Early Age Spay Neuter
Psssst ... have you heard about Early Age Spay Neuter???
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AT ONE TIME, IT WAS
STANDARD PRACTICE NOT TO SPAY OR NEUTER UNTIL PETS WERE SIX MONTHS OLD.
SADLY MANY PETS CAN ... AND DO .... BECOME MOTHERS BEFORE THAT. EARLY
AGE SPAY NEUTER HAS BEEN PROVEN TO BE SAFE ... ITS LESS EXPENSIVE .. AND
MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT IS A VALUABLE LIFESAVING TOOL. |
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LOVELY YOUNG
CATS LIKE
,
LYMERICK ABOVE, ARE OFTEN
TOSSED ASIDE LIKE RUBBISH WHEN THEY BECOME PREGNANT. THE
LUCKY ONES LIKE HER FIND REFUGE AND A SECOND CHANCE IN WITH GROUPS
LIKE
CAPS
... BUT TOO MANY MEET AN UNHAPPY END WHEN THEY ARE ABANDONED OR
TAKEN TO THE VET TO BE KILLED. EARLY AGE SPAY NEUTER SAVES
LIVES BY 'NIPPING THINGS IN THE BUD'
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THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE IS A FACTSHEET FROM THE
CANADIAN FEDERATION OF HUMANE SOCIETIES SITE,
www.cfhs.ca
AND HAS THE BEST EXPLANATION THAT THE WEBMASTER HAS FOUND FOR EARLY
AGE SPAY NEUTER
What Exactly is Spay and Neuter Surgery?
Surgical sterilization is usually the most complex procedure to
happen during the life of most dogs and cats. Because spay and
neuter are done so routinely, many equate this with simplicity.
As animal advocates, we must always consider our patients’ comfort
and safety when considering a drastic measure, like surgery, in the
solution of a problem. Therefore let us look at exactly what these
procedures are and why they are carried out before discussing the
controversy of timing.
Female Spay or Neuter
These terms are used interchangeably for surgical sterilization of
the female. Because it involves removing the entire uterus and both
ovaries, the surgery is commonly performed via an incision on the
belly of the patient. This invasion of the abdomen requires
attention to sterile technique to prevent life-threatening
infection, post-operatively.
Historically this procedure has been performed to solve the
following problems:
stop the animal from heat (reproductive cycling) 3-4 times per
year
prevent unwanted pregnancies initially, and in the last 20 years
an attempt to solve the unwanted dog and cat overpopulation
provide preventive health care by decreased incidence of breast
cancer (when spayed prior to heat cycles) and less reproductive
tract disorder in the aged pet
decrease problems in behaviour during heat cycles (running away,
sex-related fighting, trauma, etc.).
Male Castration or Neuter
These terms are used as synonyms, generally meaning the removal
surgically of both testicles. The surgery is less dangerous because
the organs in question are found in the scrotum, in most cases.
Because of that fact the procedure is faster and less risky. Larger
dogs require more overall care and technique.
Males undergo this procedure because the owner is usually trying
to take advantage of the following:
attempt to control intermale aggression
curtail the animal from roaming particularly when there are
females in heat within the immediate area
prevent testicular and prostatic disease later in life
control population by decreasing random breeding
decrease discharges from penile sheath in some cases.
The majority of the veterinary profession recommends these
procedures around six months of age. Generally the importance of
spaying the female prior to heat is stressed.
What is Early Age Spay/Neuter?
This term indicates the above procedures that would take place
between eight and 16 weeks of age. Controversy over the age at which
surgery can be done is usually centred on the following areas:
What are the long-term effects on patients’ overall development,
growth and health when sterilized so young?
Because this is an elective procedure, are there animal welfare
issues over anesthetizing a patient at this age?
Are there behavioural problems created by this early surgery and
the hormonal balances that are affected?
Some Questions Now Answered
Anecdotal information is available on many early spay/neuter
programs throughout North America that have been carried out over
the last 50 years. The City of Chicago Animal Care and Control has
sterilized all animals leaving their care since 1989.
