The health benefits of neutering
Female animals
- Prevents “heat” or oestrus (also known as being in season)
- Prevents unwanted litters
- Prevents hormone fluctuations that cause false pregnancy
- Prevents Pyometra, a serious and potentially fatal womb infection
- Prevents mammary (breast) cancer
- Prevents uterine and ovarian cancer
- Prevents the urge to escape and find a mate during heat
- Prevents unsociable/grumpy behaviour during their season (Think PMS!)
- Prevents genetic problems, deformities and bad temperaments being passed on.
- Prevents urine spraying and marking behaviour that sometimes occurs in entire female rabbits (does)
- Neutered female cats cats are less at risk of diseases such as Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline Leukaemia (FeLV), which are highly infectious and incurable diseases
- Enables some animals to live in mixed-sex groups without fighting and/or pregnancy
Male animals
- Lowers the risk of serious conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostatitis and hormone-related (testosterone) diseases such as perianal adenoma in dogs
- Eliminates the risk of testicular cancer, a common cancer in entire dogs
- Removes sexual urges and the need to escape or roam to find a mate. Entire male cats can have huge territories and are more likely to get into fights. Unneutered male animals searching for for females to mate with, is one of the biggest causes for animals being injured or killed on the road.
- Reduces certain types of aggression in male dogs
- Prevents genetic problems, deformities and bad temperaments being passed on
- Neutered animals are less likely to mark their territory with strong smelling urine
- Neutered male cats cats are less at risk of diseases such as Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline Leukaemia (FeLV), which are highly infectious and incurable diseases
- Neutered male rabbits and guinea pigs are less likely to show aggression towards other males
- Enables some animals to live in mixed-sex groups without fighting and/or pregnancy
Problems that can occur in unneutered animals
Pyometra
This is an infection of the uterus (womb) in female animals. The uterus fills with pus, and toxins quickly spread throughout the body causing the animal to feel very unwell. If this condition is not treated quickly it can be fatal. You can read more about this in our Pyometra article.
Mammary (breast) Cancer: Mammary cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal mammary gland cells. If left untreated, certain types of breast cancer can metastasize (spread) to other mammary glands and organs throughout the body. While any pet can develop mammary tumors, these masses occur most often in older female dogs and cats that have not been spayed.
Ovarian Cysts
The symptoms of ovarian cysts will depend on the type of cyst but can include; swelling of the vulva, due to the high amounts of estrogen in the body, vulvar discharges that may contain blood and occur outside the regular bleeding in the heat cycle, hair loss, irregular heat cycles or lack of heat cycles, extended heat cycles, abdominal swelling due to pus or fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity.
False Pregnancies
False pregnancy is a term used to denote a common condition in a non-pregnant female animal that is showing symptoms of pregnancy or nursing without producing babies. Symptoms usually occur after her oestrus (heat) is over and is thought to be caused by a hormonal imbalance.
Symptoms can include:
- behavioural changes
- mothering activity
- nesting and self-nursing
- restlessness
- abdominal enlargement
- enlargement of mammary glands
- vomiting
- depression
- loss of appetite (anorexia)
- fur plucking (rabbits)
Prostate problems (dogs)
Enlarged prostate occurs in more than 80% of unneutered male dogs past the age of five. Some dogs with an enlarged prostate have difficulty with urination or bowel movements.
Testicular cancer (dogs)
About 7% of unneutered males develop a testicular tumor. Fortunately it seldom spreads. Although castration has a complete cure rate of approximately 90%, neutering prevents it entirely. If your dog has one or both testicles tucked up inside his body (called cryptorchidism) he is far more likely to develop a testicular tumor compared to a dog with descended testicles; this condition can also be passed onto offspring so a cryptorchid dog should definitely be neutered.
Behavioural problems and injuries
Roaming is the main problem for both unneutered males and females as they are likely to want to try and find a mate. This can lead to road traffic accidents, fighting with others and injury. Dogs often have problems with recall and focusing on their owner if they are being led by their hormones. Some animals will also demonstrate hormone-related aggression.
Common myths about neutering
"It changes the pet’s personality”
The only behaviour changes are likely to be positive ones. Neutered animals often make better companions and are more affectionate. Pets are less likely to roam, which means less chance of getting lost or hit by a car, they are also less likely to mark territory or get in fights.
