem.
What
problems would I have if my MALE DOG wasn't neutered?
Male dog cannot resist going
courting when the opportunity occurs and in the process all sorts of
disasters can
befall them.
They get into fight with other dog; they wander about in
traffic and either hurt themselves or cause nasty accidents;
and in the country they're liable to take to sheep and cattle worrying.
On the other hand, if you keep a hot-blooded dog indoors, he
can turn his amorous attentions to pieces of
furniture, or even people. Barking and ill-temper are symptoms of
frustrations.
What problems would I have with a FEMALE DOG
that wasn't neutered?
A female dog comes on heat
twice yearly, each time for a period three weeks. This not only makes
her somewhat
messy, it also means scores of visiting dogs clustering around your
front door.
What's more she's likely to escape and become pregnant no
matter how much care is taken.
Even if she doesn't, a bitch can go through a phantom
pregnancy, which can lead to all sorts of odd behaviour
and possibly veterinary attention to correct.
Would
I have problems with an un-neutered TOM-CAT?
Yes, because tom-cats have
one of the most unpleasant habits of all-the-hbit of "spraying".
This means that they mark out their territory by urinating upon it, and
the unpleasant smell can be
extremely difficult to get rid of.
Male cats are also some of the greatest wanderers and
well-nigh impossible to keep indoors. Their
constant escapades nearly always lead to cat-fight and these in turn
can produce infected wounds, abscesses
and serious illness.
What
about the problems of a FEMALE CAT?
As with a female dog, a
female cat in season will attract a continual host of admirers,
Romantic cat-calls
in the middle of the night, which even the most dedicated sleeper would
be hard-pushed to ignore, are a prelude
to almost inevitable pregnancy. A cat can have three pregnancies a year
and up to five or six in each litter.
It
obviously makes my life easier to neuter my pet, but how will the
animal benefit?
A domestic animal can really
suffer from the effects of its biological urges.
As explained above, the desires themselves lead the males
into all sorts of aggressive behaviour (even towards
people) and in both sexes frustration can actually result in illness.
Since there's no possibility of these animals returning to
the wild and indulging all their impulses, by
far the kindest thing is to save them from these violent feelings
altogether by having them neutered.
How
about the problem of over population? Will it really help to neuter my
pet?
Over a million puppies are
born every year, and about two thirds of these are unwanted. These
eventually have
to be destroyed.
Yet if every pet owner would assume a responsible attitude
towards their animals and stop them producing litters,
the problem would be dramatically reduced.
