Spaying and neutering benefits dogs and cats

• Spaying and neutering of dogs and cats has health benefits and decreases unwanted animals
• Animal Medical and Surgical Center offers February discounts and other incentives
• The vet clinic also works with the local animal shelter on altering pets
• Spaying and neutering can help prevent cancer and other diseases in animals

COSHOCTON – The heart monitor beeped away and the anesthetic gas seeped through the mask as the patient was prepped on the operating table for a routine surgery.

That patient at the Animal Medical and Surgical Center on Airport Road was a cat being spayed.

In 2014, the veterinary clinic performed 446 neuters and 588 spays of dogs and cats. For eight years, the clinic has offered half price on the procedures during February, which is before when dogs and cats routinely got into heat and become pregnant in the spring.

The clinic also assisted the Coshocton County Animal Shelter last year in neutering and spaying about 135 dogs and an equal number of cats, an effort made possible through the donation of a late benefactor.

The procedures help to cut down on the local pet population and can prevent certain types of cancers and unwanted behaviors, such as aggression and sexual activity. The health benefits are something owners usually don't know, and what they think they do know, such as the idea that neutering and spaying making pets fat and lethargic, is often wrong.

Surgical Center owner Dr. Cathrine Darr wants to encourage spaying and neutering as much as she can because it's more humane than seeing unwanted dogs and cats put to sleep at the local shelter or die because of starvation and exposure to the elements.

While it's true spaying and neutering can change an animal's metabolism, it's not a direct cause of laziness and weight gain, which Darr said is an overall issue in the pet population. She encourages owners to not overfeed animals and develop a regular exercise plan or activity.

Another misconception Dr. Monica Miller, of the surgical center, has heard is that female dogs shouldn't be spayed until after their first heat cycle. However, the chance of the dog getting mammary tumors goes down 85 percent if spayed before her first heat cycle. Dogs and cats should be at least 12 weeks old before being spayed or neutered, she said.

"These are basic surgeries as far as veterinary medicine goes," Miller said.

She quotes longtime "The Price is Right" host Bob Barker in saying only people can help control the pet population, and that's the primary reason to have animals spayed or neutered. The number of feral cats and stray dogs on the streets and the bulk of animal shelter residents are the result of unwanted breeding.

Coshocton County Humane Officer and animal shelter leader Chris Sturtz said checking whether an animal is spayed or neutered is one of the first things workers do when they receive a dog or cat.

People looking for pets at the shelter often like to have animals that are already spayed or neutered. If a nonaltered pet goes out the door, the new owners agree to have the animal fixed and are given a $10 voucher for the surgery good at most county veterinarians.

Sometimes owners want to give up pets because they can't afford to have them fixed. They then wind up keeping them after the shelter dips into donated funds for the needed surgery.

"So many people want to do the right thing, but they don't have the resources," Sturtz said.

Sturtz said she recently talked with two people who were interested in using their dogs for breeding. After going over the health benefits of spaying and neutering and problems with overpopulation, she hopes their minds were changed.

"I told them to not bring more dogs into the world when there are so many that don't have homes," she said. "If you love your pet, it should be a pet (not a breeding animal), and you should do the best for it."

llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com

740-295-3417

Twitter: @llhayhurst

Learn more

For more information on spaying and neutering of dogs and cats or to donate, contact the Coshocton County Animal Shelter at 740-622-9741 or the Animal Medical and Surgical Center of Coshocton at 740-622-0013.

More online

For more photos and a video from Animal Medical and Surgical Center, go to CoshoctonTribune.com.