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Linda Oliva, DVM, PA
"We'll love 'em as much as you do!"
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Things you commonly ask us about breeding, spaying/neutering and
birthing: |
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1. |
When does a dog or cat first go into heat? |
Most dogs will come into their first heat between 6 and 12 mos
of age; smaller dogs sooner than larger dogs, generally. Heat
cycles usually occur every 7 to 8 months. Most cats will come
into heat between 7 to 12 months of age, however, some have been
known to come into heat as early as 5 months of age. Cats
will come into heat multiple times per year. |
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How early can I spay or neuter my dog? |
Most female dogs can be spayed by 5 months of age. Male
dogs can be neutered by 4 months. See the Benefits of
spaying and neutering. See, also, Spay FAQ. |
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How early can I spay or neuter my cat? |
Our rule of thumb is that a cat must be at least 4 lbs and 4
months of age to be spayed or neutered. See the Benefits of spaying
and neutering. |
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Can my dog or cat be spayed when she's in heat? |
Yes. Because of the additional blood flow to the uterus
and ovaries during a heat cycle, a spay procedure will take more
time and, hence, there is an additional cost for this surgery. |
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5. |
Do you recommend using the non-surgical injection, Neutersol,
for neutering my dog? |
No, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Neutersol is only
99.6% effective. That means that 4 out of 1000 dogs who
receive this injection are still able to reproduce. More
importantly, however, is that after this injection testosterone
levels fall in treated dogs by only 50%! That means that a
dog that is "neutered" with this injection still has a great chance
of retaining the undesirable effects that testosterone produces
such as humping, aggression and roaming. The makers of
Neutersol suggest that a dog be surgically neutered to correct this
problem. Why not surgically neuter in the first place!
Surgical neutering is 100% effective in preventing reproduction and
100% effective in eliminating testicular sources of testosterone. |
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6. |
My dog is pregnant. Now what? |
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7. |
My cat is pregnant. Now what? |
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| Phone: 281.351.7184 x 2 |
| Fax: 281.255.2662 |
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| Copyright 2004, Linda Oliva, DVM, PA. All rights reserved. |
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