NEUTERING OUR PETS – IT’S A NO BRAINER. “ Yeeaaooowww! It seems a bit mean though, a bit cruel don’t you think”. The number of times I hear that comment, especially relayed from men busily extrapolating their human emotions onto that of their pets.

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When you really think about things …. What in-fact would be really cruel would be to not get the operation done. Imagine a relentless, raging hormonal drive to escape home and run rampant through the city-side. With the ever tightening constraints of our modern society this is of course totally unacceptable behaviour, and is largely prevented, leaving our driven pets stranded and anxious between a rock and hard place, their relentless drives frustratingly un-expressed. As I said … It’s Cruel not to neuter.

While we are at it, let us address a few other myths. “My neutered pet will automatically, magically and uncontrollably become fat”. Not at all! Genuine changes in hormones and physiology means caloric daily requirements are slightly reduced. Feed 5-10% less (a minimal adjustment) and always feed to condition anyway as each animal is so unique in its requirements.

“That my girl will have a better personality if she gets to have a litter.” Better than what? These female cats and dogs are almost always already awesome. It’s more likely to stop them heading away from fantastic towards something else less awesome.

It’s a fact of our accelerating lives that rules of pet ownership will continue getting stricter. From dog rangers jumping out of Remuera shrubs with instant fines in hand, to cats being confined indoors, such as in some parts of Australia, a move to limit negative impact on the native ecosystem. Fenced in, our furry kids will diligently dig under, break through, leap six foot fences and run faster than a speeding locomotive, slaves to the pheromones. Doors left fractionally open for a mere instant provide a brief corridor to the promise of far off adventures.

Beyond society’s rules and out the through back door our unneutered pets also face a growing volume of vehicle traffic from which to avoid potentially fatal damage, or complicated veterinary repairs. Our pet density is rising rapidly as we embrace the fluffy little darlings ever more tightly into our family life. Fifty percent of all New Zealand homes now have cats and thirty percent have dogs. This all provides loads more targets to chase and fight with, or be attacked by when those hormones have driven a “successful” escape. Dog to dog aggression is also much more prevalent. Entire, totally placid animals are still much more likely to be to be targeted and elicit an aggressive response more frequently. They are perceived as more of a threat, even when never initiating anything themselves. We see many entire young cats and dogs come in to the hospital with serious rips and bite wounds for this reason. Unneutered pets are also more likely to bite people, especially young children under seven, as sex hormones can drive predatory responses and children this young are often not clearly identified by as “people” by our pets. Fleeing cats trigger similar predatory instincts and are also more likely to be targeted.

The physiological stresses of fighting and “getting out” into the wild and complex world surrounding us are massive and adversely affect these pets health. Entire male cats (“Toms”) typically carry lowered body condition, and a lowered immune system. Getting these guys neutered makes fighting with other cats much less likely, a big plus for the mental health of your neighbours and for the physical health of all cats nearby, not only yours. This in turn reduces the likelihood of abscesses and blood born bacteria which cause internal organ damage to the heart, kidneys and liver. Fatal viruses such as Leukaemia and Feline Aids (spread by bites and now affecting over 5% of all cats in this country) are also much less likely to infect your furry friend. He will smell a lot less, as will his urine and will be less likely to cross those dangerous roads while concentrating on something else. He is also unlikely to spray his scent and urine all over your house or prized items of furniture.

I clearly recall a 3 year old Burmese cat presenting to me looking like he wasn’t a day under 13. I had to triple check his records with a stunned expression on my face. He looked half dead and was constantly getting infections. After convincing his owner to neuter him we shed 10 years off his age, a fantastic result.

In entire male dogs the incidence of prostatic hyperplasia, a sort of benign overgrowth, and also more malignant changes are much more likely later on in life. The swollen prostate often leads to urinary disorders and severe constipation as it pushes forward and upwards from its position in the pelvic canal. Obviously the possibility of testicular disease is totally removed.

