Some people don’t want to spay or neuter their animal because they have heard about some bad “side effects” of the surgery, or because they have picked up some mistaken ideas along the way. There are a number of myths about spaying and neutering. Here are a few of the most common, and the truth about each.
Altering makes an animal fat - Spaying or neutering at the youngest possible age—before the animal has reached sexual maturity—generally has no affect whatsoever on weight. Animals that undergo the surgery after reaching sexual maturity may show an increased appetite because altering affects hormone balance. However, the animals who are fat are usually fat because they are fed too much and/or do not get enough exercise.
Altering makes a dog and cat lazy - Neutering reduces a male animal’s desire to roam (often over long distances) to find female animals in heat, and altering can somewhat reduce the animal’s energy level. Altering does not make your dog or cat lazy. Altered animals are as playful and energetic as your unaltered pets.
Altering changes the animal’s personality - The only personality changes that result from spaying or neutering are the positive changes described above—no roaming, less tendency to mark territory, and less aggression. Aside from these changes, your animal will be no less like himself than humans are after undergoing vasectomy or oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries).
My pet has a right to experience sex - Sex, for an animal, is nothing more than the result of a powerful instinctive drive to reproduce. People who worry about this issue are usually over-identifying with their animal. This is an excuse often presented by men, who cringe at the very idea of castration—even though it is a painless surgical procedure being performed on their animal, not on them.
It's a good thing for our children to see the miracle of birth - Bringing more puppies and kittens into a world already overburdened with thousands of homeless animals is not the best way to show your children the birth process. You can show them videos or even let them witness live human births on the internet. You might also want to consider that if you allow your dog or cat to have puppies or kittens so that your children can observe the miracle of birth, you should also take your children to an animal shelter, so they can observe the sad results—the thousands of animals that are euthanized every day because no one will give them a home.