What enrages me the most is when people ignorantly choose not to spay or neuter their pets out of their own selfishness. There's no winning because I hear from the guys who don't want to get their male pet neutered because "it takes away from his masculinity " or the girls who want their kids to "experience the birth of another life".

The only people who truly get it are those who have worked in animal shelters and pounds and are the same people who put down healthy dogs and cats. Spaying and Neutering your dog and cat is the only answer to end pet overpopulation.

First off, animals don't have human emotions so therefore dot miss what they don't have when they get their balls chopped off. It's all in the owner's head. Neutering your male cat or dog does good.

Not only does neutering help reduce oerpopulation but it also keeps the animal in (they can smell a female in heat up to two miles away), it keeps a male cat from spraying, a male dog from becoming aggressive and it reduces both testicular and prostate cancer for your dog or cat.

Second off, if you want your kids to have an experience of the birth cycle, then take them to a baby nursery in a hospital and then take them to a nursing home so that they know that with life there is death.

Spaying a female cat or dog cuts down on ovarian cancer. With each heat cycle and pregnancy that a female cat or dog has, it increases their chacne of having ovarian cancer.

My friends is ticking me off like crazy. She has a year old male cat, and they haven't brought it in to get neutered yet... and they let it outside. We have tons of stray cats in our area, and I've been telling her that she can't let her cat outside anymore unless she gets it neutered. She won't listen. I'm about to tell her that if she doesn't bring him in to the vet soon, then I will.

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I would think a pet, given the choice of being able to roam and being spayed/neutered or being kept on a tight leash so to speak in order to keep them from mating and having everything intact, would probably prefer the freedom over the ability to reproduce.

AGREED!!!

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why should an animal be spayed just because we're more comfortable with that?

Why shouldn't they be? It's not like they have the mental capacity to mourn the loss of their ability to have young. I would think a pet, given the choice of being able to roam and being spayed/neutered or being kept on a tight leash so to speak in order to keep them from mating and having everything intact, would probably prefer the freedom over the ability to reproduce.

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why should an animal be spayed just because we're more comfortable with that?

To keep the pet population down. It's especially important for people who allow their pets to roam free. As it is, there are too many stray animals on the streets. It would be foolish to allow more strays to be born when something can be done about it.

there are people who have a religious issue with spaying and neutering pets. i think that if someone keeps their pet in the house and away from the bad boys or girls of the breed, haha that may also be something.... why should an animal be spayed just because we're more comfortable with that?

Fishfool @ The Reef Tank

For those of you who aren't supports of spay and neuter, check out this website here in this link. Also, if you or a friend need spay/neuter financial assistance go to this links

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Originally posted by soccerbud:
i volunteer at a local shelter, which is a no-kill shelter.

Are you a freaking inpubecent hethan? Sorry for the outrage, but there can never be such a thing as a "no kill shelter." Until people get the message of spaying and neutering and truly embrace it, no good will ever come from a no kill shelter.

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Originally posted by soccerbud:
If someone wants their kids to "experience the birth of another life", then they can foster an expecting cat or dog. If they have a litter started, we will not end it.

First off, why would you want to promote anyone fostering a pregnant cat or dog? It just defeats any purpose of trying to control the overwheling population of unwated cats and dogs. Also, there is such a thing called a pregnant spay.

Spay and neuter is certainly an intelligent choice for animals. I come from Long Island (suburbs)where I continuously see stray cats and dogs(cats in particular) being hit by cars, attacked by animals, attacked by inconsiderate and ignorant people, and attacked by nature itself. Stray cats are definately a problem and goodhearted, but ignorant, people put out food for the cats. Small colonies wind up being started and the birthrate gets out of hand. The best choice is to catch, neuter, and release any stray cat you find, which will keep the population in check. My no kill shelter actually takes part in a spay and neuter program that helps out people who cannot afford to pay for the operation themselves, so that they may release the cats back into their neighborhodds to live out their lives.

Ok...so people don't want there pets to lose their personalities or they want their kids to experience a "pregnant" animal...all fine and well until you think of all the animals that have to be put to sleep just because someone didn't take care of neutering the animal parent. Neuter your pet and stop animal deaths. Plan and simple.

i volunteer at a local shelter, which is a no-kill shelter. They use the too sick, too injured, too aggressive approach. In the last year, about 1 stray dog has been put down (too aggressive). We have colony housing for cats (no cages), and one thing that we have noticed is after a cat, male or female, comes back from the vets after being fixed, they are no different then before they went (but they are glad to get out of the carrier). Males do tend to be less aggressive after though.

