Smiths Station Animal Hospital

We all agree: puppies and kittens are adorable and priceless. Sadly, there are also just too few homes for the many puppies and kittens born each year. This over-population leads to many healthy puppies and kittens dying each year just because they don't have a home. Reproductive maturity in unaltered pets also poses major health risks in both males and females, so unless breeding is definitely in your pet's future, it is essential to spay or neuter your pet.

Unless you are planning on showing and breeding your pure-bred, AKC registered pet, your pet should be spayed or neutered between 4 and 6 months of age, when they are old enough to be safe for surgery but before they become reproductively mature. While it is never too late to benefit from spaying or neutering, it is safest and best to alter your pet before he or she turns 6 months old. Surgery on "pediatric" pets is also lower risk and less complicated (and so less costly) because of the smaller size of the patient, the relative good health of younger pets and the lack of influence of complicating hormones.

Spayed or neutered pets live, on average, years longer than unaltered pets because of their lower risks of:

• Cancers
• Infections
• Pregnancy
• Behavior Problems

We adhere to high standards of care for all our surgeries, including spays and neuters. We believe that our clients want the best for their pets and we provide that excellent care everyday to every patient.

Why is it best to spay or neuter my pet between 4 and 6 months of age?
Altering your pet before he (or she) becomes sexually mature prevents them from being exposed to the adult hormone levels that can cause serious health risks (pregnancy, infections, cancer, etc.) and problem behaviors (inappropriate elimination, wandering off, aggression, etc.). Young, smaller, healthy pets also have fewer surgical risks. This is also the optimum age to implant a microchip to permanently identify your pet.

How does pre-anesthetic blood testing make surgery safer?
Before placing your pet under anesthesia, it is important to identify any health issues that may make anesthesia more risky. The comprehensive physical exam the veterinarian performs before surgery can identify many concerns but blood testing can identify infections, organ dysfunction and other conditions that are not apparent through physical exam. If the doctor finds any abnormal results, he will talk with you about how we can address any health concerns before proceeding with surgery. Sometimes we may need to delay surgery until we have addressed any problems, but often we can proceed with surgery with consideration of any special precautions that are indicated and proceed with any needed treatment after surgery.