Individuals associated with these programs report little or no
evidence of problems. The most recent scientific study was done by
Dr. Bloomberg et al at the University of Florida at Gainseville.1
This study of cats divided up the patients in those neutered and
spayed at seven weeks, those neutered and spayed at seven months and
the remainder sterilized at one year. This project began in 1991 and
the animals which were adopted out are still being followed. To this
point there appears to be no significant concerns of health or
behavioural abnormalities.
Many veterinarians were very concerned about the increased risk of
anesthesia for an elective procedure. Very young animals offer quite
different challenges to the veterinary anesthetist. These include
slower metabolism and excretion of sedatives, tranquilizers and
anesthetics. Because of less body fat and undeveloped heat
regulatory mechanisms, these patients were at risk for hypothermia
(dangerously low body temperature).
While many veterinarians would carry out anesthetics on such
patients during emergencies, they were unwilling to consider doing
so for a procedure that could take place later at what they
considered a safer age. The primary problems have now been addressed
and protocols for anesthesia and surgery have been published in
professional journals from work performed at Angell Memorial in
Boston operated under the auspices of the Massachusetts SPCA.2,3
Animal behaviourists generally agree that neutering prior to
sexual maturity results in more acceptable pets. Their only real
concerns in performing this surgery at eight to 16 weeks centre
around the problem that this is during the “fear” period of
development. Behaviourists suggest we need to monitor these early
sterilized animals for fear-related problems and any signs
that these patients would retain juvenile characteristics. While
many pet owners would prefer their animals retain puppy and kitten
characteristics, they would be unhappy if they could never
effectively train them.
Understandably there has been reluctance among practising
veterinarians to accept such a major change in philosophy with no
body of data to suggest this is safe for the patient. However, there
is really no body of data supporting spay/neuter at the traditional
time of six months. This age was likely chosen to try and be sure
the patients had fully developed immune systems. The early days of
organized small animal veterinary medicine prior to the world of
modern vaccines had large numbers of dogs and cats dying from canine
and feline distemper. Once vaccines came along, these patients were
actively protected from the major contagious diseases and this
timing fit just prior to possible heat starting. Older anesthetics
were also less reliable for tiny patients so it was naturally
believed better to wait until the procedures could be carried out at
the safest time possible for the patient.
Why Do We Care About This Controversy?
It is accepted generally that over 4% of the total population of
dogs and cats are euthanized annually because there are simply not
enough homes. Over the last 20-30 years many different programs have
been attempted to solve this problem. Surgical sterilization has
often been touted as the answer. Certainly if spay/neuter procedures
were carried out prior to new owners ever acquiring pets, it would
sharply decrease the number of unwanted litters.
Veterinarians are in touch with people daily who want to rush
their pets in quickly because they are ready to have a second litter
before they have found homes for the first. Despite the good
intentions of many owners to have their animals sterilized, they
often will have one or two litters before they “get around to it.”
Many spay/neuter programs fail throughout North America because the
owners do not return to have the surgery they promised to have done.
It is simply too taxing in resources and manpower for most shelters
and pounds to track these owners down and insist on mandatory
spay/neuter.
It would seem quite obvious that by sterilizing these animals
prior to adoption or sale we would markedly reduce the population of
available animals
What Effect Will It Have on Unwanted Dogs and Cats in Canada?
We must be realistic in what we expect from one program in a
complex problem. Obviously it will have some impact by preventing
the litters born to animals that the owner meant to have sterilized.
It will affect, however, only those animals coming through a program
with such restrictions in place to adopt only sterilized animals. At
present we have no clear data on where owners acquire the majority
of their pets. It is felt the most common source is from friends and
acquaintances and therefore these are not likely to be sterilized
prior to acquisition.
