Early Spay Neuter:
Helping Solve the Litter Problem

The Doris Day Animal Foundation (DDAF) will celebrate the 11th Annual Spay Day USA on Tuesday, February 22, and is encouraging people across the country to spay and neuter their pets. The Hartz Mountain Corporation is proud to cosponsor the 2004 Spay Day USA. Hartz Shelter Outreach program is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all companion animals through product donations to shelters and not-for-profit animal welfare organizations. DDAF is the non-profit organizer of Spay Day USA, the national campaign to reduce pet overpopulation which has been responsible for altering over one million cats, dogs and other animals.

There’s a serious litter problem across the country. Unaltered cats and dogs produce thousands of unwanted or unexpected litters. Did you know that one unaltered pair of cats and their offspring can produce 420,000 kittens in just seven years? That’s counting only two litters a year (a female cat can actually have three litters annually) with only 2.8 kittens surviving in each litter. Add two years to that and you can have a staggering 11 million kittens, however there simply aren’t enough homes to go around. That’s why it’s important to get all intact pets fixed, even kittens and puppies as young as eight weeks.

Today’s established vets were taught in Neutering 101 that pets must be six months before they can be altered safely. It’s a difficult lesson to unlearn. Veterinary medicine has changed drastically since the 1920’s. With advances in anesthesia and surgical techniques, pediatric operations have become safe and routine. So what--why rush? Spaying or neutering before the kitten or puppy hits puberty eliminates the annoying behaviors caused by hormones, plus there’s a whole host of health and behavioral benefits.

When a pet is spayed, the vet surgically removes the ovaries and uterus. Neutering entails removing the testicles. For a while, it was believed it was healthier to allow the pet to go through a heat cycle or even have a litter before spaying. Further, vets feared that early altering of both sexes would cause urinary incontinence, stunted growth and obesity. The biggest fear was that male cats would develop urinary tract obstructions.

Mounting university studies and clinical experience since the 1970’s, however, suggests that most concerns regarding early sterilization are unfounded. Feline lower urinary tract disorders are attributed to diet and other causes rather than early castration. Rather than causing stunted growth, early alters tend to grow larger than traditionally sterilized pets.

In fact, kittens and puppies that are altered before hormones begin to surge through their bodies, reported fewer health problems than those spayed after reaching puberty. Controlled studies showed that cats altered at eight weeks were noticeably more affectionate than kittens altered at seven or 12 months. They stayed home rather than roaming, and because they were never introduced to hormones, they rarely mark with urine, roam or fight. Other studies found that early altered cats stayed in the adoptive homes at the same rate as cats altered at the traditional age. Studies report less obesity, and fewer medical problems than did the owners of the intact or traditionally fixed animals. Cats and dogs who go through a heat are more prone to some of the gender-related illnesses including breast cancer.

Now early sterilization is endorsed by a whole host of veterinary and humane organizations including:

American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
American Kennel Club (AKC)
ASPCA
And many state and local veterinary associations.

You can find participating Spay Day USA events by logging onto pets911.com or by calling 888-PETS911.