🎶 Let’s talk about all the good things… And the bad things that may be… Let’s talk about sex… Let’s talk about sex… 🎶
If Salt-N-Pepa can sing about it, then you can talk about it* with your veterinarian. Once your puppy and kitten enter puberty, mating is going to be on their brains, so it’s up to you — a responsible pet owner — to bring your dog or cat to the vet to be spayed or neutered. The Meowing Vet will teach you what happens during a spay and neuter procedure, the best age to have your pet fixed, and the pros and cons that castrating your pet can have on its health.
Read on to learn about the puppy and kitty “birds and bees”…
*“It” being your pet’s reproductive health — not your own! Spare your vet the TMI details!
One day (more specifically, at about 6 months of age), your innocent puppy or kitten’s sex hormones are going to kick in, and you’ll either need to have your pet spayed (i.e. speyed) or neutered or else have “The Talk”… and responsibly and kindly deal with any ramifications of allowing your pet to breed. Intact dogs and cats (i.e. pets that haven’t been fixed, also called “entire”) are at increased risk for many health problems and certain unwanted behavior problems (discussed in more detail below).
Additionally, pet overpopulation is a serious concern in many countries worldwide. Dogs can have 2 litters annually, and cats can breed nearly year-round. And since the length of a canine or feline pregnancy (i.e. gestation period) only barely exceeds 2 months (65 days on average) and can yield a large litter, a single dog or cat can have dozens of offspring in its lifetime. An unavoidable pet population problem soon arises if that pet is not fixed.
There are many responsible, loving breeders out there. However, there are many more pet owners who either cannot or do not wish to care for the litters of unwanted puppies and kittens that are born because their parents were not fixed. Uncontrolled pet reproduction leads to this serious pet population control problem. Abandoned stray dogs and cats, pet shop puppies born to over-bred mothers in deplorable puppy mill conditions, and overcrowded animal shelters are all consequences of irresponsible pet breeding, which can lead to premature pet death by illness or euthanasia.
Be part of the solution, not part of the problem, by scheduling a veterinary appointment to have your pet de-sexed (a.k.a. spayed or neutered). Let’s all make Bob Barker proud!
Pros vs. Cons of Having Your Pet Fixed
The American College of Theriogenologists* (ACT) has scanned decades’ worth of research data to compile the list below of benefits vs. potential risks of having pets spayed or neutered. The benefits of having your dog or cat altered (i.e. spayed or neutered) typically outweigh any negative consequences. However, The Meowing Vet wishes to take an unbiased approach, providing our readers with both pros and cons to enable you in making a sensible and well-informed decision concerning your pet’s reproductive health. Your personal vet can further guide you when weighing the advantages vs. theoretical disadvantages of having your individual pet spayed or neutered.
*FYI: A theriogenologist is a specialized veterinarian who is an expert in the field of theriogenology, the study of animal reproduction.
Advantages of Having Your Dog or Cat Fixed ✔️
Having your pet fixed means removing the reproductive organs responsible for producing sex hormones and allowing your female pet to become pregnant. Sex hormones (primarily estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone) can affect more than just the reproductive tract, exerting effects on many of the body’s organ systems — some of which may be harmful. By removing your pet’s ability to produce sex hormones, the risk of certain health concerns can be greatly diminished.
- Decreases the risk of many reproductive cancers (and may completely prevent some types)
- Testicular cancer in males
- Ovarian cancer in females
- Mammary gland adenocarcinoma (“breast cancer”) in females: Did you know that each each time your female dog or cat enters a heat cycle, their risk for developing mammary tumors increases significantly?! Since mammary cancer is a common cancer in dogs and cats and is oftentimes malignant, spaying your intact female pets (especially before they have many heat cycles) will greatly reduce the risk of developing these tumors.
- Decreases the risk of pyometra (a pus-filled uterus) in females, which can be a surgical EMERGENCY!!! The risk of pyometra development increases with age.
Decreases the development of many prostate diseases in male dogs (prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia/BPH, etc.)- Decreases the risk of perineal and inguinal hernias in male dogs
- Prevents a pregnancy that may result in a dystocia (difficult birth). Some pets (such as many brachycephalic, or flat-faced, dog breeds) often require a Cesarean section to deliver puppies.
- Decreases the risk of diabetes mellitus in intact female dogs by preventing progesterone production
- Decreases aggressive territorial behavior in some dogs and male cats
- Decreases urine spraying in some male cats
- Decreases the likelihood of your dog or cat straying from home (thereby reducing the chance of becoming lost, being hit by a car, contracting and spreading diseases, etc.)
