While having surgery performed on your precious cat or dog – especially when they are young – may seem a little confronting at first, desexing is a very common and safe procedure, with minimal risks involved.
If you don’t intend to breed your cat or dog, we strongly recommend that you desex your pet.
Benefits of desexing your pet
Desexing your cat or dog prevents unwanted pregnancies, but also offers many benefits for both male and female pets.
Desexing male pets
Neutering male pets offers a number of health and behavioural benefits, including:
- Reduced tendency to roam – which means fewer fights and hit by car accidents
- Reduced risk of prostatic diseases and perianal tumours
- Eliminates testicular cancer
- Reduced aggression – they won’t feel the need to defend their territory
- Less likely to urinate inappropriately around the house
Desexing female pets
When a female cat or dog is desexed (also known as spaying), their risk of developing a number of serious health issues is significantly reduced.
- Eliminates ovarian and uterine cancers
- Reduced risk of mammary tumours
- Prevents severe uterine infections
When should my pet be desexed?
The timing of desexing can vary depending on the sex and breed of dogs and cats.
For cats, it is best to have your cat desexed before they have reached a fertile age (typically when they are 5-6 months old) to avoid any early unwanted pregnancies.
For dogs, smaller breeds are best desexed at 6 months of age. Larger breeds are better to wait till 12 months of age. Giant breeds can wait till 18 months.
Your vet will discuss their recommendations for desexing your dog or cat so you can make a decision together on the most appropriate time.
What does the desexing procedure involve?
Desexing is a same-day surgical procedure performed under general anaesthetic. Your pet goes into hospital in the morning and goes home that afternoon. When you book your pet in for desexing we will provide you with comprehensive advice on how to prepare them for the procedure, as well as aftercare instructions.
Preparing for surgery
Prior to their procedure, your pet will need to fast overnight before being brought to our clinic the morning of the procedure. Once admitted, we will perform a thorough examination to ensure your pet is fit and ready to be placed under anaesthetic.
The desexing procedure
All pets are put on intravenous fluids and given pain medication prior to their anaesthetics. For female pets, the ovaries and the uterus are removed through a small incision in the middle of their belly. For male pets, desexing is a quicker procedure which involves the removal of the testicles via an incision in the front of the scrotum.
Following surgery, your pet will be kept for a number of hours for close observation by our nursing staff and provided with necessary pain relief, a feed and a walk prior to discharge.
After surgery
Our team is experienced in same-day desexing, so your pet will be able to return home later the same day. You will need to keep your cat or dog quiet and separated from other pets to ensure their wound heals properly. We will schedule a follow-up appointment in 12 days to check on their wound and remove any non-dissolvable sutures.
Still not sure about desexing your pet?
We understand that having your beloved pet undergo surgery can be worrying.
Moorabbin Veterinary Hospital’s highly experienced team performs cat and dog desexing under the highest of safety conditions. Our vets have completed countless desexing procedures and are happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have about the surgery.
To organise your pet’s desexing procedure, give our friendly team a call on 03 9555 4808.