"Neutered pets become fat and lazy”
While it is true that a neutered animal needs fewer calories in the diet, it is ultimately overfeeding and/or a lack of exercise by the owners that causes obesity in animals. Make time for walks and play, and ask your veterinary nurse about reducing calories once your pet has been neutered.
"My pets are brother and sister so they won’t mate”
The fact that they are related to each other will make no difference to your pets, they will still mate and produce offspring.
"My pet is a pedigree and shouldn’t be neutered”
Your pet is a companion, not a financial investment or status symbol. Unless you are planning on showing your pet and plan to breed, you should consider having it neutered. Remember that one in four animals handed in to animal shelters is a pedigree.
"I don’t want my male pet to feel deprived or less masculine"
You shouldn’t confuse human sexuality with an animal’s hormonal instincts. Neutering won’t cause any negative emotional reaction in your male pet. In addition, it greatly reduces the risk of prostate and testicular diseases in dogs and the possibility of FIV & FeLV and fight related wounds and abscesses in male cats.
"It’s too expensive to have my pet neutered"
The surgery is a one-time cost and a small price to pay for the health of your pet and the prevention of life threatening illnesses, not to mention preventing more homeless animals. Our Pet Health Club offers a 20% discount on neutering and there are also several animal charities that may provide assistance with the cost of neutering.
"Having a litter is good for her and it will be a great experience for the family"
Motherhood will not make your pet healthier or happier (and some animals make terrible mothers!). In fact, early spaying greatly reduces the likelihood of mammary cancer, and eliminates potentially life threatening infections of the uterus and ovaries. We are not entirely sure where this myth came about; you certainly wouldn’t hear it in relation to humans!
Should you have your cat neutered?
We do generally recommend that all cats are neutered, unless you have a registered pedigree cat that you are planning to breed from. This is because the vast majority of cats cannot be ‘chaperoned’ in the same way that dogs are and, when they are let outside, they are generally left to their own devices; making pregnancy in females highly likely and also increasing the risk of disease transmission through sexual activity and wounds and injuries from territorial fighting. So, unless you can prevent this by keeping your cat indoors and well mentally stimulated, or by cat-proofing your garden to prevent your cat getting out and other cats getting in, then neutering is usually the best option for your cat.
Cats can be neutered at any age from 5 1/2 months onwards, however, if you can keep them indoors and away from any unneutered members of the opposite sex for longer they can be neutered at an older age.
Should you have your rabbit or guinea pig neutered?
Whether to neuter your rabbit or guinea pig will very much depend on their housing circumstances and group dynamics. Female rabbits can often become territorial and aggressive from 4-6 months of age, they may have repeated false pregnancies, and may growl at, bite and scratch their owners as well as other rabbits. Spaying reduces (and sometimes eliminates) these problems.
Male rabbits can be territorial, aggressive and spray urine. Neutered males of both species are often much happier and relaxed, they can also live with a spayed female or even another neutered male. Since rabbits and guinea pigs should be kept in groups of 2 or more, neutering of one or all is usually the best option. Rabbits and Guinea pigs can be neutered from 4 months of age.
Should you have your dog neutered?
It is up to you as the responsible owner to decide whether or not to have your dog or bitch neutered. At Castle Vets we generally do not recommend that male or female dogs are neutered until they have finished growing and have reached maturity, which is usually between 8 months and 2 years old, depending on the breed (bigger breeds take longer to fully mature). However, we also understand that some young and hormonal dogs can be a real handful, so we will neuter your dog at a younger age if you request it.
We have discussed the risks of not neutering above, but here are some of the benefits seen in dogs that have delayed neutering until they have reached maturity, or have not been neutered at all
- Fewer fear-related behavioural problems, especially in male dogs (1)
- Lower risk of Hip Dysplasia and Cruciate Ligament damage in larger breeds (2)
- Lower risk of some cancer types such as hemangiosarcoma and lymphosarcoma (3,4)
- Lower risk of hypothyroidism (4)
- Lower risk of obesity (although frankly this has more to do with what and how much is fed by the owner than anything else)
Being a responsible owner of an unneutered dog
Male dogs
If you own a dog and do not want to get him neutered, you need to make sure that you can prevent him roaming the neighbourhood and running away every time a bitch comes into season locally. It is as much your responsibility as the owner of a bitch in season, to prevent an unwanted mating. You also need to ensure that he has had proper socialisation, training and behaves well around other entire and neutered male dogs. If you can do this then you may not need to neuter your dog.
