Why Spaying and Neutering Saves Lives: A Solution to Pet Overpopulation

In the face of a pet overpopulation crisis, millions of dogs and cats endure homelessness and suffering, lacking vital resources like medical care, food, and shelter.

Shelters are strained under the weight of this demand, struggling to meet the needs of vulnerable dogs and cats. Spaying and neutering are vital to controlling overpopulation and the well-being of pets, people, and communities.

Photo © Oro Whitley

Benefits of Spaying and Neutering

Benefits For Pets

Neutering decreases the risk of prostatic disease, hernias, and certain cancers in males. Spaying eliminates life-threatening conditions such as ovarian cancer and pyometra and has been shown to reduce the risk of certain cancers in females.

Since sterilized pets no longer feel the need to roam to look for a mate, they are more likely to stay home, which decreases the risk of traumatic accidents, exposure to diseases, or getting into fights.

Spaying and neutering benefits also include:

• Lifespan: Longer, healthier lives in both cats and dogs.  
• Behavior: Unaltered pets often exhibit more behavioral and territorial problems than those who have been spayed or neutered. It also reduces the instinct in cats to spray and mark their territory and reduces stress and anxiety by leveling hormonal fluctuations across all animals. 

Benefits for Communities

Photo © Oro Whitley

Communities reap significant benefits from the widespread practice of spaying and neutering.

• Reduced human injury and property damage. When free-roaming dogs and cats are hungry, they wander into human-populated areas looking for food. This often leads to accidents, property damage, or human injury.  
• Reduced risk of disease. Free-roaming pets are more likely to carry diseases, which increases the risk of passing those diseases or parasites on to owned pets or humans.
• Reduced economic pressures on the community. Pet overpopulation can be a significant financial burden on taxpayers and private agencies. Capturing, sheltering, providing medical care, and managing the pet overpopulation costs millions of dollars annually.  

Benefits for Pet Owners

Photo © Oro Whitley

Choosing to spay or neuter your pet is a responsible decision and helps you create a better relationship with your cat or dog. Here are a few essential ways altering your pet is beneficial to you:  

• Creates stronger bonds. Spayed and neutered pets are more affectionate companions.  
• Reduces aggression. You may be concerned about biting or aggressive behaviors if you have children, other pets, or vulnerable people in your household. A sterilized pet is typically calmer.
• Prevent a litter. You are less likely to have surprise puppies or kittens you need to care for, which can be expensive and time-consuming.
• Spayed and Neutered pets are cleaner. They are less likely to spray and mark their territory, and a female dog or cat no longer has a heat cycle, decreasing the need to clean up after them.

Making the important decision to spay and neuter your pet contributes to their well-being and the community and ultimately creates a stronger relationship between you and your pet.    

The Impact of Good Fix

Good Fix is a program of Greater Good Charities that deploys specially trained, high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter surgical and professional trapping teams to help control pet overpopulation in communities that need it most, all free of charge.

Good Fix also provides vaccinations to owned and community pets, educates community members on the importance of spaying/neutering, and coordinates education opportunities with local shelters.

Ultimately, Good Fix reduces human-animal conflict, shelter intake, and the burden on shelters to euthanize unwanted animals. To date, Good Fix has safely sterilized more than 56,000 dogs and cats to address pet overpopulation.

Become a Protector

Protectors are super supporters of Greater Good Charities committed to sustaining our mission to protect people, pets, and the planet through recurring gifts. Becoming a Protector allows you to make regular, 100% tax-deductible donations to ongoing programs like Good Fix.