A great deal of controversy surrounds the topic of spaying and neutering pets, and decisions are often influenced by the pet owner’s emotions. However, making a decision on when to spay or neuter your pet is a choice best made when you have all the facts. 

Reproductive hormones can lead to serious health and behavior problems, and removing their source once a pet is grown is most beneficial. 

Before making a decision about if or when your pet should be spayed or neutered, consider the following facts provided by our Heartland Veterinary Hospital team on spaying and neutering pets and a schedule on the best age.

Benefits of spaying your female pet

Spaying your female pet has numerous benefits, because reproductive organs, hormones, pregnancy, and labor can cause major health issues that may ultimately prove fatal. Perks of spaying your cat or dog include:

  • Reduced mammary cancer risk — Spaying your pet before her first heat cycle drastically reduces her mammary cancer risk. With each heat cycle, your pet’s chance of developing mammary tumors increases. Mammary tumors are malignant in 50% of canine cases, and cancerous in 90% of feline cases. 
  • Reduced pyometra risk — As your female pet goes through a heat cycle, her uterus becomes the perfect environment for bacterial growth. A uterine infection (i.e., pyometra) can rapidly become life-threatening and often requires emergency surgery and intensive hospitalization for a favorable prognosis. Pets who survive a pyometra who are not then spayed are at an increased risk for developing a future pyometra, and subsequent infections can become more severe.
  • Elimination of heat cycles — Female pets in heat can be troublesome, because they may try to escape to find a mate, become irritable and aggressive, or yowl, howl, meow, or bark incessantly in a bid for attention. By eliminating your pet’s heat cycle, you avoid these problematic behaviors. 
  • Elimination of pregnancy-related problems — Pregnancy, labor, and caring for a litter of puppies or kittens is physically and emotionally taxing on a pet and can result in life-threatening problems. For example, a pregnant or nursing pet can develop preeclampsia or mastitis or may have a difficult delivery and require an emergency, life-saving Cesarean section.
  • Management of pet overpopulation issues — Sadly, far too many pets do not have homes. Intact pets contribute to overpopulation, taxing the already stretched resources of animal shelters, rescues, and fosters, so a responsible pet owner can help manage the pet overpopulation situation.

Benefits of neutering your male pet

While male cats and dogs experience fewer reproductive-related issues than females, they can still develop serious health and behavior complications if they remain intact. Problems reduced or avoided by neutering your male pet include:

  • Roaming — Male cats and dogs in search of a mate have a one-track mind and can escape from homes and yards, bolt through traffic, and fight off competitors, leading to injury or sometimes death.
  • Unpleasant behaviors — Male pets can exhibit “bad,” unacceptable behaviors, such as mounting and urine marking.
  • Testicular and prostate problems — Neutering your pet eliminates his risk for testicular cancer and reduces the potential for prostate problems that can interfere with urination and defecation.
  • Perianal fistulas — Perianal fistulas are more likely to occur in intact male dogs, particularly German shepherds. These draining tracts are incredibly painful and can cause chronic infections and incontinence.

When to spay or neuter your cat

Kittens grow rapidly and may have completed most of their growth by 5 or 6 months of age, so they no longer need the growth benefits that reproductive hormones provide. As female kittens can enter their first heat cycle as young as 4 months, spaying them by 5 months of age, or 6 months at the latest, to virtually eliminate their mammary cancer risk is best. Male kittens neutered by this age generally do not develop urine spraying or marking, which is one of the major problem behaviors of intact male cats.

When to spay or neuter your dog

The best age for spaying or neutering your dog is more difficult to determine. The general consensus is that small-breed dogs should be spayed or neutered much earlier than giant breeds. Larger breeds need hormones to help support healthy growth, so sterilization is not recommended until they reach their expected adult size.

As a general guideline, dogs who are expected to weigh less than 45 pounds at adulthood should be neutered at 6 months of age or spayed before their first heat cycle, which is often around 5 or 6 months. Male dogs expected to weigh more than 45 pounds at adulthood should be neutered after growth stops, which can occur between 9 and 15 months. Determining when to spay a large-breed female dog requires consideration of many factors and weighing all the pros and cons of certain ages. Depending on health risks and benefits, your large-breed female dog may be spayed as early as 8 months, or not until they reach 16 months or older.

Determining when to spay or neuter your furry pal can be a complex decision. Ask our Heartland Veterinary Hospital team for guidance on when your pet should be spayed or neutered.