Why Spay and Neuter?

What it is:

At IWCT, we host weekly spay and neuter clinics. Spay and neuter, or castration, is the sterilisation of an animal. In males, this is the removal of the testicles. In females, the ovaries and uterus are removed. 

What it does:

The main reason for spaying or neutering an animal is preventing it from reproducing. An adult male dog or cat has no limit on how often it can mate. This means it could impregnate a female every day of the month. If you average a litter size of 5 per pregnancy, that’s another 150 dogs and cats born as a result of that month’s mating. The resulting puppies and kittens would mainly end up on the street as strays. 

Why it’s important:

Since the slaughter of dogs for human consumption was made illegal, there has been a surge of stray dogs in the Philippines. As you can imagine, the vast majority of these have not been spayed or neutered. Furthermore, whilst more families are understanding the benefits of dog ownership, many are unaware of the importance of spaying or neutering. Therefore the population is rapidly increasing. 

Other benefits:

Not only does spay and neuter help with population control, it has several other benefits:

• Prevention of pyometra in female dogs
• Prevention of testicular, ovarian, prostate and uterine cancer. Female dogs and cats also won’t be subjected to uterine infections and male dogs are less likely to get pancreatic cancer. 
• Neutering stops the production of testosterone. This means male dogs and cats are less likely to be aggressive towards others. It also means they are unlikely to wander away from home to look for mates. 
• Female cats and dogs won’t go into heat. When this happens, they can bleed and urinate more frequently. Having your animal spayed will make it easier to manage at home.

Unwanted litters of puppies and kittens puts strain on animal shelters. These are few and far between in the Philippines making the situation even harder. Some breeds and cross breeds are harder to re-home. They could end up staying at the shelter or even be euthanased. Alternatively, puppies or kittens sold cheaply to inexperienced homes could lead to animal suffering, or them ending up on the street. 

The procedure:

The spay or neutering process is relatively quick and easy, with minimal distress to the animal.

During any of our clinics, whether in the Treatment Centre or out in the provinces, dogs and cats are required to starve overnight before the operation.

The animal is given a general anaesthetic for the operation. It takes around 30 minutes to complete. 

Pets should be able to return home a couple hours afterwards, where they can continue their recovery. Dissolvable stitches are used, so there’s no need for a dog or cat to return, unless the animal becomes unwell or the site looks infected. 

The cost:

Whilst spay and neutering can cost from as little as £22 (depending on the clinic and size of the animal), this is considered a great veterinary expense to most Filipinos. IWCT offers the service for free to those who can’t afford it. In doing so, we are preventing unwanted pregnancies and reducing the population of dogs and cats in the area. We are also ensuring none go on to have other health problems associated with reproductive organs and hormones. 

There is always a high demand for our free spay and neuter clinics. Sometimes we can operate on 40 animals a day thanks to our brilliant team of vets and volunteers. 

The more pet owners we come across during these clinics, the more we are able to educate on sensible pet ownership. Long term, owners will have greater knowledge, which they can pass onto others. This will lead to less suffering of animals in the Philippines. 

A donation of just £22 would cover the cost of one of these operations. This procedure is the single most important thing we do to serve the dogs and cats in the Philippines. Your donation will help keep the population under control.