Dog owners often decide spay or neuter beloved pet. This relatively inexpensive operation has a number of advantages for owners, because if you take your pet for such a procedure, you will no longer need to worry about where to put the puppies, or how to explain to your child what the dog is doing with their soft toy.
It must be remembered that in addition to the benefits, castration and sterilization of a dog can lead to unpleasant consequences, which will negatively affect your beloved pet.
Of course, there are differences between castration and sterilization. But this does not mean that sterilization is intended only for females, and only males are castrated.
The essence of castration– removal of organs that are responsible for reproduction. In males, the testicles are removed, and in females, either the ovaries alone or the ovaries with the uterus are removed. Of course, there can be no talk of any mating or sexual desire after the operation.
Before you make your own choice, which procedure will provide best influence for a pet, see a good veterinarian. Some surgeries have a number of restrictions that your dog may be subject to.
Sterilization and castration of dogs: pros and cons
Castration and sterilization of male dogs
Both operations can be performed only under general anesthesia. After the hair in the surgical field is removed, two small incisions are made, after which the spermatic cord is ligated or the testes are removed. Typically, the operating process is about seven minutes. The wounds are treated with a special postoperative powder to prevent complications. There is no need to remove stitches.
A few disadvantages of castration:
- the risk of prostate and urinary tract cancer increases significantly;
- the risk of obesity increases significantly;
- castration before 1 year of age increases the risk of acquiring bone cancer (osteosarcoma);
- the risk of heart hemangiosarcoma (tumors inside blood vessels) increases significantly;
- the risk of hypothyroidism increases (due to a lack of thyroid hormones);
- other less significant risks.
Significant advantages of castration:
- improvement of the pet’s character, calmness;
- the risk of testicular cancer and death from it disappears;
- reducing the risk of diseases of the genitourinary tract and prostate;
- the risk of perianal fistulas is reduced;
- disappearance of the need to mark;
- reducing the risk of acquiring diabetes.
Possible negative consequences after sterilization:
- aggressive behavior;
- the risk of diseases of the genitourinary system;
- frequent mood swings and stress;
- loss of appetite.
Pros of sterilization:
- preservation of all sexual functions except reproduction.
When is the best time to spay and neuter dogs? The most suitable age for a dog to be spayed and neutered is in the range of 5-10 months. Of course, such processes can be performed later, but it is worth considering that sometimes they are required, but anesthesia is no longer appropriate for old dogs due to their age.
Castration and sterilization of bitches
Such operations last about thirty minutes. They are carried out strictly under general anesthesia. During castration, the ovaries and uterus are removed, and during sterilization, they are bandaged the fallopian tubes. After applying the suture, a bandage is secured to protect the suture from damage. Concerning pros, cons and age recommendations for sterilization in this case, they are the same as in cases with male dogs.
Main condition– the animal should not eat any food no less than six hours before the start of the process. It is highly not recommended to consume liquid four hours before. If you neglect these rules, your pet’s well-being may change for the worse.
The animal must be completely healthy. Also, preferably before surgery.
Postoperative complications
Operations about which we're talking about, are considered quite simple. Therefore, complications most often arise only when the operation was performed in bad faith or incorrectly. Adverse reactions to anesthesia, hemorrhage, infection and inflammation may occur.
Consultation before surgery This is an extremely important step that should not be ignored. If this stage is ignored, the operation can have an extremely adverse effect on the body, since it was undesirable to carry out it.
If you have male pet, be aware that after a dog is spayed or neutered, urinary incontinence may occur. Therefore, you will need an oilcloth under which to lay a blanket, on which the pet will recover from anesthesia. Keep an eye on him and make sure that he does not perform any maneuvers related to climbing to heights if he has not yet fully recovered from the effects of anesthesia. You may need to treat the suture and take antibiotics.
If you have female dog, ten days after the operation, the stitches must be removed. All these days, do not forget to treat them and take preventive measures against damage to the seams that the dog can cause. For example, you can use a special collar. They may also be prescribed an antibiotic injection.
In both cases, meal in animals it is carried out only after the pet has completely recovered from anesthesia.
Video about castration and sterilization of dogs
To have a better idea about castration and sterilization of dogs, we invite you to watch a video in which you will learn what castration and sterilization are, the harm of hormonal drugs, why castration and sterilization is needed, and their advantages.
