The Importance of Spaying or Neutering Your Pet
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Spaying or neutering your pet supports their health, curbs unwanted behaviours, and helps reduce animal overpopulation in our community.
Bringing home a new puppy or kitten is an exciting time — full of cuddles, training sessions, and learning curves. You’ve likely got a checklist a mile long: puppy-proofing, vet visits, feeding schedules, crate training, socialization. But there’s one essential item that deserves a permanent spot on every pet owner’s list: spaying or neutering your pet.
What Does It Mean to Spay or Neuter?
- Spaying is the surgical removal of a female animal’s ovaries and uterus.
- Neutering is the surgical removal of a male animal’s testicles.
These are safe, routine procedures performed by licensed veterinarians to prevent pets from reproducing — but the benefits go well beyond birth control.
Why Spaying and Neutering Matters
Spaying or neutering is one of the most responsible decisions a pet owner can make. It directly supports your pet’s long-term health and helps prevent animal overpopulation in our community.
🐶 Benefits for Dogs
- Spaying before the first heat can prevent unwanted behaviours like restlessness, vocalizing, and attracting male dogs.
- It eliminates the risk of ovarian and uterine cancers and significantly reduces the risk of mammary cancer.
- Neutering male dogs prevents testicular cancer, lowers the risk of prostate issues, and reduces behaviours like roaming, marking, and aggression linked to hormones.
🐱 Benefits for Cats
- Spay and neuter surgeries are typically done around five to six months of age.
- Spaying female cats prevents uterine infections and cancer, while also greatly reducing the risk of mammary tumors.
- Neutering male cats decreases the urge to roam, reduces spraying and fighting, and helps them live longer, healthier lives.
- Perhaps most importantly, it helps prevent unwanted litters of kittens, which are a major contributor to the cat overpopulation crisis
A Community-Wide Impact
The HBSPCA has been at the fore front of responsible pet care in Hamilton and Burlington for generations. Our veterinary team has safely performed over 50,000 spay and neuter surgeries— each one part of a larger effort to reduce the number of homeless animals in our region.
We See the Impact Every Day:
Fewer animals in shelters.
Fewer litters born without homes.
Healthier, happier pets.
A more compassionate community.
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Our Commitment to Care
At the HBSPCA, we believe that every animal deserves access to safe, high-quality veterinary care — and every pet owner deserves to feel supported in making responsible choices.
Our team of licensed veterinarians and registered veterinary technicians (RVTs) brings expertise, compassion, and a deep respect for every life we touch. The supplies, medications, and protocols we use meet the standards of leading veterinary hospitals.
Spaying or neutering your pet is a simple procedure with lifelong benefits. It supports better health, more stable behaviour, and — perhaps most importantly — it helps prevent future generations of animals from suffering due to homelessness or neglect.
Whether you're raising a brand-new puppy or kitten, or caring for an adult animal, we encourage all pet owners to consider the broader impact of this one important choice. Together, we can build a healthier, more humane future — one pet at a time.
