Myths About Spay/Neuter

Myth: She should have one litter first, to settle her down.
Truth: Having a litter won't improve either her temper or her health and is far more likely to make both worst. (See It's Healthier)

Myth: If I neuter my dog, he'll stop protecting our house.
Truth: Not so! His instinct to "defend his turf" won't be affected. And he'll be less likely to wander off.

Myth: Only females need to be fixed since the litters are their owners' responsibility.
Truth: But how do those females get pregnant? A male pet can easily father 750 offspring in his lifetime.

Myth: Spaying or neutering makes pets fat and lazy.
Truth: No, that's caused by overfeeding and lack of exercise.

Myth: Sexual fulfillment is important to me. How can I deny it to my pet?
Truth: Your emotional needs and relationships are quite different from your pets' instinctive hormonal responses. Your pet will be happier without them. (See They're Happier.)

Myth: Keeping animals from having litters is interfering with nature.
Truth: It's a little late to worry about that. We've been interfering with nature for a long time by domesticating animals in the first place, to say nothing of building cities and cars which make the world quite a different place from the "natural" world where they're wild ancestors grew up, where having large and frequent litters made sense.

Myth: "I find good homes for all my litters."
Truth: Well, even if you do, for every good home your kitten or puppy gets, a good home is used up, so some other pet will have to be destroyed. See Kali's Kittens.

Myth: One litter won't really make a difference in pet overpopulation.
Truth:Two uncontrolled breeding cats, plus all their offspring, figuring 2 litters per year, 2.8 surviving kittens per litter, could add up to:

first year:	12
second year:	66
third year:	382
fourth year:	2,201
fifth year:	12,680
sixth year:	73,041
seventh year	420,715