Bitches
If you own a bitch and do not want her neutered, you need to be sure that you can prevent her from being mated and becoming pregnant potentially twice a year and that you can cope with her season twice yearly as well (which can be very messy in some bitches). You will need to be careful about where and when you take her for walks during her season; she will still need exercise, but will be very attractive to any unneutered male dogs in the area. You also must never leave a bitch in season unattended outside, even in your own back garden, unless you are 100% sure that she cannot get out and other dogs cannot get in (you would be surprised at the length some male dogs will go to for a bitch in heat!)
Canine behavioural problems that neutering cannot solve
There are some canine problems that are often misinterpreted as being caused by the dog’s sex hormones and unfortunately neutering will not solve these problems. In some cases your vet may be able to give your dog an injection of a hormone suppressing drug that will mimic the effects of neutering and enable you to see if neutering will have any effect on the behaviour.
- Over excitability and unruly behaviour: This problem is commonly due to adolescence and/or a lack of training and stimulation. These dogs often respond really well to reward-based training, appropriate mental and physical stimulation and increasing the amount of daily exercise with more opportunity to exercise off-lead
- Predatory hunting, herding or chasing behaviours: This is down to the breed/type of dog and what it has been bred to do rather than a hormonal issue. These problems often need the input of a qualified behaviourist to help you and your dog
- Fearful, unconfident dogs: Anecdotal evidence from many qualified animal behaviourists suggest that neutering these dogs may actually make the situation worse in some cases. Seek out advice from an appropriately qualified canine behaviourist to help you if your dog is fearful
- Bitches that show signs of aggression or reactivity when not in season: Spaying is unlikely to improve the behaviour and there is a small risk that spaying could make the behaviour worse. We advise that you speak to an appropriately qualified canine behaviourist to help you if your dog is showing signs of aggression.
If your dog is showing signs of any of the above problems, your veterinary practice can put you in touch with a suitably qualified behaviourist and/or training club. You can also look on the association of pet dog trainers website and the association of pet behaviour councillors website for more information and to find a qualified person close to where you live.
What happens when your pet is neutered at Castle Vets
- Your pet will come into the practice between 8am and 9am (dogs and cats will need to have an empty stomach – so no food after 10pm the night before). Operations are performed in the morning and early afternoon, so that we can get your pet home to you on the same day
- We will give your pet a pre-medication, which is a mild sedative and a long acting pain relief injection
- Your pet will be placed into his or her own kennel, with a nice warm, snuggly blanket to lie on
- Your pet will be given an anaesthetic and some hair will be clipped away from the surgical site
- The vet will perform the surgery whilst a veterinary nurse closely monitors the anaesthetic and records your pet’s breathing rate, heart rate, colour and reflexes throughout the whole of the surgery
- After the operation a veterinary nurse will continue to watch and monitor your pet closely until he or she is fully awake. We will then contact you to let you know how your pet is and when you can pick him or her up from the surgery
- When your pet goes home we recommend that they have a buster collar or a medical pet t-shirt to prevent them from interfering with their wounds (If you chose not to let your pet wear a collar or t-shirt and your pet manages to interfere with the wound , you will be responsible for the cost of any further treatment necessary to repair the damage done)
- Your pet may have some medication to take for the next few days, so a veterinary nurse will explain how and when you should give this to your pet. Make sure your pet receives all of his or her medication, don’t stop it because your pet looks fine
- You will need to bring your pet back to the practice 3 days later for a check over and then 7 days after that for any sutures to be removed
Problems that could occur with the procedure
Every anaesthetic and surgical procedure carries a small risk, whether it be on an animal or a human. At Castle Vets your pet will have a thorough health check prior to the operation, to ensure that he or she is healthy and well enough for the procedure to take place on that day.
Postoperative infections are very rare but if one does occur, your pet will be examined and given any necessary treatment and/or medication to help them get well again.
