FOR KIDS
- The Facts: Every day, approximately 70,000 kittens and puppies are born while only 10,000 humans are born. At this rate, there will never be enough homes for all of these animals, and they will end up homeless on the streets or in a shelter. These numbers would go down a lot if people would just spay and neuter their pets.
- What Is Spaying/Neutering? The terms “spay” and “neuter” mean the surgical removal of a pet’s reproductive organs so it will no longer be able to have babies. “Spaying” applies to female animals and “neutering” is used with males. Dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and rats are all animals that can benefit being spayed or neutered.
- Why is Spaying/Neutering Important? In ten years, an unspayed female cat, her unneutered male partner and their offspring could produce over 10 million kittens!! That’s a LOT of cats and kittens, and there are just not enough homes for them all. Spaying and neutering reduces the number of homeless and abandoned animals and helps your pets live longer, happier lives. For one thing, spayed and neutered animals have a lower risk of getting reproductive cancers and illnesses. They also don't have as many problems with aggression, fighting or roaming.
- When Should My Pet Be Spayed or Neutered? As soon as possible! Animals can be spayed or neutered as young as eight weeks, but they should definitely be spayed or neutered by the time they are six months old. If you adopt from a shelter or rescue group, chances are the animal is already spayed or neutered.
- But I Want to Get to Play with Puppies and Kittens! Puppies and kittens are adorable and so much fun to play with. But remember, they only stay babies for a little while. Then those little babies grow up to be big dogs and cats, and they’ll need to go to the vet, go on walks, be fed, played with, and need plenty of love. Most people don’t have the time or space for that many pets. If your dog has seven puppies, are you going to be able to keep those seven puppies when they grow up to be big dogs? Can you afford to feed them all and take them to a vet? Will you have time for each one? And even if you find homes for four of them, that still leaves three dogs that will end up homeless at a shelter if you don’t keep them. Now you can see why letting your dog or cat have babies is a BIG problem!
If you really want to play with puppies and kittens, talk to your family about fostering a litter from LHS. Foster parents take care of young puppies and kittens for a little while until they’re ready to be adopted. That way you get to play with puppies and kittens and help out the shelter as well! Click here to get info on your family becoming foster parents!