Even after reading reliable and competently presented information, many readers may have questions related to the topic of the article. Is it worth overpaying for a simple operation by going to an expensive veterinary clinic? What situations require sending an animal for surgery? What time of year is best to have surgery? Let's try answer these questions together and on those that you will have.
Pets play a special role in our lives, they make us kinder and teach us a lot in this life. But it also happens that the multiple offspring of a pet bring a lot of trouble to the owner, and then he decides to take a serious step - to sterilize or neuter his pet. Meanwhile, both of these concepts appear in completely various qualities. That is why today we will try to find out how the concepts of “castration” and “sterilization” of cats differ from each other.
Definition
Sterilization cats is limited to tubal ligation, but for cats this is fraught with ligation of the seminal ducts. Scientifically, this operation in cats is called a vasectomy. After the procedure, the animal’s genitals remain in place, they continue to produce hormones and function as usual. Sterilization of both cats and cats does not affect the sexual desire of animals, their instincts do not decrease or lose their intensity. In this case, animals can mate, but stop producing offspring.
Castration- This is an operation in which the complete removal of organs that are responsible for the reproduction of animals occurs. Thus, during castration in cats, the ovaries are removed along with the uterus (an operation called ovariohysterectomy) or just the ovaries alone (oophorectomy). Previously, nulliparous young cats had only their ovaries removed, but now they are trying to remove them along with the uterus, since in Lately Gynecological problems are increasingly occurring even in young cats. In the event that only a cat's ovaries are removed, as a result of which the production of eggs ceases, all cat concerts immediately stop. In male cats, both testicles are removed during castration.
Comparison
Based on the above, it can be noted that castration is a more humane procedure for both male and female cats. Despite the lack of offspring, sterilized animals very often experience hormonal internal storms due to the fact that their reproductive system continues to function normally. This does not have the best effect on the animal’s body, since its body at this moment is subject to stress and, as a result, to the risk of diseases of the genitourinary system. Such animals very often lose weight for no reason, refuse to eat and behave aggressively towards the owner.
At the same time, castrated cats and female cats have a qualitatively higher high level life and health, and in addition, their life expectancy increases by several years. It is among such animals that long-livers are found. In addition, this largely solves the problem with the behavioral factor, since neutered cats do not scream or mark the owner’s furniture. Castration almost completely eliminates the possibility of getting purulent inflammation, cysts or neoplasms of the genital organs in cats, and the possibility of getting prostatitis in cats. It is worth noting that in mature age some animals already require such surgery medical indications, so it is best to perform this operation on a cat while she is still healthy and plump vitality and energy.
Conclusions website
- Castration involves the complete or partial removal of a cat's reproductive organs (one ovaries or ovaries along with the uterus), and both testicles in a cat. Sterilization is an operation that is limited to tubal ligation in cats and ligation of the spermatic cord in cats.
- Castration eliminates all hormonal imbalances in the animal’s body; sterilization eliminates only the function of producing offspring.
what is “better” to choose
Sooner or later, owners of domestic cats begin to think about castration/sterilization of their pets, since by doing this they not only save their pets from more problems, but even prolong their life...
True, a fair share of cat lovers often mistakenly interpret the above-mentioned concepts, believing that males are usually castrated, and females are sterilized. But in fact, these processes are in no way related to the gender of animals, but imply different kinds surgical intervention, which ultimately leads to one result - cats and cats lose their ability to reproduce.
What is the difference?
So, when castration the gonads are completely removed from the animal’s body (in males – the testes, and in females – the ovaries), as a result of which the pet is provided with complete sexual rest for the rest of its life. After the operation, the animal will not have any desires and needs, as well as the ability to engage in full sexual activity.
And here sterilization, in turn, is rarely used in veterinary medicine for small pets, as it involves ligating (that is, ligating or soldering) the spermatic cords in cats and the oviducts in cats. After such an intervention, animals lose the ability to reproduce, while maintaining sexual activity, since sex hormones continue to be synthesized in their gonads. So it turns out that from the point of view of the health of the animal and the convenience of life for household members, sterilization of cats and female cats does not make sense at all, because all the nuances of their sexual behavior remain unchanged (increased activity, screaming, aggressiveness, etc., etc.) .
Technically, an operation to sterilize domestic cats is quite possible, but it is usually used for medical reasons in the treatment of some diseases.
