If you brought a new cat or kitten into your home during the holidays, now is the time to plan to spay your cat. World Spay Day is approaching and we want you to plan ahead: Spaying your cat provides many health benefits for your pet cat. Spaying also helps reduce the number of stray/feral cats roaming the streets and landing in shelters. Our resources will help you to make a plan for spaying your cat on February 28, 2023, World Spay Day.
What are the Benefits of Spaying My Cat?
First things first: Spaying a cat means that the female kitty never goes through a heat cycle —when estrogen levels rise and the female is the most fertile and ready for mating.
Spaying a female cat provides the following benefits:
Reduced Cancer Risk: By not going through the "cat menses", the chance that your cat will develop mammary gland tumors is greatly reduced. Even if your cat has had one or more heat cycles, the benefits of spaying can still significantly decrease risk mammary gland cancer and uterine cancer.
Reduced Risk of Infection: Spaying can also reduce the risk of reproductive system infections.
Less Mess, Money Saved: There are mostly costs to keeping your cat clean during a heat cycle. Not to mention, frequent messes to clean. Spaying clinics are low cost and often even no cost--which saves you money over your cat's lifetime.
Better Behaved Cat: Cats are unpredictable at times and during a heat cycle their behavior can become even more fussy. Spaying your cat reduces unwanted behaviors, such as wandering off in search of a mate and producing kittens that you may not be able to afford.
Keeps the cat population under control: When cats give birth to a litter of kittens that a pet owner can't afford, those cats usually wind-up on the street or in shelters. The sad truth is that millions of kittens and cats don't survive on the street and often are euthanized in shelters that cannot adopt them out. Spaying helps keep the cat population under control.
Who Started World Spay Day?
Believe it or not, the actress, singer, and philanthropist Doris Day (1922-2019) launched World Spay Day through her foundation, the Doris Day Animal Foundation. World Spay Day helps to spread awareness about this issue and to educate the public on the importance of spaying/neutering pets. Accordingly:
World Spay Day advocates spaying “as a proven means of saving the lives of companion animals, community (feral and stray) cats, and street dogs who might otherwise be put down in shelters.”
Learn More, Get Involved with a Spay / Neuter Program Near You
If you are having trouble affording a spay and can't locate a free or reduced fee clinic near you in Wilmington, DE, please contact the Delaware Human Society. Additionally, you can utilize the strategies and resources to help make keeping your cat more affordable.
If you are still struggling with spay/neuter decision making or affordable cat care, please reach out to our pet care team at Kitten Sittin' of Delaware, (302) 304-8399 -- we have many reliable connections and can help point you to resources in your local Wilmington community.
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