STERILIZATION AND NEUTERING OF CATS - DIFFERENCES AND CONSEQUENCES.
Caring owners care about the health of their pets and will do everything to keep their pets healthy and happy. Often it is not so easy to decide what is best for your pet. And in order to make an informed decision, you have to study a huge number of sources of information that may contradict each other.
In any case, first of all, you should understand what it is: castration and sterilization. Both of these procedures are aimed at stopping the function of reproduction and are applicable to animals of both sexes, despite the fact that many owners are convinced that the term "neuter" refers only to cats, and "neuter" refers to cats.
WHAT IS CASTRATION AND STERILIZATION?
When sterilizing an animal, the reproductive organs are not removed: for cats, the seminal ducts are tied up, for cats, the uterus is removed or the uterine horns are tied up. At the same time, the production of sex hormones does not stop, that is, a cat, for example, remains in heat, but there is no possibility of becoming pregnant. All clinical signs of estrus continue in the cat, but he cannot fertilize the cat. Castration of a cat or a cat involves the removal of the gonads: as a result of this operation, the reproductive function and the production of sex hormones cease.
Traditionally, cats are called spayed, and males are called neutered, hence the confusion. For convenience, this article uses the same terminology, although for the most part we are talking about the removal of the gonads in both cats and cats.
Both of these procedures are performed under anesthesia, and in the case of cats, they are also abdominal operations, so it is important to know how to prepare for them and what to do in the postoperative period.
HOW DOES THE OPERATION AFFECT THE PET'S HEALTH?
The results of many studies suggest that the life expectancy of sterilized animals is on average 1.5–2 years longer.
Timely sterilization and castration can significantly reduce the risk of many diseases, such as:
endometritis
pyometra
Hydrometer
Polycystic ovaries
immunodeficiency virus
Oncology of the reproductive organs
Breast cancer in cats
Leukemia
HOW DOES THE CHARACTER OF A PET CHANGES AFTER STERILIZATION?
After sterilization and castration, animals become more obedient and manageable. They do not seek to escape, less often show aggression. They lose all hormonal problems and related behaviors.
So, uncastrated cats that are on the street often get injured during "sexual hunting" or in "battles" with rivals. Cats can run away, get lost or get hit by cars. In addition, unsterilized animals are at high risk of contracting various infectious diseases.
However, after the operation, the risk of encountering these problems becomes much lower.
MYTHS ASSOCIATED WITH CASTRATION AND STERILIZATION
Myth #1.
We have no right to change what nature intended.
Man has long changed the natural course of life of animals that are now domestic: they do not live on the street, do not get their own food and do not feel the change of seasons. Therefore, it is important to bring “domestication” to the end: that is, to adjust the habitat to the pet, and help the pet feel comfortable in a forced habitat.
At the same time, many owners tend to humanize their pets, attributing to them motives and desires that are primarily human. But in the sexual behavior of animals, instincts, not emotions, play a leading role.
You should not think that the cat is sad because she never had kittens, her desire to reproduce is physiological, and disappears with the removal of the gonads.
Myth #2.
We give pills and everything is fine with us.
Contraceptives can only be a temporary solution. All manufactured drugs are designed to stop estrus, and their long-term use causes serious hormonal changes in the body, which can lead to the development of various diseases.
Contraceptives do not prevent pregnancy, especially when keeping individuals of different sexes together.
Myth #3
The operation leads to weight gain.
Often, the development of obesity is associated with castration and sterilization. Indeed, against the background of a decrease in the production of sex hormones after castration and sterilization, the physical activity of the animal decreases and the feeling of hunger increases. However, excess weight after surgery is almost always the result of overfeeding.
If timely care is taken to change the usual feed to a special diet, which takes into account all the characteristics and needs of castrated, sterilized animals, health problems can be easily avoided.
Myth #4
Neutered cats develop urolithiasis
In the development of urolithiasis, it is difficult to single out one cause, there are always several of them:
reduced consumption of fresh water
a sedentary lifestyle and the inability to constantly mark the territory
obesity and unbalanced diet
Castration or sterilization in itself does not affect the development of urolithiasis.
If after the operation the owner did not take care of changing the usual diet to a special one, the cat or cat really runs the risk of not only gaining excess weight, but also earning urolithiasis, and diseases of the cardiovascular system, digestive tract and joints.
ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CASTRATION AND STERILIZATION
Anesthesia
Any operation is stressful for the body, and during anesthesia, of course, there are always certain risks. However, castration and sterilization are elective operations, the risk of which is only 0.1% - 0.5%.
Postoperative complications
The better developed surgery is in the clinic where the operation is performed, the more qualified the operating team, the lower the risks. In any case, the risk for elective surgery is much lower than the risk for urgent surgical treatment (for example, for pyometra).
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