There are many benefits of spaying or neutering your pet, and few barriers, if any.  Contrary to popular belief, the basic personality of your pet will not change after spay/neuter surgery.  In fact, there are several medical and behavioral benefits to spaying or neutering your pet.  Here are just a few:

Decreased Risk of Cancer:

In male animals, removing the testes during the neuter surgery eliminates the risk of developing testicular cancer.  While it does not completely protect against prostate cancer, it does prevent enlargement and possible infection of the prostate.  Spaying a female cat or dog will prevent ovarian or uterine cancer, and the risk of breast cancer is grealty decreased.

Photo by Anna Williams

Urine Marking:

A neutered dog or cat is less interested in advertising its presence by urine marking.  His desire to excessively mark his surroundings, including inside your house, will decrease.

Roaming:

Neutered dogs or cats tend to live longer than intact animals because they are less likely to roam in search of females in heat, thereby decreasing their risk of being injured or killed on roadways.  They become more calm and content, more willing to focus their attention on their human companions.

Absence of Heat Cycle:

Not only can a heat cycle be messy, but it can also alter the behavior of your cat or dog.  Your pet may yowl for attention and/or become aggressive.  Spaying your pet eliminates these behaviors.

There are also many social benefits of spaying or neutering your pet.  These include:

Cost effective:

The cost of a spay/neuter surgery is far less than the cost of caring for a litter of puppies or kittens.  In fact, the surgery pays for itself several times over! 

Prevents unwanted pets:

Each year in Charleston County, over 11,000 enter area shelters, and over 5,000 are put down.  Spaying or neutering your pet decreases the possiblity of unwanted animals ending up in area shelters.  Even better, it prevents these animals from suffering on the streets.