The other factor is that the animals being euthanized are young
adults, particularly cats, not puppies and kittens. Indeed many of
these animals are spayed and neutered. For some reason the human
animal bond has not been strong enough for the owner to seek out and
claim stray pets. Many more are simply given up because the owner
won’t continue to keep them for a myriad of reasons. Work is
currently taking place to evaluate this and determine how to combat
the disposable animal problem.
What Should I Do About It?
If you feel that early spay/neuter programs could be advantageous
to your animal control or shelter situations take the following
steps:
Bring this article to the attention of your local animal control
or humane shelter.
Discuss the pros and cons of this procedure with your own
veterinarians or local veterinary association. They should be
willing to discuss with you their personal viewpoint as well as
identify information from national or international veterinary
associations.
If veterinarians you speak to do not use this technique now, ask
whether they would investigate in hopes they would consider adding
this service to their list of client offerings. Remind them of their
last call from the owner wanting a quick spay because their female
has “gotten out” again.
Try and get some consensus on the type of project you wish to
begin. Cooperation of all the major players (animal control, humane
shelters, veterinarians, pet stores and breeders) will have a much
greater impact if there is a common front. There has been some
interest from commercial pet breeders and professional dog breeders
to consider sterilization prior to sale. This would stop the
careless or unscrupulous owner from breeding animals sold as pet
stock because they are not the best representatives of their breed.
Report your program to national and local humane organizations and
try to quantify results by statistically following what happens to
the euthanasia rates in your particular area. Always document any
other factors that would affect these numbers to be sure there is a
cause and effect relationship (e.g. if the population is growing and
the euthanasia rate stays level that could indicate success because
you would expect increased euthanasia with more pet owners).
Finally be cautious not to oversell the perceived benefits of this
technique until there are more con-firmed data to show if it will be
beneficial long-term to both the individual animal and society.
Because this is still a surgical approach, there is little if any
cost saving in simply doing the surgery at an earlier age. Another
concern will be the reluctance of many hospital personnel to accept
the idea of surgery on such tiny beings when they are first
approached. Once the procedure can be shown to be done safely and
effectively and the possible benefits (e.g. less euthanasia, fewer
tax dollars expended on the over-population problem) are explained
these people usually become advocates for these techniques.
This article is dedicated to Dr. Leo Lieberman of Florida. His
countless hours of researching, travelling, networking and preaching
this philosophy have brought us to where we are today.
1 Developmental and Behavioural Effects of Prepubertal Gonadectomy.
Mark Bloomberg, DVM, MS; W.P. Stubbs, DVM; D.F. Senior, BVSc; Thomas
J. Lane, BS, DVM; University of Florida at Gainesville. Funded by
the Robert H. Winn Foundation, February 1991.
2 Faggella AM, Aronsohn MG. Anesthetic techniques for neutering
6-14 week old kittens,
J AM Vet Med Assoc 1993; 202:56-62.
3 Aronsohn MG, Faggella AM. Surgical techniques for neutering 6-14
week old kittens.
J AM Vet Med Assoc 1993; 202:53-55.
The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies is a national body
comprised of animal welfare organizations and individuals whose
purpose is to promote compassion and humane treatment for all
animals.The CFHS is committed to putting an end to animal suffering
and works with the public, government, industry, the scientific
community, educators and the media on both the national and local
levels toward this end.
Other References That Would be Useful:
Lieberman L.L. A case for neutering pups and kittens at two months
of age. J Am Vet Assoc 1987.
Lieberman L.L. The optimum time for neutering surgery of the dogs
and cats (letter). Vet Rec 1988; 122:369.
Chalifoux A., Fanjoy P., Niemi G., et al. Early spay/neutering of
dogs and cats (letter). Can Vet J 1981; 22:381.
A factsheet published by the Canadian Federation of Humane
Societies. May, 1995
Author
Clayton MacKay, DVM
Ontario Veterinary College
University of Guelph
Design and Layout
Silver Creek Graphics
Executive Director, CFHS
Frances Rodenburg
Program Director
Shelagh MacDonald
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