Having your pet spayed or neutered is really one of the important things that a lot of pet owners don’t really think about right away. When you first bring home a new fur baby, it might be the last thing on your mind. The truth is, there are actually quite a few benefits that come along with having your pet spayed or neutered. Let’s take a closer look at these reasons why you should schedule it as soon as you can, and also a few tips for finding low cost spay and neuter services in your area.

Why Spay or Neuter?

There are really numerous reasons why you would want to spay and neuter, but today we will take a look at the most important ones:

#1 – Health Benefits

First and foremost, you need to make sure that you understand the health benefits that come along with spaying and neutering. Spaying offers a couple health benefits for females, including:

• reduces the risk of uterine infection
• reduces the risk of breast cancer

If you want to dramatically reduce the odds of these diseases, it is recommended that you have your female spayed before she goes into her first heat (which can be as early as about 6 months of age). Now, when it comes to males, neutering has been shown to reduce the risk of testicular cancer as long as you have it done before they are 6 months old.

#2 – Females Will Not Go Into Heat

Heat cycles vary greatly, especially from dogs to cats, but it can really be frustrating. It may cause them to act up, and could even cause them to urinate more often – sometimes making a mess of the house!

#3 – Better Behavior

Believe it or not, having your pet spayed or neutered will really help with their behavior. Males are much less likely to roam around trying to find a mate, which in turn keeps them safer. They will focus more on being a part of your family, rather than marking their territory everywhere and trying to act wild.

#4 – Cost Effective

This may not really be something that you have ever thought about, but having your pet spayed or neutered will be far less expensive than having to take care of a litter. You have to think about all of the expense that goes into that, and the hassle of trying to find them all good, loving homes.

#5 – Community Benefits

Stray animals are becoming more and more of an issue. There are so many pets that don’t have loving homes with people that will care for their needs. When you get your pet spayed or neutered, you are doing your part to help prevent overpopulation of pets in your community.

As you can see, there are clear benefits that come along with spaying and neutering your pet. The problem is that many people think of it as just an unnecessary expense. The good news is that there are low cost spay and neuter services available in most areas.

How to Find Low Cost Spay and Neuter Services

Now that you are well aware of the importance of spaying and neutering, you may need to find a way to save money on the procedure.

Some veterinary clinics may charge upwards of $150 or more for the procedure, and not everyone has that kind of money to drop on the operation. Because of the benefits associated with having your pet fixed, many communities have services that offer the procedure at a reduced cost to people who would have a hard time affording it otherwise. Here are a few tips for finding low cost services available in your area:

#1 – Talk to your regular veterinarian. They may be able to offer a low cost procedure, or point you in the right direction of a clinic that can. They also may be have payment plan options available that may be more suitable for your budget. #2 – Check into your local animal shelter or humane society. They will usually keep lists of clinics within a certain radius that offer low cost services for spaying and neutering. #3 – Try the humane society’s recommended tool for finding a program in your area. Simply visit this page and enter your zip code, or city and state.

Is It Ever Too Late?

Don’t think that it is too late to have your pet spayed or neutered.

While it is recommended that you do it anywhere from 4 to 6 months of age to fully reap the benefits, it is not really ever too late. After all, even if you do it when they are a few years old you may be preventing them from having a litter, which will help when it comes to overpopulation in the community. Talk to your vet about the right time for your pet, and make sure that you make it a priority. Let them know if you have issues with paying, and use our tips for finding low cost spay and neuter in your area.