Each year 6 – 8 million cats and dogs enter the U.S. shelter system– fewer than half are lucky enough to find forever homes.
What can you do?
To help turn the tide on the staggering statistics, every year National Spay/Neuter Awareness Month and World Spay Day shine the spotlight on the need to spay and neuter our pets.
Not only does altering our four-legged friends play a significant role in ‘fixing’ the problem of pet overpopulation it also helps homeless companion animals who might face their fate in an animal shelter due to overcrowding, spaying and neutering.
Benefits of Spay/Neuter for Your Cat
Sterilization can help to curb potentially perilous behavior, such as the urge to roam, which makes a pet more vulnerable to diseases and more likely to be injured or killed by various outdoor dangers, including passing cars.
Sterilized pets often exhibit fewer behavioral problems. For example, neutered males are less likely to mark their territory or show aggression. Spayed females won’t go into heat, which means they won’t attract males and exhibit the often disruptive behaviors associated with the heat cycle.
Spaying and neutering also adds to the longevity of our purring pals and barking buddies, with dogs living an average of 1 to 3 years longer and cats 3 to 5 years more by reducing the risk of certain cancers, the American Veterinary Medical Association reports. For instance, spaying can prevent uterine infections and breast tumors in female pets, while neutering can prevent testicular cancer and certain prostate issues in males.
Today is a great time to schedule your cat to be spayed/neutered!