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Desexing
Desexing your pet is important
It’s equally important to desex both male and female pets – it can improve their overall health and behaviour.
Desexing your pet also prevents unplanned breeding and unwanted litters of animals. Desexing pets helps to reduce the number of homeless animals in shelters, pounds or animal rescue groups.
When to desex your pet
Cats and dogs can reach sexual maturity and have babies from as early as four months. Most cats can be safely desexed from four months of age and most dogs from six months of age.
Many people wait too long to get their pet desexed, so talk to your vet about the best time to desex your animal. Being proactive is essential to protect your pet and help prevent unwanted and homeless animals.
Why desex?
There are many benefits of desexing, including healthier pets
and long-term money savings. The choice to desex means:
Your pet is generally less likely to get certain diseases, infections and illnesses such as mammary cancer, uterine infections and prostate problems.
Your pet is less likely to want to roam in search of a mate. This decreases the chances of your pet becoming lost, getting into fights with other animals or being hit by a car.
Your family won’t have to pay for extra food or veterinary care in the event of an unexpected litter of puppies or kittens.
Your family will save money, as it costs less to register your pet with your local council if they are desexed.
Your pet is likely to be calmer and more easily trained, and less likely to show aggressive behaviour.
Your pet is less likely to mark their territory by urinating on things.
Your family won’t have the difficult job of finding homes for litters of puppies or kittens.
Busting the myths
DESEXING MYTH 1
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“It will change my pet’s personality” – desexing will not negatively change your pet’s personality. It may even have a positive impact by reducing aggression, the desire to roam, and urine spraying (cats only).
DESEXING MYTH 2
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“My pet should have at least one litter” – there is no truth in this whatsoever. All it does is make sure that there are puppies or kittens looking for homes.
DESEXING MYTH 3
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“Desexing can negatively impact their health” – desexing your pet can reduce the risk of some forms of cancer and other diseases. These include urine infections, mammary and ovarian cancer in females and perineal hernias, testicular and prostate cancer in males.
Community languages
We are currently in the process of translating this information for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. We will continue to add translations as we progress with this project.
