In celebration of National Spay and Neuter month, we've got the Who/What/When/Where/Why all covered for you!
WHO is it appropriate to spay or neuter?
Each species if of course different, as when we talked about when spaying or neutering is appropriate.
The general rule is that if you're not going to breed them, then it is best to spay or neuter them!
WHAT does it mean to spay or neuter a pet?
Here at our clinic we do surgical sterilization of both males and females, this means we are completely removing the reproductive organs.
Neutering (with surgical sterilization) is the removal of the testicles.
Spaying is the removal of the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and the uterus.
Stay tuned and we'll be posting about who needs to be spayed/neutered, why we do it, when the best time to do it is, and where to get the procedure done (differences between different organizations).
WHEN is it time to spay or neuter your pet?
Well this is a question that is dependent on the pet and the doctor. Here at our clinic, the general rule of spaying or neutering is to wait a couple of weeks after their last set of puppy/kitten vaccines (the last set being around 16 weeks, or 4 months). This is to make sure your puppy or kitten is adequately protected by the vaccines before doing a surgery. It is also may be better to spay your female dog or cat before their first heat cycle. Optimum time being 5-6 months
Rabbits, however, are a different story. They can actually start reproducing at about the age of 3 months. This means that if you have two or more bunnies of the opposite sex, they will either need to be separated completely or spayed/neutered at about the age of 3 months. If they are a lone bunny, or can be kept completely separate with NO chance of getting to the other rabbit(s), we try to wait until they are about 6 months.
WHERE should you spay or neuter your pet?
This is a question we get all the time. There are good things and less than good things for any facility you go to, so I'll give you the general run-down of how surgeries go at our clinic:
Before going into surgery, we do bloodwork to make sure your pet is healthy enough to undergo not only the anesthesia, but also the procedure itself.
An I.V. (intravenous) catheter will be placed before they are induced. This is there to give fluids during the surgery which is an important step to keeping blood pressure near-normal. The I.V. catheter is also there as a safeguard for emergency situations, should something happen under anesthesia.
We are not high volume, which gives us more time to monitor your pet, both before surgery and during their recovery, which we consider to be up to a few hours after they wake up from the anesthesia.
We also use the safest gas anesthetic available in veterinary medicine.
We are always happy to answer any questions or walk you through the process, because we know that you're entrusting your pet to our care and that can be a little scary sometimes. Feel free to call or stop by to talk to us!
WHY is it important to spay an neuter your pet?
Just as in humans, your pets can develop testicular tumors, prostate problems, and cysts on the ovaries. Females can also get an infection in the uterus called a pyometra, which is a potentially fatal condition. Spaying or neutering your pet can prevent those problems from occurring.
Spaying and neutering your pet also decreases the likelihood of them wondering off to find a potential mate.