When you decide to spay or neuter your pet, you're helping to control the pet homeless population, which has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Because we have too many cats and dogs and not enough homes, millions of healthy dogs and cats are euthanized each year in America. There are several health benefits to spaying and neutering your pets, such as:

Medical benefits of spaying (female pets) and neutering (male pets):

• By spaying your female pet, you're giving her a longer, healthier life. Spaying does a lot for a female pet, such as prevents uterine infections and breast tumors, which are cancerous in about 90 percent of female cats and 50 percent of female dogs, according to the ASPCA.
• When you neuter your male cat or dog, you prevent testicular cancer as well as prostate problems.

Behavioral benefits include:

• Your spayed female dog or cat will not go into heat. For example, a female feline can go into heat for about five days every three weeks during "peak" breeding season. As she's advertising for a potential mate, she can yowl and urinate more than usual – sometimes she can do this all over your house!
• If you have an intact male, he'll be less likely to escape from your house or yard. Intact males will often get quite creative when it comes to finding a mate. Once they escape successfully, they'll roam all over the neighborhood, which puts them at risk of getting hit by a car, and you at risk of a lawsuit if he bites or injures anyone, including another dog.
• You're neutered male won't be so likely to mark their territory with strong urine all over the house. What's more, your dog is less likely to embarrass you by mounting others dogs and people after he's been fixed. Often, aggression problems can be avoided by early neutering.

When is the best time to spay and neuter pets? For dogs, it's traditional to neuter them at six to nine months, though healthy puppies can be neutered as young as eight weeks. You can neuter an adult dog as well, though older dogs have a higher risk of post-operative complications. For cats, it's safe to spay or neuter kittens as young as eight weeks of age. To prevent an unwanted pregnancy, it's advisable to have your female cat spayed before she reaches five months of age.

We suggest that you talk to a veterinarian to determine the right time for you to spay or neuter your cat or dog.