Benefits to Spaying or Neutering Cats
Spaying or neutering a cat has many benefits. Most cat owners will want to have their pet fixed so that they don’t end up with lots of little kittens around. But there are other benefits to spaying or neutering a pet cat.
Benefits to Spaying
In female cats, going through with the spay surgery can actually save their lives later on. Spaying a female cat will decrease the risk of mammary cancer. It will also decrease the chance for infections and complications with the uterus as the cat ages. A spayed cat does not have a monthly cycle, and does not go through undesirable mating behaviors.
Benefits to Neutering
Male cats that are neutered will exhibit less behavioral problems, such as a tendency to roam and get into fights with other animals. It will significantly decrease the risk of male cats spraying urine.
Spaying or neutering a cat is best done when the cat is young; around 6 months is ideal. At this age, the cats are mature enough for the surgery to be done easily, yet they are young enough to not have developed some major negative behaviors.
Male cats that aren’t neutered tend to spray urine in order to mark their territory. While neutering them helps, if a cat has been doing this for some time, it may be more of a bad habit than something that can be fixed by eliminating the male hormones. Therefore, neutering cats before they are showing these signs is the best.
There are very few disadvantages to spaying or neutering cats. Obviously, they will not be able to breed and produce offspring. Some cats that are fixed will have a slight tendency for weight gain if the diet is not watched. But with proper feeding and exercise, this is generally not a concern.
Overall, the benefits to spaying or neutering cats greatly outweigh the disadvantages. There is such a surplus of cats in the world that many more should be fixed than already are. Cats have a way of breeding and multiplying quickly and nearly every farm has a bunch, neighborhoods are plagued by them, and even large cities have populations of cats hiding out and growing. There are many groups that work to promote spaying and neutering stray cats, but owners can help the cause by fixing their own cats.
