A great reason actually.. Did you know that spaying or neutering your pet may actually help your pet live a longer, healthier life? According to this article from the NY Times, there are multiple direct and indirect benefits of spaying and neutering:
Giving Pets Long Lives
Q. Do dogs and cats that have been spayed or neutered live longer?
A. “No definitive studies have shown evidence of the extension of life†just from sterilization, said Brenda Griffin, director of clinical programs in shelter medicine at the School of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell. “But the diseases it prevents are very common.â€
Also, she said, “Two studies have found that the No. 1 risk factor for a pet being taken to shelter is that it has not been spayed or neutered.â€
The many known health benefits for male and female dogs and cats vary by gender, Dr. Griffin said.
“If it is done before she comes into heat, spaying virtually eliminates the risk of breast cancer, the most common type of cancer†in female dogs, she said. In female cats, too, breast tumors are common, and 90 percent of them are malignant. But a cat spayed before age 2 is one-seventh as likely to develop them.
Spaying also prevents ovarian or uterine cancer, uterine infections and other diseases. And it cancels the risks associated with giving birth.
In dogs and cats, males that have not been neutered are at risk for testicular cancer, prostate disease and hernias, among other problems. Neutering also often reduces fighting, roaming and scent marking, behaviors that may land a pet in a shelter, where euthanasia is a risk.
The most recent age recommendation for spaying cats is down to 5 months from 6. That is because female cats are sexually mature and may even have had litters by 6 months. An unplanned pregnancy puts both mother and kittens at risk of being sent to a shelter.