Given the fact that i know how cats act after they are fixed, i am all for spaying & neutering. as soon as the incesion heals, the cats are usually back to their old selves.

We do not have dogs fixed (i don't know why), but we charge a refundable state fee, and this makes many people have the dog fixed, so they get the money back (the procedure ends up costing $5 with a voucher and having the state fee returned).

If someone wants their kids to "experience the birth of another life", then they can foster an expecting cat or dog. If they have a litter started, we will not end it. we know of someone who did this unknowingly, and the cat was devistated and depressed for several months. right now we have 2 cats that have litters that came in right before birth, and another litter and mother that was brought in after birth. they were found in a box on the side of the road.

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Originally posted by sincerely4monalisa:
i prefer them not to be born at all than to be killed because we cant end a life if their is no life. id get a guilty feeling if animals die because there isnt much room.

But they will continue to be born until everyone realizes that spaying and neutering their pet is apart of the solution, not the problem. When my mom was managing the shelter she worked at, they would taking 6,000 dogs and cats. When a shelter is housing that many animals and then some, what are they supposed to do? Until people start spaying and neutering their pets, euthanasia is the only other option. None of the euth. techs liked doing it and it wasn't a pleasant jobs that they looked forward to doing.

i think they should get neutered. i prefer them not to be born at all than to be killed because we cant end a life if their is no life. id get a guilty feeling if animals die because there isnt much room. this is the downfall about domesticating animals you get too attach because theyre your companions and you want the best for them but one individuals balls outweights the constant killing. i think we shouldnt use the term put to sleep because its for little kids who love their pets. we use it to protect their feelings and hide the truth but we're mature enough to understand death, but hey that's just my opinion. dont need to because i said so.

Every cat I've ever had was a rescue. The cat I have right now seems to be emotionally disturbed from his time in the shelter - he's extremely violent.

But yeah. Get them fixed, and don't automatically expect to adopt a young animal if you go to a shelter. Give a home to the violent, embittered, old cats like my boy Newton.

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Originally posted by someday355:
though some people don't spay and neuter their pets so that they can make money off of them, not just out of selfishness.

But in my eyes it's still wrong. Until you've had to help euthanize healthy dogs and cats just because someone wont stop breeding just so they can make money, how can you say that's okay?

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Originally posted by Stillyoungatheart:
* Don't buy from breeders unless you plan to show professionally.

Even still, you don't always know what you are getting from a breeder. Often times breeders will take a litter of dogs and breed father with daughter and mother with son.

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Originally posted by Stillyoungatheart:
One last thing iamastar, I do disagree, animals have emotions just like us.

I think you missed my point. I'm not trying to say that animals don't have emotions like humans do. I'm just saying that animals don't have the mentality to know that whether or not they were fixed.

Your absolutely right!!!!

My dog and two cats were rescue animals.

Millions of cats and dogs are killed "put asleep" each year simply because there are not enough good homes for them to go.

Some additional pointers:

* Adopt from your local animal shelter
* Don't buy from pet stores - they often are supplied by puppy mills :0(
* Don't buy from breeders unless you plan to show professionally.(My dog is a full English Pointer, beautiful and he was a throwaway/best dog I have ever had)
* Adopt from breed rescue organazations, you can often get a full breed beautiful animals at a fraction of the cost. Just go to any search engine and type in the breed you want and rescue (poodle rescue), it's that simple.
* Donate either your time or money to helping organazations that save our furry friends.

and once you commit to having a dog or cat, any animal please remember, they are beings just like you they require a warm soft bed, plenty of good fresh food and water every day, lots of love and to be played with. You will be rewarded with a friend that will never betray you, talk about you behind your back, keep all your deepest, darkest secrets, will love you no matter what and protect you with their life if need arises.

One last thing iamastar, I do disagree, animals have emotions just like us, I had a shepard / husky that was depressed for two weeks when his owner threw him away for a younger, cuter dog. No, animals don't think and do math like we do, but they do feel and have emotions. I teat my animals like I would like to be treated.

We are stewards of this planet and the creatures put in our charge....not masters, caretakers.

Neutering / spaying isn't bad, I'm "fixed" (tubes tied) and it's not bad at all so I can say from personal experience that it is not painful nor a bad way to go.

You make some very good points there star, though some people don't spay and neuter their pets so that they can make money off of them, not just out of selfishness.

It's definitely good for stopping female dogs from having heat. I don't think anyone wants a bleeding dog wandering around their house. Ew.