Should I Neuter/Spay My Pet?

Owning a dog or cat is a huge responsibility and an important thing to consider is whether you should neuter or spay your pet. Spaying/neutering is a wise choice and beneficial to their health. If your animal is purely a companion to your family and not to be used specifically for breeding, our resident vet recommends the animal should be neutered/spayed. Sterilizing your animal provides the following health benefits:

Lessens the risk of cancer - Sterilization prevents ovarian, uterine, and testicular cancer in pets and lessens the chance of mammary gland cancer.
Prevents urinary tract infections - This is particularly important for cats as urinary tract disease can be very serious and even fatal for your feline friend.
Can reduce undesirable behavior - Male dogs can have a tendency to roam for a mate, this results in dogs running at large which can be hit by cars or picked up as strays. In dogs, it can also lessen barking and particularly urine marking as they will feel less of a need to defend their territory. Male cats will also be less likely to urine mark their territory and spaying female cats should stop them from yowling, which is their mating call when they’re in heat.
Eradicates female canine menstruation - Female dogs are in heat approximately every six months, which is a messy business as female dogs that are not spayed have a bloody discharge.

Not having your pet sterilized can affect society as well, it is an unfortunate truth that there are hundreds of thousands of animals that are in animal shelters across the world that are in desparate need of a good home. Often these animals are surrendered to the shelter or abandoned because they were bred without a thought spared for their long-term future. Dogs live for around 10-15 years on average and cats live for even longer. Bringing more life into the world is not a decision to be taken lightly when these things are taken to account.

Your dog or cats behavior won’t change in any undesirable way once they are neutered or spayed. He or she will still be the same pet, a little calmer if anything, and once sterilized they will be a happier and healthier member of your family for many years to come.

Have a happy cat this Christmas!

Having friends or family visit gives you the opportunity to relax, talk and enjoy time together. However, having new people staying can be stressful for your cats and making them comfortable and having your guests also feel at home can be difficult.

When coming into your house, guests will need to understand that they must allow your cat to ‘warm up to them’ in its own time. You should make your guests aware of your cat’s personality and quirks, for example, if your cat likes to jump off the sofa and onto an unsuspecting shoulder or you might suggest they keep their shoes on if your cat is boisterous around feet. Making them aware of these things isn’t intended to make your guests wary of your cat but forewarned is fore-armed!

If your cat is prone to being nervous or getting stressed, they are more likely to fear visitors. This could lead to them showing negative behaviour – become aggressive, destructive and they could even eliminate inappropriately. In these situations, BudgetPetCare suggests Feliway, an air diffuser that mimics a natural comforting facial pheromone used to reduce anxiety. The wall plug-in discourages inappropriate elimination, but also soothes cats.

Once your visitors arrive, encourage them to treat your cat gently. Body language is incredibly important to animals, ask your guests not to challenge your cat by staring at it, looming over it or speak loudly and also only pet the cat if it allows them to. Also, ask them to be mindful when leaving your residence in case the cat runs out of the door, people who don’t own cats often don’t think about these things. If children are guests in your home, simply explain to them, if your cat isn’t gregarious enough to tolerate kids, they are to leave the cat alone.

By discussing with your guests how to reduce stress for your cat, it can make life a lot easier for you as host. It is usually easier to introduce a younger cat to visitors regularly visiting but with the right treatment and time, a timid cat can learn to enjoy ‘strange’ human company too!