- Aids in the control of the pet overpopulation problem concerning stray and shelter animals
Possible Disadvantages of Having Your Dog or Cat Fixed ❌
- An increased incidence of certain cancers has been reported in some pets who have been spayed or neutered:
- Hemangiosarcoma (a malignant tumor of the spleen, liver, heart, or skin) in canines
- Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in canines
- Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC, bladder cancer) in canines
- Prostate cancer in male dogs
- Because sex hormones rev up an intact pet’s metabolism, an increased incidence of obesity has been reported in some altered pets, which lack sex hormone production. However, not all pets gain a significant amount of weight after being de-sexed.
- Increased chance of urinary incontinence in some spayed female dogs (a.k.a. spay incontinence or acquired urethral sphincter mechanism insufficiency)
- Increased risk of Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) in cats (perhaps linked to obesity)
- Possible increased risk of autoimmune thyroiditis and hypothyroidism in canines
- Increased risk of diabetes mellitus in de-sexed cats and possibly in neutered male dogs as well
- Increased risk of cranial cruciate ligament (CCL or ACL) rupture in canines
- Increased risk of hip dysplasia (developmental joint disease of the hip joints leading to osteoarthritis) in canines (especially large and giant breeds) who are spayed or neutered before 5 months of age
- Possible increased risk of certain bone fractures (such as capital physeal fractures of the femur, or thigh bone) in neutered male cats (perhaps linked to quick weight gain after following castration)
- Increased shy behavior in spayed and neutered cats
- Possible increased aggressive behavior displayed by spayed female dogs
- Possible increased risk of canine cognitive dysfunction (“dementia”) in older canines
- Surgical and anesthetic risk for pets with special medical conditions (such as heart disease, blood disorders, etc.)
Teenage Wasteland: At what age should my pet be Fixed?
Most dogs and cats enter puberty between 5-7 months of age, on average. This means that your sweet little adolescent puppy or kitten could soon be creating new puppies or kittens of their own if they’re not fixed or prevented from breeding in due time. Female dogs will soon have their first heat cycle, signified by swelling of the vulva and bloody discharge. Dogs enter heat (estrus) every 6 months (on average) with each heat cycle typically lasting for 7-9 days. Female cats in heat do not usually display physical signs of estrus (i.e. no bleeding, etc.), but they have pronounced behavioral changes: increased activity and roaming behavior, loud yowling, “kneading”-like behavior with the back limbs, rolling on the ground, and raising their rump in the air. Female cats stay in heat until they are bred (they’re known as induced ovulators), so their annoying teenage-like behavior can last a loooong time if they’re not spayed!
If your puppy or kitten is approaching 6 months of age, it’s time to consult with your personal vet about the best time to have your pet spayed or neutered. Ideally, pets should not be fixed earlier than this because doing so can interfere with the release of hormones responsible for adequate growth and maturity. Moreover, neutering very young male kittens may result in a urethra (the tube that empties urine from the bladder) that is abnormally small in diameter, increasing the risk of future urinary blockage. Male and female cats are typically safe to be de-sexed around 6 months of age.
When it comes to determining the best age to spay or neuter a dog, several things must be considered. Altering a female dog before her first heat cycle (i.e. around 6 months old) significantly reduces her chances of developing mammary gland tumors later in life. However, waiting to spay or neuter a dog at later date (thereby allowing a female to undergo at least one if not several heat cycles) reduces the risk of developmental joint diseases (DJD, such as hip dysplasia). Toy and small breed dogs can likely more safely be spayed and neutered at 6 months of age. However, veterinary orthopedic surgeons are now recommending that large and giant breed dogs not be spayed until 9-12 months old to allow more time for hormonal input to aid in the proper formation of their joints and larger musculoskeletal systems.
And since we’re talking about raging hormones on The Meowing Vet today, here’s a vet that combines excellent pet owner education with a bit of eye-candy… Dr. Evan Antin, whom you can follow on social media @dr.evanantin.
Snip Day!: What happens during a spay or neuter procedure?
While spay and neuter procedures are your veterinarian’s bread and butter and are some of the most common routine operations performed by your vet, a neuter and especially a spay are still major surgeries. Prior to any surgical procedure, your pet should have a thorough physical examination and ideally bloodwork performed by your vet in order to ascertain that your dog or cat is healthy enough to undergo general anesthesia and surgery. As with any operation, there is a possibility of potential risks and complications, ranging from infection, bleeding, and possible death. However, a gonadectomy (i.e. removal of the gonads, or reproductive organs) is an extremely common elective surgery for dogs and cats, and most patients do perfectly fine.
