Stop spring flings with spays, neuters

Editor’s Note: This is part of an ongoing series of columns from local rescue groups on responsible companion animal ownership.

Spring is in the air. Buds are swelling. Snow is melting. It’s spring — the season of love. It’s also the season of passion for unaltered pets.

That kitten or puppy you got last summer is an adult ready to reproduce, if you did not have it spayed or neutered. Cats and some breeds of dogs come into heat by 6 months of age — occasionally sooner. Most female dogs come into heat by 1 year and will come into heat about every six months thereafter. Cats will come into heat until they become pregnant and continue to have about three litters a year. According to one estimate, one female cat and her offspring can theoretically produce 420,000 cats in seven years.

There really are few reasons NOT to spay or neuter a pet for which there is no plans for purposely breeding. Altering extends the life of the pet, reduces marking and aggressive behaviors, and generally provides you with a more companionable animal.

According to national estimates, at least 4 million and as many as 10 million pets are euthanized each year, most of these adoptable. There’s no need to guess those numbers would drop dramatically if owners would alter their pets.

At Alaska Cat Adoption Team, we hear a lot of tales from folks who need us to take kittens. Generally, it was simply failing to get their kitten spayed before she first went into heat. “We thought she needed to be 1 year old to be spayed” is what we hear a lot. Or, “I was going to get it done and before I could take her in, she got out and now she’s pregnant.”

Another excuse we hear is that parents want their kids to experience the miracle of birth. Instead, suggests one national rescue group, let your kids experience responsible ownership through spaying and neutering.

Letting nature take its course is costing millions of pets their lives. By being responsible, you can make a difference. First, observe nature’s rules:

Rule 1: Unaltered pets have an unrestrained need to reproduce. If there is a way for them to mate, they will do it. For cats, that means the female becomes an escape artist. Short of putting her in a cage, it is nearly impossible to keep a cat in heat indoors. And who would want to? They often howl like banshees.

Rule 2: Unaltered pets will come into heat whether or not you are ready. They won’t wait until your next paycheck or until you have a day off.

A recent caller wanted ACAT to take her two teenage (6 to 11 months old) cats. Neither was altered. We advised her that her female might already be pregnant, but the caller insisted her cat had not been in heat, and she was fairly certain she wasn’t going to be a sexually viable animal. She was oblivious to the fact her female cat is living with a sexually mature male that would know the moment the female was receptive.

Such willful disregard of the laws of nature results in pet overpopulation problems.

If your pet is not intended for breeding (and please check your motivation for that), altering is the only sensible option.

Another reason we hear for not altering a pet is cost. The cost of altering should be one of the responsible pet owners’ considerations before adoption. If money is an issue, low-cost spay and neuter clinics, including the Alaska Dog and Puppy Rescue clinic each month for both cats and dogs, are another option.

It’s spring — make sure the love in the air won’t mean an unwanted litter that may face euthanasia.

Alaska Cat Adoption Team is an all-volunteer network of foster homes dedicated to well-homing displaced kittens and their mothers. It is a 501c3 nonprofit, and may be reached at 982-ACAT or acat@alaskacatadoptionteam.org.