There are many advantages to having your pet desexed if you do not intend to breed. There are also many common fallacies as to the disadvantages of desexing.

Advantages Of Desexing

In the male desexing removes the sexual urge, so if your pet gets the scent of a bitch/queen in season he is unlikely to show any interest. This will significantly reduce fighting and wandering behaviours. In general, all aggressive and dominance behaviours are significantly reduced by desexing.

It will also reduce the risk of prostate disease later in life.

Male cats and dogs are also more likely to mark their territory with urine, and their urine is very pungent.

Desexing the female prevents them from coming into season as well as from breeding. This means you will not have to confine your pet and clean up after her while she is in season, and will stop the chance of unwanted mating to an unsuitable male.

Cats in particular can be difficult to live with when in season as they are restless and will cry loudly.

Desexing also reduces the risk of breast cancer and stops the chance of diseases of the uterus, which are common and can be life threatening.

Common Fallacies

  • There is no scientific evidence to support the commonly held belief that having a litter will improve an animals temperament.
  • It is a common fallacy that a desexed animal will become fat and lazy. Judicious feeding of a scientifically prepared complete diet, without excessive tidbits, should adequately control any problems of obesity, just as it does in the non desexed animal.
  • Desexed animals lose neither their spirit nor their intelligence, and provided they are not allowed to become obese, are just as active as their non desexed counterpart.
  • Desexing does not affect your dogs ability to guard their property.

The Surgery

Desexing is a day surgery. At Kensington Vet Clinic we carry out desexing operations on weekdays only.

Your pet will have a full general anaesthetic so he/she will need to stay in the clinic until he/she is awake enough to go home.

In the males the surgery involves removal of the testes through an incision in front of the scrotum.

In the female we remove both uterus and ovaries, so they do not come into season and there is no risk of a uterine infection later in life.

Your pet will be provided with adequate pain relief during and after surgery, and you will need to keep him/her quiet for a few days after surgery. Many will be quiet on the night after the surgery but most will be acting normally by the next day.

There will be external sutures that need to be removed in 10 days time and we encourage you to look at the sutures every day to check for signs of infection or excessive licking by your pet. Many dogs and cats leave their surgery site alone but if they do lick or bite the sutures excessively they may need to wear a collar to stop them getting to the sutures until they are removed.

The Decision To Breed

The decision to breed is not a light one.

You need to consider both the welfare of your pet and also the welfare of any puppies that may be produced.

Whilst pregnancy and birth often occur without problems you need to be prepared for possible complications including caesarian or diffcult birth involving the loss of mother or puppies/kittens, or the chance of producing puppies/kittens with birth defects.

Also there are thousands of unwated pets euthansed in Melbourne every year and you need to consider whether you will be able to find good homes for any puppies/kittens that are produced.

If you do chose to breed , make the decision and breed them in the first few years of their life, then desex them.

Females that remain entire are more at risk of uterine infections and breast cancer as they become older. Males are more likely to get prostate disease later in life if they remain entire.

Please come to the clinic if you have any further questions about desexing or any other health issues for your pet.