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Neutering

Information on neutering for dogs, cats and rabbits

Dogs

Male Dogs

Male dogs reach sexual maturity at approximately 6 months' old.


Why have him neutered?

Neutering will help prevent a number of undesirable behavioural traits including some territorial and dominance problems. Neutering your dog is a sensible preventative measure for a number of medical disorders such as testicular tumours, peri anal tumours, prostatic disease, hernias and retained testicles. (For further information please ask one of our vets or nurses).


What do I do next?

At Andale Veterinary Centre we advise that male dogs are neutered from 1 year. In some cases it may be possible to neuter earlier upon veterinary advice. We recommend a pre-operative check with a vet before to assess his fitness for surgery.

Surgery is arranged by appointment in advance. He will be need to be starved overnight and will admitted by a nurse between 8:00am and 9:00am on the day of his surgery.

We strongly recommend a pre-anaesthetic blood test to assess his liver and kidney functions. This is to ensure that your pet is fully fit and minimizes any risk due to the anaesthetic. Please feel free to ask a vet or nurse for more details. The surgery is performed under a general anaesthetic and involves removing both testicles.

Following surgery, he will be sent home with instructions and post operative care advice. A full recovery is expected within 7-10 days.


Misconceptions, Myths & Worries

Neutered Animals are more inclined to gain weight. This can be avoided by regular weighing at the surgery and where necessary feeding a low calorie diet or reducing their food intake.

Personality Changes. Neutering your male dog in earlier life (i.e. from 12 months' old, or younger in some cases) will improve his character by minimizing aggression, reducing any sexual urges and dominant nature.

NEUTERED ANIMALS WILL HAVE A LONGER AND CONTENTED LIFE.


Female Dogs

Female dogs can reach sexual maturity from 6 months of age. Once they have had their first season, they will come 'on heat' approximately every six months, this will last around 3-4 weeks. No matter what precautions you take, accidental mating (misalliance) can happen.


Why have her neutered?

Neutering will prevent seasons, false pregnancies, unwanted puppies and all the disruption that goes with these.

Neutering also helps prevent and reduce the risk of a number of medical problems. As your bitch ages, many uterine abnormalities can develop including cystic ovaries, endometritis and endometriosis. Older bitches are prone to pyometra, an accumulation of pus in the uterus, which often needs emergency veterinary surgery as this can be fatal.

Early neutering also reduces the risks of mammary tumours. Many bitches left entire will develop mammary tumours by the time they are eight.

(For further information, please ask one of our vets or nurses).


What do I do next?

At Andale Veterinary Centre, we advise that bitches be neutered from 5 months of age. It is not necessary to wait until she has had her first season.

Surgery is arranged by appointment in advance. We usually recommend a pre-operative check with a vet before to assess her fitness for surgery. She will be starved overnight and be admitted by a nurse between 8:00am and 9:00am on the day of her surgery.  

We strongly recommend a pre-anaesthetic blood test to assess her liver and kidney functions. This is to ensure that your pet is fully fit and minimizes any risk due to the anaesthetic. Feel free to ask one of our vets or nurses for advice. The surgery is performed under a general anaesthetic and involves removing both her ovaries and uterine horns.

Following surgery she will be sent home with instructions and post operative care advice. A full recovery is expected within 7-10 days.


Misconceptions, Myths & Worries

Neutered Animals are more inclined to gain weight. This can be avoided by regular weighing at the surgery, where necessary feeding a low calorie diet or reducing their food intake.

My Bitch must have puppies first. No - if you don't intend to breed from her, the kindest thing is to have her neutered. Breeding animals can be both expensive and time consuming, so it is best left to the people who know.

Is it best to have one season first? NO - there is no need to wait in most cases. You can have her neutered from six months of age. Although you may speak to a vet or nurse if you have any concerns.

Personality Changes. Neutering your bitch will not generally lead to any personality changes.

 

NEUTERED ANIMALS WILL HAVE A LONGER AND CONTENTED LIFE.

Cats

Cats can reach sexual maturity from 6 months of age. We recommend having your cat neutered from 4 months of age.

If you have a male cat – having him castrated will reduce the risk of fighting, roaming, spraying and will help to reduce the population of stray and unwanted kittens.

If you have a female cat – having her spayed will eliminate the risk of unwanted pregnancy and womb infections. It will also reduce the risk of mammary tumours.

Rabbits

Male Rabbits

Male rabbits should be castrated from 4 months old if you are not intending to breed from him. It is really important that you keep your male rabbits away from any female rabbits from the age of 3 months and for at least 6 weeks after the castration operation.

Female Rabbits

It is vitally important to neuter your female rabbit as they are very prone to ovarian cancer and also to prevent pregnancy. We advise neutering from 4 months but if you have a male rabbit in the same pen, they should be separated from at least 3 months old to avoid any unwanted babies.