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Pediatric Spay and Neuter: The Basics

If you have recently adopted a new puppy or kitten, you may have been presented with the option of “pediatric spay / neuter surgery” and you may not be familiar with the process, or even not comfortable with the concept. . We’ve all gotten used to the standard 6-9 month standard for spaying or neutering, and the idea of ​​operating on a small animal, just 4-6 weeks old, sounds quite experimental, possibly ineffective, and even dangerous.

Here are some facts about spay / neuter procedures at a young age: In the 1940s and 1950s, veterinarians had much more primitive anesthetics, equipment, and tools. Anesthetics weren’t always safe, especially for young animals, and the sophisticated surgical instruments that veterinarians use today to find a tiny uterus didn’t even exist yet. Since a uterus is larger and easier to find after an estrus, or after having a litter, the advice that veterinarians of the past often gave was to wait until after the first estrus or after the animal had had a litter. Waiting facilitated the procedure for they.

For many years, animal shelters and humane organizations have had policies that require new pet owners to have the animal neutered “ as soon as possible, ” but realistically, there has never been a way to enforce this requirement and too many animals have left the shelter. unsterilized, only to end up contributing to our already overwhelming pet overpopulation problem, despite the shelter’s good intentions.

From the point of view of effective control of pet populations, the best time to sterilize dogs and cats, the optimal time, is before puberty, eliminating no possibility of the animal producing offspring. It is important to remember that the leading cause of death in companion animals is homelessness due to overcrowding.

The arguments in favor of spaying / neutering at an early age:

* Overcrowding and the resulting neglect, suffering and euthanasia – Spaying / neutering at a young age completely eliminates the possibility of unwanted litters.

* Avoid heat cycles entirely: unwanted “visitors” fighting on the lawn, females howling and howling.

* Neutered males are less likely to roam and fight, thus avoiding injury, spread of disease, and costly veterinary expenses. It has been estimated that 80% of dogs killed by cars and 80% of feline AIDS cases are uncastrated males.

* Better-behaved pets: Neutered pets rarely mark, roam, and fight. 85% of bites involve unneutered dogs.

* Healthier pets: Neutered males do not have the testicular cancer and prostate problems that are common in intact dogs. Sows spayed before their first heat cycle have 96% less breast cancer. Your risk of uterine infection is drastically reduced, not to mention the many complications associated with pregnancy, childbirth, or raising a litter.

* It is safe: the mortality rate is lower than that of the standard sterilization procedure of 6 to 9 months.

* It is less traumatic for the pet: young animals heal faster and have fewer surgical risks than older animals that may be obese, in heat, pregnant or sick. Young animals generally wake up faster after anesthesia.

Many humanitarian shelters across the country now support spaying and neutering at the time of adoption. If yours didn’t, ask your vet to do a pediatric or early spay / neuter (also called juvenile spay / neuter) on your new pet. They should be able to address any questions or concerns you may have. For more information, you can also visit http://www.spayusa.org.

Every day 10,000 humans are born in the United States, while each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. As long as these birth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals. Early spay / neuter is one of the easiest and most obvious solutions to the problem.

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1. “A Case for Neutering Puppies and Kittens at Two Months of Age” by Leo L. Lieberman DVM, a special comment in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Volume 191.

2. “Early spaying and neutering helps solve the overpopulation problem” by Greg A. Lewis DVM, in Veterinary Forum.

3. “Should dogs be neutered early in animal shelters?” a peer-reviewed article by Walter E. Crenshaw DVM and Craig N. Carter MS, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVPM in Veterinary Medicine.

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