Fox Focus: Spay and Neutering: Some Popular Myths Debunked

by Meg Bendzinski

It is common knowledge that spaying or neutering your dog or cat will prevent them from reproducing, thus helping to reduce the problem of unwanted pets. Many of these pets either end up in shelters or living on the streets exposed to disease, and other dangers. In states where pet overpopulation is especially high, some of these pets may even be euthanized due to a lack of adoptive homes. One would think that these reasons alone would be enough to convince someone to sterilize their companion animal before they have reached reproductive maturity, but that is not always the case.

The following are some common myths about spaying and neutering along with the facts that will clear up any misunderstandings.

Myth: A female cat or dog should have a litter before she is spayed. In fact, it is best for your kitten or puppy to be spayed before her first heat cycle (approximately 6-9 months of age). This reduces the likelihood of mammary cancer by about 50%. The longer a female goes unspayed, the more likely she is to develop cancer and pyometra, an infection of the uterus which if left untreated can be fatal. In addition, allowing your dog or cat to have even one litter is producing more animals that will need good homes.

It is especially important to spay female cats. The risk of mammary cancer is reduced by 85-90% if spayed before their first heat cycle. In addition, a cat’s instinct to reproduce is extremely strong, and the heat cycle can be very disturbing for them. They howl, rub up against everything, and spray urine around to attract males. They get extremely agitated and are also uncomfortable. Their heat cycles can continue for as long as 3 weeks, and during the breeding season (fall and spring) they may go into heat every 2 weeks. The resourcefulness of the cat is one of the strongest contributors to the drastic overpopulation problem suffered by the species.  Therefore, it is best to eliminate the problem and the stress on your female kitty by having her spayed before her first heat cycle.

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Celebrating 25 Years of Farm Sanctuary’s Shelters; More Than 8,000 Animals Rescued

From Farm Sanctuary

One hot August day in 1986, two concerned advocates set out for Lancaster Stockyards in Pennsylvania. They had only planned on documenting the stockyards’ conditions, but everything changed when they witnessed a crumpled sheep on a dead pile raise her head. Lifted to safety, the animal, later named Hilda, was rescued and Farm Sanctuary was born. Those days, no one could have ever imagined how this tiny operation – consisting of a single backyard shed in Wilmington, Delaware and funded by the sale of veggie hot dogs out of a Volkswagen van – would blossom into a thriving national organization with shelters on both sides of the country, but that’s exactly what happened.

In 1989, with the help of our growing community of supporters, Farm Sanctuary purchased a 175-acre farm in rural Watkins Glen, New York and established our first permanent shelter. We relocated our 150 residents and, before long, we were ready to expand. Leading the nation in agricultural production, California was an obvious choice; there, we’d be well-positioned to conduct investigations, educate the public, and rescue and rehabilitate farm animals throughout the western half of U.S. So, recognizing a need and seeking to fulfill it, we opened our 300-acre shelter in Orland in 1993, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Since those early days, more than 8,000 animals rescued from hundreds of cases of cruelty and neglect have called Farm Sanctuary’s shelters home, and, through our Farm Animal Adoption Network, we have found safe, permanent and loving homes for thousands more. With more than a dozen barns at each facility and hundreds of acres of pasture, our sanctuaries are now internationally recognized for the ‘round the clock quality care we offer to our rescued residents, as well as for the rescue, rehabilitation and placement efforts we engage in to save lives. “Animals face unspeakable brutality on factory farms every single day,” says Farm Sanctuary President and Co-Founder Gene Baur, “but with our intervention, countless remarkable individuals have been able to make dramatic recoveries and go on to lead long, full lives.”

Read more on the Farm Sanctuary web site.

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Go Under the Sea With the Humane Society of Boulder Valley

From the Humane Society of Boulder Valley (Boulder, Colorado 80301)

When: April 23, 2011, beginning at 6 pm

Where: Coors Event Center, CU Campus, Boulder, Colorado

Join Jacques Catsteau and his dogged crew of explorers at our biggest event of 2011! Guaranteed to be oceans of fun, our 19th annual Puttin’ on the Leash 2011 Gala will feature special guest hosts Mike Nelson, Chief Meteorologist of Denver Channel 7, and Dr. Lee Woods of Broadway Animal Hospital, live and silent auctions, heart-warming presentations, incredible food and drink and more. It’s your once-a-year opportunity to celebrate with hundreds of other Boulder Valley animal lovers.

Mark your calendar and get the hottest ticket in town for Saturday, April 23, 2011. The event will start at 6 p.m. at the Coors Event Center on the CU campus in Boulder.

For more information call (303) 442-4030 x655. Click here to go to the Puttin’ On the Leash web site for more details and to buy tickets.

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