Neutering, with a plan that suits your pet.

Neutering services

Neutering is the medical term used for the operation to remove the reproductive organs to prevent female animals from getting pregnant and to stop male animals from getting female animals pregnant.

Castration involves preventing male animals from being able to breed, this can be done in two ways:

• Permanent, surgical castration through removal of the testicles.
• Using a chemical implant, administered by an injection, which blocks the hormones produced by the testicles, and lasts for 6 or 12 months.

Spaying is the removal of a female animal’s reproductive organs to prevent pregnancy. The ovaries and often the uterus, depending on the type of procedure performed, are removed. This procedure cannot be reversed.

The best time to neuter your pet depends on a range of factors including the type of animal, its breed, age, size, health and behaviour.

As well as preventing unwanted and unplanned pregnancies, neutering can have health and behavioural benefits.

Cats

Although cats can be neutered at any age, we recommend kittens are neutered before puberty, at around 4 months old, and before they are allowed outside.

The benefits of neutering a female cat can include:

• Preventing behaviours associated with being in heat, which can include calling, spraying, and trying to escape or wandering further than normal.
• Reducing the risk of womb infections.
• Reducing the risk of tumours and certain cancers.
• Helping your cat to stay healthy as having lots of kittens can put a strain on a female cat’s health.

The benefits of neutering a male cat can include:

• Reducing the risk of them roaming to find a mate. Roaming male cats are more likely to get lost or injured in car accidents.
• Decreasing fighting with other males, which can help to prevent the spread of diseases such as feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV).
• Reducing the risk of spraying in the house.

For more information on neutering cats please see Cats Protection’s guide.

Dogs

The timing of neutering dogs is more varied, and the recommendation will vary depending on the breed, size and temperament of your dog. Typically, we recommend that female dogs are allowed to have at least one season prior to neutering, and that male dogs have been allowed time to mature and go through puberty. For larger breed dogs, often we will recommend that neutering is carried out after they are at least a year old, for giant breed dogs this can be 18 months to 2 years old.

The benefits of neutering a female dog can include:

• Preventing seasons. Female dogs usually come into season for about 3 weeks, twice a year. During this time their vulva will swell, they produce a bloody discharge and they can get pregnant. Their behaviour may change whilst in season and some female dogs may run away to search for a mate.
• Pregnancy and giving birth can lead to complications that can pose health risks and incur costs associated with veterinary treatment, particularly for certain breeds.
• Female dogs can have phantom pregnancies which can cause both behavioural and health problems.
• Neutering removes any health risks associated with the reproductive organs such as womb infections (pyometra). It may also reduce the risk of some cancers.
• Unneutered female dogs are at a higher risk of developing mammary tumours.

The benefits of neutering a male dog can include:

• Neutering may help to prevent or reduce testosterone-related behaviours such as scent marking and mounting. This is not always the case as some of the behaviours can be learnt and may continue even after neutering.
• Neutering reduces or removes the risk of certain cancers and reduces the risk of hormonally driven diseases, such as some prostate problems.
• The behaviour of unneutered male dogs can change greatly when a local female dog is in season, which can make them more difficult to manage.

For more information on neutering your dog please see Dogs Trust.

In some circumstances neutering may not be the best course of action, this is particularly the case for very nervous male dogs, as castration (and the removal of the hormone testosterone) can negatively impact their behaviour. In some cases we will trial the chemical castration implant before surgical castration, to assess the effect that removal of these hormones would have. In these cases, we would recommend speaking to one of our vets and potentially arranging a behavioural assessment, prior to neutering.

For active dogs over 10kg, our laparoscopic (keyhole) spey at Garstang offers a faster, more comfortable recovery.

Small pets

Neutering small pets can help make them happier and healthier. It also means that they can live in mixed sex pairs or groups without breeding. The timing of neutering varies depending on the type of small pet and whether the animal is male or female.

For example, it is recommended that male rabbits are castrated from 10 to 12 weeks (as soon as their testicles descend) and female rabbits from 16 to 20 weeks.