is an inflammation of the prostate. It can cause your pet to have a   wide   variety   of problems, such as: straining to defecate, blood in urine, chronic urinary tract infections and discomfort. If you neuter a male at a young age, you can eliminate the chances of them developing testicular cancer.

Altering your pet not only greatly helps with overpopulation and if altered at a young age, your pet will likely live a longer, healthier life.

Every year thousands of stray or abandoned animals are euthanized. To help cut down on animal overpopulation, we encourage dog and cat owners to alter (spay or neuter) their pets. Many unwanted puppies and kittens are dumped on the side of the road to die or to become feral. Not only do feral animals spread diseases such as parvo, distemper, and feline leukemia virus, they can also be extremely destructive. Spaying or neutering your pet will cut down on these problems. In this issue, we will concentrate on the health benefits of soaying or neutering your pet, rather than concentrating on the pet overpopulation problem.

Spaying   (OHE,   or ovariohysterectomy) is defined as the removal of       the       female reproductive organs. Removing the female reproductive organs will eliminate her heat cycles.       Neutering (orchectomy       or castration) is defined as removal of the male reproductive glands. The best age to spay or neuter your pet is 6 months or older.

The average female dog will cycle twice a year and their heat cycle lasts for about three weeks. During this time the female will emit pheremones that will attract males from miles away. If male dogs hanging around and marking your lawn isn't bad enough, the

female will probably leave spots of blood throughout your house.

The average female cat will continuously cycle until they are bred. They will incessantly cry, stand in a mating stance, and generally be a nuisance. And just when you think they are out of heat, they will cycle again.

When males mature they will reach an age when they will start to roam looking for a mate. As well, unaltered females tend to roam looking for a mate. Unaltered males and females sometimes mark their territory by urinating on items, such as fire hydrants, bushes,

trees, couches, etc. To help spread their scent, unaltered tom cats emit a very strong odor in their urine, which can be very hard to rid your house of. Unaltered pets have a higher chance of getting hit by a car or being in fights. The vet bill for a hit-by-car or for fight wounds is much higher than the price of a spay or neuter.

Some pet owners seem to be concerned about putting their pets under anesthesia, but health problems generally do not arise. We can run pre-anesthetic blood work before surgery to check your pet's organ functions. If you spay a female before her first heat, you significantly reduce (almost 100%) her     chances     of developing breast, uterine and ovarian cancer which could possibly spread to many other parts of the body. Cancer is quite prevalent among older pets, so reducing their risk of any type of cancer is beneficial. Older females who have not been spayed can develop a potentially fatal infection of the uterus called pyometra. Once the infection starts, hospitalization, medications and the surgical removal of the infected uterus is the treatment. Pyometra is prevented by spaying your female pet at a young age.

Older unaltered males can have problems with hernias and/or with prostatitis. Prostatitis

Starting March 1, 2001, bring your pet into our clinic and weigh him or her in. We will start a file on your pet. At the end of the month we will weigh your pet again at our clinic. Whoever has the biggest percentage of weight loss each month will win the prize of his or her choice. There will be a separate contest for dogs and cats, and a there will be a   different   winner announced each month through the summer! So don't delay, bring your pet today.

The winners will be notified at the end of the month and posted in the next newsletter. If you have any questions, please contact either Tech Jennifer Bryant or Office Manager Helena.