The short answer is no, your dog does not have to be spayed or neutered. However, it is very strongly recommended for non-breeding dogs as they are at a higher risk of developing infections in their uterus or developing ovarian, mammary or testicular cancer. If you intend to use your dog for breeding purposes, it is advisable to have them fixed as soon as you're done breeding.

This depends on the situation. If the tomcat is young, neutering him early can help reduce his tendency to run away. However, if he is over a year old and has learned that running away helps him find females, this behavior is learned and we can't always correct it.

Generally, it's uncommon for their personality to change after the spay or neuter. They may take some time to recover, but they usually do not become aggressive or frightened after these procedures.

It is possible that your cat may gain weight after a spay or neuter, but this is not directly related to the procedure itself. We are removing organs that produce a lot of hormones and these hormones generally increase the cat's energy levels. When these organs are removed, the cat may have less energy. Therefore, it's crucial for you to monitor their activity levels and adjust their food quantity accordingly.

Absolutely! We want to ensure that our cats are comfortable after their procedures. Regardless of the procedure's duration, it is important that they remain content and pain-free. It has been observed that if you can control the pain at the time of surgery and within the next 24 to 48 hours, the chance of experiencing pain later significantly decreases.

Typical recovery times are usually about 10 to 14 days. The first few days after surgery are the most critical as the body begins to heal. It's very important to keep your cat calm during this time.

Indeed, we want to make sure that owners are completely informed of their cat's needs following a spay and neuter procedure. The discharge instructions commonly include potential complications, actions to take if these occur, and details about the pain medications, such as when to start. Additionally, any other relevant information regarding the surgery is shared.

It definitely can help make them less vocal. The reason your cat is vocal is because they are in heat or wanting to seek out a mate, and vocalizing helps them find that mate. By removing those organs and those hormones, she will no longer be coming into heat and vocalizing as much.

Neutering can help with spraying as long as the kitten is young enough. We recommend neutering around six months of age. However, if your cat has been spraying the house for the last couple of years, that then becomes a learned behavior and the spraying may not resolve after we neuter him.