Preparation
As for the castration procedure, you need to thoroughly prepare for it:
- firstly, the pet must be hungry (that is, not eat food for at least 10 hours before the operation);
- secondly, it is best to conduct a preliminary study of the function of the cardiovascular system (especially in aged animals or with any pathologies) in order to reduce all possible risks to a minimum.
Castration of a cat
In this case, the surgical intervention itself in cats is carried out as follows: first, the animal is injected with anesthesia, the hair on the scrotum is shaved off and the skin is treated with special products, after which a small incision is made to remove the testicles, and then this same incision is sutured. Typically, such an operation takes no more than 15 minutes, and postoperative sutures do not require any processing or removal.
Castration of a cat
In cats, the entire castration process is more complicated, since the operation in this case is abdominal, that is, the uterus and ovaries are removed through a deep incision in the groin or abdomen. Surgical manipulations last 30-40 minutes, after which the wound is sutured, and the animal is dressed in a special blanket or collar that prevents the seam from licking and scratching.
It is worth noting that females can be castrated not only in the standard way, but also endoscopically - when several small incisions are made on the abdominal wall, through which endoscopic instruments and a camera with a light are inserted. The surgeon controls all his actions through a display that displays an image of the operation progress. But such an operation, of course, will cost more.
Recovery after surgery depends on individual characteristics the body of a particular animal, which is why it can take different times. As a rule, after anesthesia, cats and cats leave within 2-4 hours, and fully come to their senses after about one day.
Introduction. How is castration different from sterilization?
Many people, like me before, believe that castration is carried out for cats, and sterilization is carried out for female cats. In fact, these two procedures are completely different from each other. When sterilizing, the animal's genitals are simply tied (for cats - the seminal ducts, for cats - the fallopian tubes). As a result, the genitals do not stop functioning, but continue to produce hormones, and animals can continue to mate. The only difference is that cats stop producing offspring. This method may be suitable for cats that live in garden areas and spend a lot of time outside the house, walking the streets. In this case, your cat will not shock you with her appearance “in position.” During castration, the animal's genitals are removed (for cats - testicles, for cats - ovaries or ovaries along with the uterus). The advantage of castration over sterilization is that the animal will not have serious illnesses related to the genitals, because they simply don’t exist! We chose castration because our cat does not leave the apartment.
At what age is it better to operate on an animal?
Our cat was neutered when she was 1.5 years old. There are many on the Internet different opinions about when is the best time to operate on an animal. I believe that it is not worth operating before the first heat, but it is also better not to delay it. After all, with age, cats and kittens find it increasingly difficult to tolerate general anesthesia.
Preparing for surgery.
First, you need to wait until the cat stops estrus, since surgery during this period can be dangerous to the health of the animal. 10-12 hours before surgery, you should not give your cat food. You should also make an appointment at the veterinary clinic in advance. Although you can be seen on a first-come, first-served basis, making an appointment at the veterinary clinic at a certain time will save you and your pet nerves. When you take the animal away and bring it back, it is advisable to place it on a sheet with which it is familiar. A native, “homey” smell will allow the cat to be less nervous and worried.
In the clinic.
Upon arrival at the clinic, our cat was thoroughly examined, the temperature was measured, weighed, the heart was listened to, and they were told that there were no contraindications. It is very important that a veterinarian examine the animal because some animals may not tolerate anesthesia. Then they took her away and told her to come back in 3 hours. All these three hours we were worried, thinking, “How is our kitty doing???” Then a call from the veterinary clinic, and the cheerful voice of the nurse: “Your cat has already woken up, is starting to get rowdy, come!” We arrived and saw how our beauty was being carried out. The eyes are round, wearing a blanket. But as soon as we put her in the carrier, she instantly calmed down and fell asleep. The doctor came out and explained that the seam should be washed every 2 days with hydrogen peroxide or chlorhexidine (we washed it with hydrogen peroxide). And she told me to come and remove the stitches in 12 days.
At home. Same day.
Upon arrival home, we took her out of the carrier, and the cat began to carefully walk along the corridor near the wall. Also, sometimes she seemed to “back away”, that is, she walked “butt forward”. Then, she quickly got tired and began to lie down. We lifted her onto a chair (you cannot let the animal jump on its own in the first days of the operation, since the pet may overestimate its strength and not make it to the jump, and there may also be uncoordination of the jump, i.e. it jumps onto the chair, but misses and falls), where she fell asleep and slept until the evening.
Then in the evening she went to her secluded place, where we gave her some water, and so the cat slept for about 12 hours the next day.
