Spaying or ovariohysterectomy is best done at six months of age, before your female cat or dog has its first heat. In dogs, this decreases the chances of breast cancer immensely. In cats, this prevents an unwanted pregnancy occurring. Cats come into heat every 3 weeks, so once the heats start, it takes continual monitoring of your pet to make sure she doesn’t become pregnant. It is an old wife’s tale that an animal makes a better pet if it has had a litter first. Besides preventing unwanted pregnancies, spaying prevents all sex hormone related tumours, uterus diseases, and sex hormone related undesirable behaviours.
A spay surgery is an open abdominal surgery where the ovaries and the uterus are removed. Dogs and cats do not undergo “menopause” such as women without ovaries, experience. They continue to make low level of estrogens in their adrenal glands.
Although the surgery is done very frequently, we do not ever think there is such as thing as a “routine procedure”. A life depends on our alertness and precautions. For this reason we recommend laboratory testing and other precautions for all patients undergoing anesthesia.
We usually recommend that your pet stay the night after this surgery, to ensure that they rest quietly the first night and allow healing to take place.
