Puppies and kittens multiply by 'nines and tens'
TURA KING

Maybe they aren't called ca"nines" and kit"tens" for nothing. Dogs and cats can reproduce at an amazing rate.

Consider this: One pair of unsterilized cats, together with their offspring, can result in 420,000 kittens in seven years. One pair of unsterilized dogs, with their offspring, can result in 4,372 puppies in seven years.

Statistics also show that only 1 out of 9 of these animals ever finds a good home, leaving the rest to suffer abandonment and/or euthanasia.

Each year, shelters are trying desperately to provide as many animals with homes as possible, but unfortunately there are just too many animals and not enough loving homes.

Dr. Mark Stickney, a veterinarian at Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, says there is a solution that will give everyone an opportunity to help: spay or neuter your animal.

The term associated with the removal of the uterus and ovaries of a female cat or dog is ovariohysterectomy, commonly referred to as a "spay." The removal of these organs leaves the animal totally sterile and prevents pregnancy. Stickney recommends that animals be spayed as early as possible, unless the owner is planning to breed.

"There are many benefits to getting your animal spayed early in its life," he believes.

"The elimination of the chance of an unwanted pregnancy is the most obvious, but also animals that are spayed before their first heat cycle, around six months old, decrease their likelihood of developing mammary cancer to less than one percent."

Another advantage to spaying early in life is to eliminate the risk for developing pyometra. Pyometra is a disease that causes pus to form inside the uterus. Pyometra causes the uterus to enlarge and rupture if it is not surgically removed. Symptoms of pyometra can include loss of energy, drinking increased amounts of water decreased appetite and possibly a vaginal discharge. Pyometra is a life-threatening condition that often requires emergency surgery.

Spaying an animal also prevents it from having a heat cycle. "Getting the animal spayed before it is 6 months old will prevent the household cleaning that comes along with an animal in heat. It will also keep male animals from destroying your backyard in an effort to mate with the female in heat," explains Stickney.

Neutering is the word commonly associated with the removal of the testicles in male animals. Stickney recommends that males be neutered before 6 months of age to prevent them from impregnating neighborhood females. This also lowers the likelihood that the animal will dig holes around fences in order to escape or try to leave the yard area at all.

In addition, early neutering has been known to lower the likelihood of nuisance behaviors in animals such as urine marking. If the animal is not neutered until later in life, these behaviors may become habitual and continue for the rest of the animal's life.

"Leaving the testicles intact on the animal may cause it to develop an enlarged prostate later in life, but if the animal is neutered all chances of this disease developing are totally eliminated," said Stickney.

Animals are wonderful additions to a family, but can be a burden if one turns into seven. In order to prevent a situation similar to the one above, all pet owners should have their animals spayed or neutered for their benefit and the animals.

Tura King writes a regular column, Pet Talk , which is a service of Texas A&M's College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.