The next day after surgery.
After sleep, she got out on her own and began to walk around the house more boldly. She went to the toilet herself and drank water. Then she started trying to jump onto the windowsill, which of course she couldn’t jump on because it was too high. I began to follow her, but soon the cat gave up her attempts and went back to sleep.
In this photo the cat has such a lively look, I’m surprised at how I was able to catch her like that! After all, in fact, her mood was like this:
The next day.
The cat is recovering, an interest in life appears, and is already beginning to take an interest in the blanket she is wearing. She goes to the toilet on her own, drinks, and eats soft food.
Subsequent days.
Every day she returns more and more to her previous life, sleeps less, goes to the toilet well. But we still help her jump onto a chair/sofa, etc., but after 6-7 days she begins to cope with it herself. Photo of the cat 10 days after the operation, the blanket is still with us:
We wash the seams. We remove the stitches.
The seams are very easy to clean. You need to remove the blanket (there you will see a shaved tummy and a neat seam), wet a cotton pad with hydrogen peroxide and carefully, without pressing under any circumstances, rub it over the seam. 12 days after the procedure, we arrived at the clinic, where the stitches were removed and the cat was freed from the blanket! And now she no longer suffers from constant heat and lives a calm, neutered life!!!
Cost of the operation .
The operation cost us 2500 rubles. The price includes the procedure itself (1800 rubles), medications(200 rubles), postoperative blanket (106 rubles), catheter with installation (130 rubles) and small items - gloves, syringes, cotton wool and a disposable diaper.
Finally I want to say that I definitely recommend castration of cats, as it prevents cancer of the genital organs in the future, is much safer than hormonal drugs and saves you and your pet from unnecessary nerves. The only disadvantage of castration, which, unfortunately, did not bypass us, is excess weight. But we fight it, run after a laser pointer and consume less fat in our diet.
The gonads are surgically removed, but during sterilization they remain and continue to function. This is the main difference. A cat without castration means that the spermatic cord will be damaged or ligated, due to which sperm will not be able to enter the vas deferens. As a result, the cat becomes infertile when the gonads are fully functional. Surgical sterilization is called a vasectomy.
It is important to note that vasectomy does not reduce the production of sex hormones.
That is, the animal continues the territory, demands the cat, sings songs and behaves aggressively. In addition, sterilization does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases. Therefore, in most cases such an operation does not have any value, since The point of all this is to change behavior, not just stop reproduction.
In total, there are several that have significant differences. All surgical interventions are performed under local anesthesia.
Bloody methods of castration
They are so named because the scrotum must be opened. Divided into two types:
- Private method. Only cut upper layer scrotum - skin. The lower layers are not touched, due to which the passage into the abdominal cavity does not open, which is very important for some pathologies. The lower layers are tied at the base of the scrotum and cut off in a single complex.
Read also: A cat’s temperature after castration: symptoms of increase, causes, methods of measurement
- Open method. All layers of the scrotum are dissected and the testis is removed. The simplest and most common operation. The spermatic cord is tied at the base of the scrotum, after which it is cut off along with the testis and epididymis.
Bloodless castration method
It is so named because this technique does not require opening the scrotum. The main goal of the operation is to destroy the nerves and vessels of the spermatic cord, as a result of which the testes gradually atrophy. For destruction, special forceps, clamps, scissors and other tools are used, of which there are a lot.
The main advantage is the speed and simplicity of the operation, since it does not require actual surgery. This shortens the postoperative period, and also reduces the risk of complications. The disadvantage is the insufficient guarantee of castration and cessation of hormonal activity of the sex glands.
Vasectomy
During a vasectomy, the scrotum is cut, which makes the operation similar to the bloody methods of castration. However, the main difference is that at surgical intervention It is not the entire spermatic cord that is destroyed, but only the vas deferens. The vessels and nerves remain undamaged, so the sex glands continue to function.
During the first few months, conception is possible, so the cat must be protected from communication with cats. The operation cannot be performed during the period of sexual hunting.. The risk of restoring reproductive function is very small and amounts to no more than 0.1%. When fertility returns, a vasectomy can be repeated.
A serious drawback is the complexity of the operation, since the cat’s testes themselves are small, and here it is also necessary to separate the vessels, nerves and vas deferens. Not every veterinarian will undertake a vasectomy, and the risk of failure (fertility preservation or accidental castration) is quite high.