Many owners wonder if they should spay animals. A spay is performed on female animals and it consists of the ovaries being removed, this can be done while your pet is in heat, pregnant, or under normal conditions. In our clinic, we only perform this procedure if an animal is over 6 months and in good health. This procedure is invasive, meaning there is an incision made so the doctor can enter the body. The incision is then closed using sutures that must be removed after a few weeks. We stress that your cat or dog must wear an e-collar, more familiarly known as the cone, to ensure that the incision is not opened since this can lead to infection, a hernia (internal part of the body, like an organ or tissue, protrudes through a weakened area of muscle or tissue), and more. A spay can also be referred to as “fixing” or “altering” the animal. You may be wondering, why should I spay my animal? Unless you are planning to breed we recommend a spay because it can increase the risk of life threatening diseases and unwanted pregnancies. To fully understand the spay procedure we need to visit the female heat cycle in dogs and cats.

A heat cycle has different phases in both cats and dogs. The most well known phase is the estrus phase which is commonly know as “being in heat.” This phase lasts about 3-14 days long for the female cat, and signs are your cat being abnormally affectionate, more vocal, and rubbing against many surfaces and objects. If  your cat has not mated, there is a 1-3 week break called the inter-estrus phase where these behaviors decrease until the restart of the cycle. This phase is like human menstruation but a cat’s body reabsorbs the uterine lining so you may not notice any bloodshed. The cycle begins at the pro-estrus phase when estrogen levels rise for 1-2 days before entering the estrus phase again, there are no symptoms or signs of this phase. There are specific times of the year for mating which are March to October for our cats, but this gets tricky for our indoor cats since they can stay in heat all year round due to a fixed temperature and lighting indoors. This is why it is important to spay your indoor cat since she will be in heat all year round causing increased escape attempts to find a mate. If your cat can mate with multiple males at once and have a litter size of 3-6 kittens. A female dog’s heat cycle begins with the pro-estrus phase just like the cat, but there are visible symptoms such as vulva swelling and discharge with blood. After this phase is the estrus phase occurs, this can last 3-21 days, you will notice nipple and vulva swelling, licking vulva, change in behavior such as increased need of attention or aggression, and more frequent urination. To end the cycle is the anestrus phase which lasts 4-5 months when cycling finishes and there is no possibility of pregnancy. A dog’s heat cycle occurs about every 6 months, but this varies depending on breed and age. An impregnated dog can carry 1-12 puppies within one litter and can also have multiple mates, just like the cat. Although, a dog’s heat cycle is easier to track than a cat’s which could stop unwanted pregnancies, but there are still risks with keeping her intact.

Keeping female animals intact can lead to pyometras, ovarian/uterine cancers, mammary tumors, and more are all risks of not spaying your pet which can occur to both cats and dogs. These problems are commonly seen in older dogs that were never spayed. Pyometras are caused through continuous heat cycles without pregnancy, this means that the uterine lining continues to thicken each cycle which can lead to the formation of cysts in the uterus. These cysts can then secrete fluids  which creates the perfect environment for bacteria growth; bacteria that naturally lives in the vagina has an easy opening to enter the uterus due to the opening relaxing during estrus in hopes of sperm entering. While the body is in the estrus phase it is also not sending white blood cells towards the uterus, in order to prevent destruction of sperm. An ovariohysterectomy meaning surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus must be performed in order to treat this disease. This gets tricky because dogs are usually very ill when they present signs such as frequent urination, discharge, urine odor, bloody discharge, and this makes it difficult to get through a surgery successfully since the body is already undergoing so much stress which can lead to death. Mammary tumors are also common in older which are abnormal replication of cells in the breast tissue. This can either be cancerous, malignant, or benign, non-cancerous. This is caused by exposure to progesterone which your dog is introducing to their body during each heat cycle. Treatment is essentially removal as well as an ovariohysterectomy, unless the cancer has spread to other parts of the body which is then treated with chemotherapy. If left untreated death is a possibility.