{"id":32335,"date":"2025-02-02T11:35:03","date_gmt":"2025-02-02T19:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sfspca.org\/?p=32335"},"modified":"2025-11-13T14:26:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T22:26:58","slug":"health-benefits-of-spaying-and-neutering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sfspca.org\/blog\/health-benefits-of-spaying-and-neutering\/","title":{"rendered":"Health Benefits of Spaying and Neutering Your Pet"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you spay and neuter your pets, you play a key role in reducing shelter overcrowding<\/a> and animal homelessness. All dogs and cats that come through the San Francisco SPCA\u2019s doors are altered before they go up for adoption. If your pet hasn\u2019t been spayed or neutered yet, we recommend scheduling their appointment today<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Health benefits of spay\/neuter<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

By having your pet spayed or neutered, you will be helping to prevent the birth of unplanned animals. But did you know that spayed or neutered cats and dogs live longer, healthier lives on average than those who aren\u2019t?<\/p>\n

Preventing pregnancy, uterine infections, and cancer<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Female cats and dogs who are spayed not only avoid the health risks of pregnancy and giving birth, but they also avoid serious and potentially life-threatening uterine infections. Spayed female animals also demonstrate a marked reduction in the risk of mammary cancer.<\/p>\n

Reduced risk of testicular cancer<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Neutering male cats and dogs eliminates their risks of testicular cancer and also reduces their chances of developing enlarged prostates later in life. Benign prostatic hyperplasia can be uncomfortable for pets, cause difficulty when defecating or urinating, and may contribute to prostatic cysts and abscesses.<\/p>\n

Lower reproductive stress<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Spaying or neutering removes the stress of the heat cycle from female pets. For males, it lowers their reactivity to females in heat, leaving you with a calmer, more content pet. While spaying or neutering doesn\u2019t change who your pet is, it can reduce or even eliminate undesirable behaviors such as roaming, fighting, or urine marking.<\/p>\n

Myth: Altering your pet causes weight gain<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

There\u2019s a popular misconception that spayed or neutered pets become overweight. Pets gain weight for the same reasons people do, by overeating and not getting enough exercise. While it\u2019s true that spayed and neutered pets may be less energetic, keeping your pets active and feeding them a healthy diet will help them stay in shape.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Schedule your pet\u2019s spay\/neuter today<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Spaying or neutering your pet helps keep homeless animals out of the shelters and streets, and it helps keep them healthy and happy as well.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t hesitate to reach out to your veterinarian with any questions. The SF SPCA offers spay\/neuter services at our facility located at 201 Alabama Street, San Francisco, CA 94103.<\/p>\n

You can reach the spay\/neuter scheduling office by booking online<\/a> or by calling or texting (415) 554-3084. Due to high demand, texting is the fastest and most efficient way to reach our team.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you spay and neuter your pets, you play a key role in reducing shelter overcrowding and animal homelessness. All dogs and cats that come through the San Francisco SPCA\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":76571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHealth Benefits of Spaying and Neutering Your Pet - San Francisco SPCA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Spaying\/neuter is key to breaking the cycle of shelter overpopulation, but did you know that this common surgery has additional health benefits for your pet? 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