Spay and neuter operations can also be a bit pricey. However, you will save money in the long-run by not having to care for additional puppy or kitten offspring to feed and by reducing your pet’s risk of developing many health problems later in life. Many low-cost spay and neuter clinics and special veterinary events, such as those hosted by U.S.-based Remote Area Medical (RAM) and The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association-Rural Area Veterinary Services (HSVMA-RAVS), offer affordable surgeries. Keep in mind that though these reduced-price clinics offer a great economic and welfare service, they oftentimes lack gold-standard medical monitoring equipment and other tools in order to offset costs.
Your pet should be fasted overnight before the day of his or her operation (and unless recommended otherwise, not much water either). Fasting your dog or cat decreases the risk of stomach reflux from entering the esophagus and back of the throat during anesthesia, where they pose a risk of being aspirated (breathed) into your pet’s lungs, causing choking and aspiration pneumonia.
A sedative will be administered to your pet, and an IV catheter should be placed in most patients. (Why is an IV catheter ideal? Anesthesia can decrease your pet’s blood pressure, so IV fluids are often administered through the catheter in order to keep the blood pressure at a safe level. IV catheters are also essential in an emergency situation, providing quick intravenous access for life-saving medications in the rare occurrence that they’re needed.) Your pet will then be induced into a sleepy state with the use of injectable anesthetics. An endotracheal tube will be placed into your dog or cat’s trachea (windpipe) to protect the airway from potential gastric reflux, to allow for airway and proper breathing maintenance, and to provide a means of administering gas anesthesia to keep your pet asleep until after the surgery is completed. An exception to this rule is during the castration of male cats. Your vet can perform this procedure extremely quickly via very small incisions, so a mask administering anesthetic gas to your tomcat may be placed around the nose and mouth rather than via an endotracheal tube.
Your pet’s surgical site will then be clipped of fur and antiseptically prepped with povidone iodine or chlorhexidine and isopropyl alcohol to reduce the possibility of contaminants contacting the incision. A female dog or cat will be shaved either from the bottom of her chest to the vulva or on the side of her abdomen (depending on the surgical approach), while male dogs will be shaved from their testicles to the middle of their prepuce (the sheath covering the penis). The testicles of male cats may be plucked or shaved to remove hair. Once in the surgery suite, sterile drapes are placed around your pet so that only the prepped surgical site is visible to the veterinary surgeon, who begins the operation wearing a sterile gown and gloves as well as a hair cap and mask covering his or her airway to reduce pathogens from entering the incision.
During the operation, your pet’s vital signs (heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and heart rhythm) should be monitored closely. After the surgery is completed (see details below for what occurs during a spay and neuter, respectively), gas anesthesia is stopped, allowing your pet to wake up. Your pet will continue to be monitored closely until he or she is fully recovered.
It is imperative that your dog or cat is strictly prohibited from licking or chewing on their sutures (stitches) at the surgical site. This can lead to a seroma (fluid accumulation), tissue trauma with inflammation and infection, or dehiscence (re-opening of the surgical wound, which can lead to major injury and typically requires another surgery for repair). Your pet should ideally wear an Elizabethan collar (E-collar or cone) to prevent him or her from licking the wound. Some vets may hide their sutures within the skin so that they’re not visible to the naked eye, also making them less likely for your inquisitive dog or cat to gnaw upon. Keeping your pet quiet (no jumping!!!) and confined to a small area post-op allow for better healing and also prevent dehiscense and internal bleeding.
Your pet will likely be sent home with some medications, such as anti-inflammatories, to mitigate their post-op discomfort. Many anesthetics and some pain medications can slow movement of the intestines, causing your pet to become constipated. Contact your vet if your dog or cat is straining as if to have a bowel movement or has not produced feces in 5 days. You should also not bathe your pet or allow the sutures to get wet until they are removed or dissolved at the discretion of your veterinarian (typically in 10-14 days after surgery).
Any aspiring veterinarians or curious pet owners in the crowd? Learn more about the surgical technicalities of spays and neuters!
You’re Cuter-us Than a Uterus: The Spay Surgery ♀
A spay is to females as a neuter or castration is to males. (But to complicate matters, sometimes people refer to either a male or female pet who has been fixed as “neutered.”) The spay procedure is more technically termed an ovariohysterectomy (OHE or OVH, ovario = ovaries, hyster = uterus, ectomy = to cut): surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus (womb). Your pet should ideally not be in heat (estrus) at the time of surgery because the reproductive tract has increased blood flow during estrus, increasing the risk of excessive bleeding during surgery.