Occasionally a patient may need to be re-sutured if they pull out their stitches, which is why we always recommend they go home with buster collars or medical pet t shirts to prevent this; We even offer a refund if your pet does not need to use the collar because we would rather they had one just in case.
What to think about before you decide to breed your pet
If you are thinking about letting your pet have a litter, is very important that you think things through properly and ensure that you make the health and welfare of your pet and its offspring an absolute priority. Breeding because you think a male and female will produce cute offspring or because you think you will make some money is extremely irresponsible (remember the 100,000 animals without homes already!).
Care must to be taken to ensure you can find good homes for the whole litter, that you will not be allowing genetic/hereditary problems to be passed on to the offspring and that you can afford to look after the mother and her offspring properly.
At Castle Vets we are always happy to offer advice to anyone thinking about breeding their pets, we can let you know where to look for information, what to expect, what health tests your pet may need and what you will need to do to care for your pet and her offspring properly, but here are some things to think about beforehand.
Before you let your pet get pregnant, think about the following things
- Have you ensured that your pet (and their potential mate )is healthy, vaccinated and is not going to be passing on genetic or hereditary problems to the offspring? You should have had the appropriate health screening tests carried out such as checking for hip dysplasia and eye problems in dogs (further information can be found on The Kennel Club website), viruses and heart problems in cats and dental misalignment problems in rabbits. If your dog is a cross breed (i.e. Labradoodle, Chug, Jug, Cavachon) you will need to look at what each of the breeds health test should be, for example hip and elbow scoring for Labradors, heart tests for Cavaliers, respiratory evaluations for Pugs and eye tests for Poodles
- Do you know enough about how to look after your pet during pregnancy, what to do when she is giving birth and how to look after her and her offspring afterwards including socialising and habituating them properly? It is really important to read up on this before you allow your pet to be mated
Just letting your female pet out to get mated by any roaming male suitor is highly irresponsible, she may end up with disease or illness (particularly in the case of cats) that can not only make her sick, but could be passed on to her offspring and any problems with conformation such as bad hips, knees, elbows and small nasal passages (causing breathing issues in flat-faced animals) will all be passed on to any offspring and they could end up worse off than the parents – These days cross breeds are not always healthier than pedigrees, remember they can inherit the worst problems from each parent as well as the best features.
- Is your pet’s temperament and the temperament of the father-to-be fantastic? if the answer is no, don’t breed
- Does your pet or the father have any fear or aggression issues? If the answer is yes, don’t breed
- Is your pet fully grown and mature enough to have a litter? Usually the best time is between 18 months and 4 years old, but this is dependent on species, breed and size, so ask your vet or veterinary nurse if you are not sure
- If your pet has difficulties giving birth you could end up paying for a very expensive caesarean operation. This could result in complicated surgery for the mother and you may end up with no babies and, worse, the mother could die too
- If the mother cannot or will not feed her litter are you prepared to hand-rear them and to give them food every couple of hours, 24 hours a day until they are weaned?
- Food and care of the litter will be expensive until they go to new homes. Can you afford the cost of feeding, worming and possibly vaccinating them all? If the mother and/or her offspring become unwell can you afford the veterinary treatment that they will need?
- Puppies must be microchipped and registered before they go to a new home by law (this applies to all litters, whether planned or accidental). It would also be hugely responsible to have kittens, rabbits and guinea pigs microchipped before they are sent to their new homes
- Can you find good homes for all of the litter? What will you do if you can’t find homes for them or if they are returned to you because their new owners cannot keep them or they are unwell? Are you comfortable with the fact that you could be adding to the many thousands of animals in rescue centres that cannot find homes?
We hope you find this article useful and informative. Please contact Castle Vets if you wish to discuss neutering your pet.
References
1. Association Pet Behaviour Counsellors
2. Slauterbeck, et al Canine Ovariohysterectomy and Orchiectomy Increases the Prevalence of ACL Injury
3. Gretel Torres de la Riva, et al Neutering Dogs: Effects on Joint Disorders and Cancers in Golden Retrievers
4. Laura J. Sanborn, Long-Term Health Risks and Benefits Associated with Spay / Neuter in Dogs