A vivid illustration to me of the severe consequences of not speying our female pets came from practicing in the U.K. where pet health treatment and advice wasn’t quite as developed as here in NZ (much like their banking systems). Ovariohysterectomy (the correct surgical term for removal of the uterus and ovaries) wasn’t promoted and massive number Pyometras turned up at my surgery. It seemed like every day we would admit a bitch or queen in total toxaemic collapse and have to perform an emergency spey, removing all her infected swollen reproductive system. If not brought in quickly some of these would die from bacterial toxic shock. Mammary tumours (which possess oestrogen receptors) are also much more common in unspayed female cats and dogs. The incidence rises rapidly after having one season and continues up-to a maximum occurrence when pets have had 4 seasons.

Speying female cats (Queens) is going to stop them becoming pregnant, and will do so very effectively. Cats are machines when it comes to breeding and will get pregnant very young (sometimes at less than 5 months!) and keep doing so many times a year. In a young cat this prevents full growth and development and eats up all body reserves and weakens the immune system. This in turn exposes the young female to lots of bacterial and viral illness. The queen will also be much more prone to physical and infectious attacks from Toms and will take off looking for a mate increasing the risk of trauma from road traffic, dog encounters and the like.

Less drastic effects of not getting the snip for our pets is being harder to train, possessing a much stronger musky, pheromonal smell, and having a greater drive to mount male or female dogs, people and objects. As mentioned earlier their drive to mark and spray urine around your house is also high (not a great addition to interior design concepts), and is not just restricted to male cats.

Another consideration is Community welfare. We’ve touched on the negative fallout for surrounding pets and their owners. They can be terrorized, badly physically (or mentally) damaged or even killed. Our considerations should also include massive numbers of unwanted puppies and kittens, with up-to 120 per day dumped at the Auckland SPCA each summer. Do the math; we need to discourage “just let ‘em have one or two litters first”. Remember you may have 12 or 13 little faces to raise and home in some particularly fecund cases.

In bitches there is a small benefiting in allowing one season before neutering. There is a very slight reduction in incidence of hormonal incontinence later in life because of the effects of oestrogen on maintaining urethral tone. For this reason it is fair to consider allowing one season if you are living in a secure fort. Six foot fencing (10 foot Hurricane deer fences are even better), a property where there is no risk of tunneling and no possibility of leaving doors open are far and few between. Just think back to “Jess” sitting in the Footrot Flats dog-box and all the difficulties Wal had keeping the neighbourhood dogs away. It’s a difficult proposition. Balanced against extreme logistics and an increased mammary tumour risk most people wisely opt to spey before their dog’s first season.

It’s pretty clear then what needs to be done, so what are they in-store for. The first bit of good news is these days they can all go home the same day. In and out, just like in our hospital system. Your cherished pooch or moggie gets dropped in first thing in the morning with no breakfast. This helps us to minimize vomiting and its associated risks. Water is ok and a walk to the toilet is also a good plan. On arrival your vet will check their overall health and perform pre-anaesthetic blood tests to check organ function and look for any infections. Intra-venous fluid support will be planned, and a check made to confirm they are not currently in season. Pre-meds to sedate are worked out and firstly intravenous, then gas anaesthetics are carefully applied, the later via a breathing tube. With the massive variation in pet size operations can run in length from 10 to 45 Minuits, from a small cat neuter to large adult bitch spey. Older, plumper pets possess more fat to work around and much larger uterine and ovarian tissues and arteries. This obviously relates to slightly more tissue trauma, longer recovery, and more fluid loss. So in summary the little guys miss one breakfast, are moderately groggy that night, and are usually trotting around happily next day having been sent home with appropriate painkillers.

And don’t forget for those hard line extrapolating males out there, on request we can insert silicon testicles, “Neuticals” to keep you guys happy. Let’s get snipping.

Dr Alex Melrose. BVSc MRCVS. VetCare Grey Lynn. 408 Great North Rd. 09 3613500. www.vetcare.net.nz. info@vetcare.net.nz