Spay & Neuter Awareness Month: What It Is & How to Celebrate
Spaying and neutering are entirely safe surgical procedures involving the removal of the reproductive organs in cats and dogs. These procedures help thousands of pets worldwide and reduce the number of homeless animals significantly. Thousands of innocent animals get euthanized yearly because of a lack of resources and overpopulation. Breeding and unwanted litters promote this never-ending cycle, which can be reduced by neutering pets.
For this reason, there is a specific event observed across the US meant to raise awareness among pet parents. National Spay and Neuter Awareness Month occurs every February and helps shelters in the US deal with overpopulation and unwanted litters.
If you’d like to learn more about this peculiar event and how you can contribute, continue reading this article.
The Importance of Spaying and Neutering
Spaying and neutering prevent unwanted pregnancies in your dogs and cats. Millions of animals are being euthanized each year due to overpopulation. Spaying and neutering have many benefits besides reducing the chances of unwanted litters, including:
- Spaying female dogs and cats in time can prevent serious diseases such as ovarian or breast cancer and uterine infections.
- Neutering significantly reduces the risk of testicular cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia.
- Less chance of your male pet attempting to escape and being in danger.
- Your female pet won’t attract unwanted attention.
- Reduced aggressive behavior.
- Less howling or whining of cats when they’re in heat.
- Pets are less likely to mark their territory by urinating.
What Is Spay & Neuter Awareness Month?
According to the ASPCA, around 6.3 million companion animals end up at the shelter, and approximately 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized yearly. Once we consider the number of euthanized animals each year, we will begin to understand the importance of getting your pets neutered. Spay and Neuter Awareness Month is an annual event that is meant to promote the importance of spaying and neutering pets and raise awareness.
We observe this national event to actively work on reducing the number of animals in the shelter and their euthanasia. We can continue raising awareness about the importance of neutering pets in many ways, and you can read more about them below.
When and How to Observe Spay and Neuter Awareness Month
Some pet parents choose not to neuter their pets because they feel the procedure can hurt pets or it’s unnecessary. Neutering your pet in time can prevent unwanted litters, which can continue to contribute to homelessness and overpopulation. Raising awareness about this cause is crucial to teach pet parents that spaying and neutering is in the best interest of their pets. During this time, there are many things you could do as a way of observing this event.
- Make sure to neuter and spay your pets in time. Take your pet to the local veterinary clinic for this procedure if you haven’t already.
- Spread the word to your friends and family. Talk about the cause and explain to your close friends why neutering their pets is essential. Explain how beneficial this can be to their pets and the entire community.
- Spread awareness about the health benefits of neutering and spaying. Talk to local pet owners and share your opinions. Mention how spaying and neutering may benefit pets in terms of their health.
- Help shelters raise money for neutering and spaying pets. Certain shelters don’t have enough funds to cover all the neutering expenses, so any help is welcome!
- Always adopt a pet if possible. Avoid acquiring a pet from pet shops. This saves one innocent soul from hunger, homelessness, and even death and provides them with a new home where they’ll be loved.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you see the bigger picture after reading this article and understand that neutering and spaying are not harmful once you realize their vast benefits to the community. Homelessness and euthanasia of dogs and cats worldwide can be reduced significantly if pet parents take control of the situation and neuter their pets. Responsibility comes from the individual, but you can help to spread awareness in your own way, and supporting Spay and Neuter Awareness Month is a great start.
Featured Image Credit: ozanuysal, Shutterstock
