Spay/Neuter Awareness Month

Decorah - Our pets play an important role in our health and happiness. For many, they offer comfort when we are sad, laughter with their antics and love in their devotion to ourselves and our families.

February is nationally recognized as “Spay/Neuter Awareness Month.”

During the spring and summer months there is rampant overproduction of puppies and kittens. This month is set aside to encourage people to have their pets sterilized before spring. When you choose to spay or neuter your pet, you are choosing to help decrease the numbers of puppies and kittens and save pet’s lives.

What happens when people choose not to spay or neuter. Shelters start to fill up with unwanted litters of kittens or puppies. Dogs can have two litters a year and cats can have three litters a year. 

The average number in a canine litter is 6-10 and the average in a feline litter is 4-10. Do the math, and you have a dog that can produce an average of 16 pups per year and a cat that produce an average of 15 kittens in a year.

Unbeknownst to many, a cat can go into heat at four months and a dog can go into heat at five months. So, the best time to fix your pets is by four months. You may be or know of someone who has a lot of barn cats or lives in a town with a bunch of stray cats, consider TNR.

The Humane Society of Northeast Iowa, Decorah, IA, said, “TNR is an amazing program where some shelters will give the public vouchers to trap feral/stray cats, get them into the vet to be neutered or spayed, then release them back outside where they were trapped. 

“You can also help cut down on unwanted litters by spaying or neutering your own pets. If you are choosing not to fix your own animals because you don’t think it is fair to them, please consult with your vet to fully understand the pros and cons of altering an animal. The only way you can be 100 percent sure that your animal won’t have a litter is by getting them spayed or neutered.”

HSNEI’s link to their SNAP (Spay/Neuter Assistance Program of Northeast Iowa) program that can help low income families or individuals is: https://www.hsnei. org/snap. Qualifying participants must live in Winneshiek, Howard, Clayton, Allamakee or Fayette County. HSNEI’s SNAP is funded by grants and donations. With limited funding, not all applicants may not receive spay or neuter services but people are encouraged to apply. Currently, HSNEI has a donor challenge ($1000) to assist HSNEI with their funding for their spaying and neutering program as well.

There are over 10 million cats and dogs that enter overcrowded shelters every year; 90 percent of those animals are not fixed. Spay and neuter is the number one way to end pet homelessness before it begins.