Once your female dog or cat is prepped for surgery, her veterinarian will make an incision either along midline (on her lower to mid-belly) or the side of her abdomen. The skin is first incised, then the underlying fatty tissue, then (if performed on midline) a little “zipper-like” area called the Iinea alba where the right and left sides of the abdominal muscles come together. The peritoneal cavity (or abdominal cavity) is then entered, and the vet locates the suspensory ligament, which connects each ovary to the inner body wall. Each ovary is isolated, clamped on either side, and then the side connecting it to the body wall is severed. The blood vessels are tied with suture material to prevent hemorrhage. During this step, special care is taken not to accidentally ligate (tie off) a ureter (the tube connecting each kidney to the urinary bladder). Ligating a ureter blocks the flow of urine from the kidney into the bladder and can result in serious kidney complications in time, often requiring a nephrectomy (surgical removal of the affected kidney).
Your vet travels down the Fallopian tube, which connects near the ovary and the uterus (and normally carries eggs to the uterus). The bottom of the uterus just above the cervix (the tight opening between the uterus and vagina) is then clamped. It is excised along with the connected Fallopian tubes and ovaries, and the entire reproductive tract is removed. The area just above the cervix and nearby uterine vessels are also ligated with suture. The body wall layers and skin are each individually sutured closed.
Some veterinarians opt to perform an ovariectomy instead, removing only the ovaries while leaving the uterus in place. Because the sex hormone- and egg-producing ovaries are removed, your dog or cat will not be able to get pregnant and will not enter another heat cycle.
Uncommonly, a tiny piece of ovary (ovarian remnant) is left behind during the spay procedure. Similarly, ectopic ovarian tissue may grow separate from the ovaries in other parts of the abdomen. While your pet will not be able to become pregnant in these scenarios, she may still act like she is in heat due to hormone production (and remains at increased risk of mammary gland tumors and pyometra). Should this occur following a spay, contact your veterinarian to discuss your concerns and to schedule a repeat operation.
Let’s Have a Ball… Or Two!: The Neuter Surgery ♂
Castration is synonymous with neutering a male dog or cat. This procedure involves removing the testicles from inside the scrotum and is a much simpler and less risky operation than spaying a female pet. Nevertheless, each surgery has similar risks (anesthetic complications, dehiscense, improper healing due to tissue injury or infection, and internal bleeding if a blood vessel becomes untied post-op).
Once your male dog is ready for surgery, your veterinarian will make an incision in the skin and underlying tissue between the base of the prepuce and the scrotum. The scrotum is pushed up so that the testicles are now level with this incision. Attached to each testicle is the spermatic cord (containing blood vessels, nerves, and the ductus deferens which carries sperm from the testicle). The cord is clamped, ligated (tied) with suture, and excised. The testicle is then removed. This process is repeated on the other side. The skin and underlying tissue are then sutured closed with special care taken not to accidentally stitch up the underlying urethra, which would block the passage of urine out of the bladder and would require corrective surgery.
During a male dog castration, some vets may prefer to make their incision as they would for a male cat: an incision on each side of the scrotum. The spermatic cord of male tomcats is also clamped before the testicle is removed, but the cord is often tied over on itself in a tight knot rather than via the use of suture material. If a neuter is performed like this in a dog, suture is needed to stitch up the skin. However, because the incisions are so small in male cats, the skin tends to stick back together, sealing up the wound without the need for suture.
Sometimes, your male dog or cat may be cryptorchid, meaning one or both of the testicles did not properly descend into the scrotum and may be under the skin near the groin area or else still inside the abdominal cavity. If under the skin, your vet will isolate the hiding testicle and incise just over it, removing it as per a typical castration. However, if the testicle is assumed to be inside the abdominal cavity, your vet will have to prep and enter the abdomen (similar to a spay procedure) to locate and remove it.
Many pet owners are concerned about the appearance of their male dog’s scrotum following castration. Younger, smaller dogs that are castrated tend not to have excessive skin around their now empty scrotum following castration. Older large breed dogs that are neutered later in life may have saggier scrotal skin. Your veterinarian may sometimes perform a scrotal ablation procedure to remove this excess skin following castration. Some owners have requested artificial testicle implants (Neuticles®) be placed in the scrotum after a neuter to give the appearance of testicles, but these are not generally recommended.
Talk with your pet’s personal veterinarian today about scheduling an appointment to have your dog or cat spayed or neutered. ✂️
– Maranda Elswick, DVM
