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Neutering
Neutering is an important consideration for every pet owner, neutering is a commonly performed and safe procedure that provides many benefits for both dogs and cats. Please read some of our general recommendations to help guide your decision. Each pet is unique and we want you to feel involved in this decision! After all it is a procedure that we do once, we make sure we do it right.
Dogs
Traditional advice to neuter dogs at 6 months is now considered outdated. The general view that we hold is that dogs should be neutered when they are both skeletally and emotionally mature.
For male dogs, neutering is often done for behavioural and social reasons, the health benefits are less important in our decision making. Ideally, we would wait until after 10 months in most dogs but there are some dogs we recommend waiting until 18 months or older. Initially, we may suggest a trial treatment with a Suprelorin implant — a temporary chemical castration lasting around 6 months — before we proceed to a surgical castration. This allows us to understand the dog’s response to castration – a ‘try before you buy’ so to speak. Our team takes a case-by-case approach to this decision and we will always want to discuss the options with you.
Female dogs are typically neutered for health benefits, including a reduced risk of mammary cancer and pyometra. Delaying neutering until around 10–11 months or even later (up to 18–24 months for certain breeds, like Rottweilers) can be beneficial. This is to allow us to provide the animal with the benefits of neutering but incurring as little of the potential complications as possible. Side effects of neutering can involve urinary incontinence, potential weight gain and other joint problems – these side effects are reduced when neutering later. We offer keyhole spaying as our standard approach to reduce surgical risk and improve recovery times. We recommend spaying is scheduled 12–16 weeks after a season. Read more about our key-hole spays here.
Cats
Cats can begin reproducing as early as 4–5 months! They can even become pregnant whilst nursing new born kittens. Their power to reproduce is tremendous!
For indoor cats, neutering has benefits: male cats may become territorial and start “spraying” or develop a strong scent, while female cats are regularly show behaviours of ‘calling’ and are at a higher risk of mammary cancer, a potentially life threatening condition. For outdoor cats the decision is even more important and should be done before they are allowed to free-roam outside, population control is an important factor in our decision making here.
In general, we suggest neutering both male and female cats around 6 months of age. For larger breed male cats, such as Maine Coons and British Blues, waiting until about 10 months can be beneficial.
What to Expect on the Day
Neutering is a day procedure that requires you to fast your pet (no breakfast please but water as normal is fine). Surgeries are usually scheduled in the morning, and most pets can return home by early afternoon. The procedure involves general anaesthesia, and we may recommend using a collar or cone afterward to prevent licking at the surgical site. For post-op care, cats should stay indoors for a few days, and dogs need to be kept on a lead: 1 week for castration/keyhole spay and 2 weeks for an open spay.
