In last week’s blog, we looked briefly at the positive aspects of spay/neuter for dogs and, as promised, this week’s blog looks at the upside of vasectomy and tubal ligation as less invasive forms of sterilization. Before we get started, our feline-loving friends (which includes me!) may be wondering if the same rules apply to cats. According to petMD, it is always advisable to spay/neuter cats at or before maturity for some very good reasons.
First of all, an adult, non-castrated feline will spray his territory both indoors and out. Non-spayed females have heat cycles during spring and fall but can experience estrus several times during the season. What many people don’t know is that both cats and dogs can become infected with sexually transmitted diseases, making spay/neuter an important step towards insuring good health for one’s pets. Opting for vasectomy or tubal ligation for a cat would not eliminate any of the above mentioned behaviors or health concerns.
Back to dogs. I have to say that finding information regarding the benefits of vasectomy and tubal ligation for dogs is not easy! That’s mainly because the arguments in favor of these surgeries tend to bump up against what many veterinarians and rescue organizations have worked for decades to convince people to do: be proactive in reducing the pet population by having your cat or dog spayed/neutered as early as possible. More on that in a minute.
After spending a week scouring a number of reputable online sources hoping to provide readers with a list of reasons why vasectomy/tubal ligation could be a viable alternative to other forms of sterilization, this is the short list of what I found. Most people who opted for vasectomy/tubal ligation for their dogs had the following reasons: 1) in-tact dogs are more competitive/athletic, 2) questions about the health benefits of spay/neuter, 3) concerns about the surgery and long-term health risks, 4) the belief that Fido has no current behavior or health problems requiring spay/neuter, and 5) keeping open the option of future breeding.
The arguments I read in favor of vasectomy/tubal ligation did not convince me. One of the best arguments indicated that canine endocrine and immune systems are negatively impacted by early spay/neuter but there has been no long-term study comparing dogs who are sterilized via spay/neuter vs. vasectomy/tubal ligation. While there is a growing body of evidence supporting that argument, for now it remains unproven. However, there is strong evidence that spay/neuter can prevent certain life-threatening cancers and infections.
Since U.S. shelters euthanize approximately two million dogs per year in this country and many shelters have alarmingly high (70 percent or more) kill rates, the current best answer to that problem still seems to be spay/neuter. Vasectomy and tubal ligation will prevent pregnancy but they pose other health and behavior problems that are not worth the risk.
by Elizabeth Sundstrom
No comments:
Post a Comment