Desexing

Critter Chat De-Sexing
Hi everyone and welcome to critter chat! We hope you and your furry friends had a great Christmas and New Year break. Unfortunately, this time of year has an unseen and ugly part for those of us in the animal care industry. Over 250 unwanted pets were euthanased in the Gladstone region in December alone last year, most of them were puppies & kittens. The average for December was 10 animals per day-and that’s just our local council. This sad statistic brings us to the subject of desexing.

Lots of folks think it might be nice to see your family pet have a litter of puppies or kittens, especially for the kids. Puppies and kittens are just so much fun, but they are also hard work and involve commitment and care, and cost! It can be a lovely experience to have a litter of puppies but consider carefully how these cute bundles are to be homed when the time arrives to do so. Keep in mind that you don’t want these precious bundles to become a horrible statistic in 6 months when they’ve got bigger and the first flush of ‘puppy love’ has worn off!

For the ladies…
Spaying means your girl doesn’t have to go through the messy business of “being on heat” and therefore your owner won’t have to lock you up at this time. Some owners believe that having a litter will improve temperament. This one is an old wives tale I’m afraid. Your girl will be back to her excitable self once her puppies or kittens are weaned. Some owners also think that desexing makes your female dog fat and lazy – but it is the overfeeding of your girl as her growth slows down and not enough exercise to wear it off that leads to this, not spaying!! Finally, there are significant health benefits to desexing, including the prevention of all uterine diseases (pyometra being the most common and deadly), elimination of distressing phantom pregnancies and it also almost eliminates the risk of breast cancer to your pet. Sounds good doesn’t it?

For the fellas…
Neutering your best mate reduces the urges and crazy behaviour that come on when a girl is in season nearby. Boys out on the prowl with too many hormones end up getting hit by cars, can be wandering for days and always get into fights with competing dogs – all over a lady! As well as reducing your dogs tendency to wander, it will reduce any aggressive tendencies your pooch may have, and even-tempered dogs fit into the family so much better. To the reluctant male owners out there, we promise you, you wont feel a thing!!

… and the cats
Female cats can become pregnant again within two weeks of having a litter, over and over and over again. It’s this factor and our society not being responsible for our pets in respects to desexing, leading to overbreeding and dumping that has caused Australia’s feral cat problem. We shouldn’t be blaming the cats.

Your pet can be de sexed from 5 months of age and there is no upper age limit.

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We at Agnes Coast Vet Clinic cannot stress highly enough the importance of desexing and if you would like more information please do not hesitate to speak to one of us at the clinic.