Spay/neuter benefits cats and people
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The most important aspect of spaying and neutering cats is that it helps manage their population numbers. Millions of cats enter U.S. shelters each year, but many don't make it out alive. Recent estimates show that nearly 1 million cats are euthanized in our shelters each year, meaning about 2500 potentially adoptable cats are killed each day simply because there was no home available for them.
Spay and neuter, especially of outdoor cats, helps reduce the large number of cats entering shelters. This allows shelters with limited resources to focus more on identifying adopters for the cats already in their care, rather than working to find space, or creating it through euthanasia, for each day's new arrivals. Spaying and neutering can also provide health benefits to cats. The procedures protect them from certain cancers of the reproductive organs, such as mammary masses (breast tumors) and testicular cancer. There are behavioral benefits as well, such as a decreased desire to vocalize, mark, wander, and fight over territory. The spay and neuter procedures are safe and common. Cats are typically back to behaving as their usual selves within 24-48 hours. Recovery can be even quicker for kittens. By spaying/neutering your cats, you provide them with lifetime benefits while at the same time giving shelter cats a better chance at adoption. |
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