CCHS Bloghttp://www.cuhumane.org/NewsEvents/CCHSBlog.aspxThe Importance of Early Age Sterilizationhttp://www.cuhumane.org/NewsEvents/CCHSBlog/TabId/106/PostId/12/The-Importance-of-Early-Age-Sterilization.aspxby Shelter Veterinarian, Dr. Robert Weedon. Early-age sterilization is now the standard in shelter veterinary practice.EducationTue, 24 Apr 2012 14:16:22 GMT<p>Up until recently, veterinarians were trained to wait until a dog or cat reaches 6 months of age before performing surgical sterilization.&nbsp; This &ldquo;standard practice&rdquo; was based on a variety of concerns regarding the safety of operating on very young animals and the long-term effects of early sterilization.&nbsp; However, evidence now shows that it is O.K. to sterilize animals that are younger than the arbitrary 6-months-of-age benchmark.&nbsp; Today, many shelters and high-volume spay/neuter clinics perform sterilization surgeries on puppies and kittens as early as 6-to-8 weeks of age.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>In an article entitled, &ldquo;Determining the optimal age for gonadectomy of dogs and cats,&rdquo; published in the December 1, 2007 issue of the <i>Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association</i>, Margaret V. Root Kustritz, DVM, PhD, DACT, concludes, &ldquo;Animals housed at humane societies should be treated as a population. &nbsp;Societal benefit resulting from gonadectomy of unowned dogs and cats in the United States outweighs all other concerns.&nbsp; &nbsp;Male and female dogs and cats should be spayed or castrated before being offered for adoption by humane organizations.&rdquo;&nbsp; </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Dr. Phillip Bushby, a recognized expert in pediatric sterilization, published a recent article in the <i>NAVC Clinician&rsquo;s Brief</i>, in March 2012.&nbsp; In his article entitled, &ldquo;Early age spay-neuter,&rdquo; Dr. Bushby says, &ldquo;With millions of homeless dogs and cats euthanized in animal shelters each year, it is time for veterinary professionals to actively support early-age spay/neuter procedures to help reduce pet overpopulation.&rdquo;&nbsp; </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Champaign County Humane Society practices early-age sterilization in order to adopt-out only sterilized animals to the community.&nbsp; By sterilizing puppies and kittens <i>before</i> they leave the shelter, CCHS ensures that the pets it sends home won&rsquo;t contribute to the population of animals later requiring care at CCHS, or any other animal shelter, due to an &ldquo;accidental&rdquo; litter. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> Read more about early-age spay/neuter on the <a href="http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/spayneuter/early-spay-neuter.aspx">ASPCA website</a>.