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Practicing veterinarians in small-animal or mixed-animal practice in New York state were surveyed about their beliefs and practices regarding the age at which dogs and cats should be neutered and their attitudes toward early neutering (at 4 months of age or younger). The majority of veterinarians routinely recommended neutering for all client animals (70.6%) and supported the routine neutering of shelter animals before adoption (90.3%). More veterinarians in this study reported at least one perceived benefit (91.3%) for early neutering than reported at least one perceived risk (84.4%). Veterinarians with experience neutering early were less likely to believe that the procedure was associated with one or more risks. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 2002;38:482-488.
Introduction
Many people in the animal-shelter community see routine pediatric neutering (i.e., gonadectomy of males and females) as an important step in reducing the number of dogs and cats relinquished to shelters, but the safety of the procedure is still debated among veterinarians. To date, studies have established safe anesthetic and surgical protocols1,2 and have shown that neutering at 7 weeks of age is associated with more rapid anesthetic recovery and fewer perioperative complications when compared to neutering at 7 months of age.3 In addition, studies have shown no adverse medical consequences for up to 3 years following gonadectomy surgery in cats.4 In dogs, prepubertal neutering is not associated with an increased incidence of behavioral problems or problems associated with any body system for up to 4 years following surgery, although it may be associated with an increased incidence of some infectious diseases.5
A recent survey of veterinary colleges6 found that 48% of North American veterinary colleges offer veterinary students instruction in neutering puppies and kittens aged 8 to 14 weeks. However, only a few previous studies have looked at whether veterinarians are neutering at this age in private practice, and these studies have been limited by a low response rates or reliance on volunteer responses.8-10
The objectives of this survey were to describe practicing veterinarians' beliefs and practices regarding the age at which dogs and cats should be neutered and their attitudes toward neutering at ages of <=4 months in both animal-shelter and private-practice settings. In addition, the study was designed to determine if these beliefs and practices...