Many dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and ferrets are neutered. Neutering is performed to prevent pregnancy, to reduce certain types of unwanted behaviour and to help prevent certain types of disease that your pet may be at increased risk from as they get older. The age at which neutering is performed depends on the species and the sex of your pet.
Castration and spaying are procedures performed under a general anaesthetic. Your pet will need to come into the surgery in the morning and will go home later that afternoon. Our vets can talk to you regarding the best age for neutering and the reasons for having your pet neutered.
Many people believe that once their pet has been neutered their pet will become overweight. Your pet will require fewer calories following neutering. This can be achieved by reducing the quantity of food your pet is given and by ensuring adequate exercise. Rachael, our head vet nurse, will be more than happy to talk to you about weight control of your pet before or after neutering.
Dogs
Male: Your dog can be castrated when he is 5 months of age or older. We recommend castration for a number of reasons. Certain behaviours are testosterone driven including copulatory behaviour, urine marking, desire to roam and aggression towards other male dogs. Theses behaviours can sometimes be reduced or eliminated following castration, especially if the procedure is performed before your dog has developed these behaviours. Also, there are specific diseases that can affect entire male dogs, such as testicular tumours, which can be prevented by castration. The risk from other types of disease, including prostatic diseases, may be reduced by castration.
Female: We recommend that your pet is spayed 12 weeks after her first season. Neutering ensures that your pet does not suffer from problems associated with being in season such as the desire to wander away from your home, male dogs making unexpected visits to your home, an unplanned pregnancy, pseudo-pregnancy and pyometra (a life-threatening illness caused by infection of the uterus). Female dogs can be spayed when older but it must be 12 weeks after a season. The risk of developing mammary tumours is reduced when neutered before the third season.
Cats
We recommend that all male and female cats are neutered at about 6 months of age. This can be done earlier if you own cats of different sexes. Queens come into season fairly frequently, therefore spaying reduces unplanned pregnancies. Cats can travel great distances from home when they have not been neutered, and so there is a greater risk of them being involved in a road traffic accident and becoming injured or getting lost. Fighting with other cats and urine marking can also be reduced by neutering. Finally, diseases of the uterus are not uncommon in un-neutered queens, some of which can become life-threatening. Neutering eliminates these diseases.
Rabbits
Both male and female rabbits can be neutered at 16 weeks of age or older. Neutering is recommended for a number of reasons. Aggression and obnoxious urine marking behaviour may be reduced or eliminated by neutering when two males are housed together. If you have a male and female rabbit housed together, castrating the male rabbit eliminates the risk of your female becoming pregnant. Two female rabbits together can also be aggressive towards each other and even females housed alone can be aggressive towards the owner when they are in season. Neutering can help reduce this aggression as well as eliminate the risk of uterine disease such as womb cancer which is common in some breeds and often has already spread to other organs before it is detected.
About Monnow Bridge
History Of Monnow Bridge Vets | Staff At Monnow Bridge Vets | Directions & Surgery Location | Payments Terms
History Of Monnow Bridge Vets | Staff At Monnow Bridge Vets | Directions & Surgery Location | Payments Terms
Preventative Healthcare
Vaccinations | Worming Your Pet | External Parasite Control | Neutering | Microchipping | Pet Travel Scheme
Vaccinations | Worming Your Pet | External Parasite Control | Neutering | Microchipping | Pet Travel Scheme
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