The Facts About Spaying and Neutering

Two uncontrolled breeding pets, plus all of their puppies and their puppies' puppies, can add up to:

• First Year - 12
• Second Year - 66
• Third Year - 382
• Fourth Year - 2,201
• Fifth Year - 12,680
• Tenth Year - 80,399,780

Please spay or neuter your pet. Every pet that is adopted from Northwoods is spayed or neutered because:

• An estimated 8-10 million animals are taken in by animal shelters each year.
• An estimated 4-5 million animals are euthanized in shelters each year.
• The stray/feral cat population is estimated to be in the tens of millions.
• Communities spend millions of dollars to control unwanted animals.

Benefits To You:

• Spaying and neutering can eliminate or reduce the incidence of a number of serious health problems that can be difficult or expensive to treat.
• Spaying and neutering can make pets better companions.
• Neutering cats makes them less likely to spray and mark their territory with pungent urine.
• Spaying a dog or cat eliminates her heat cycle. Estrus lasts an average of six to 12 days, often twice a year in dogs and an average of six to seven days, three or more times a year, in cats. Cats in heat can cry incessantly, and dogs and cats in heat may appear nervous and may attract unwanted males.
• Neutering can make pets less likely to roam, run away, or get into fights.
• Unsterilized animals often exhibit more behavior and temperament problems than do those that have been spayed or neutered.
• Neutering may make dogs less likely to bite.

Benefits To Your Pet:

• Spaying and neutering helps cats and dogs live longer, healthier lives.
• Spaying eliminates the possibility of uterine or ovarian cancer and greatly reduces the incidence of breast cancer, especially when your pet is spayed before her first heat.
• Spaying can prevent various reproductive tract disorders.
• Neutering eliminates testicular cancer and decreases the incidence of benign prostate disease.