Current state of spay/neuter programs in United States and effect on overall animal numbers

Surgically altering (spaying/ovariohysterectomy and neutering/orchidectomy) of companion dogs and cats is a culturally enforced phenomenon in the United States. This is unusual, almost unique to our culture and represents the largest experiment of long term health consequences of a surgical procedure ever performed. Over the past 5 decades, spaying and neutering pets has become a normal, expected part of responsible pet ownership. Veterinarians have achieved remarkable market penetration of this technique with an estimated 80% of cats and 69% of dogs altered. 1 Spay/neuter programs - defined as intentional, formalized efforts to have large numbers of dogs and cats altered – have historically been shelter-based and performed on institutionally owned animals, but there is a shift underway towards organizations providing these services to privately owned animals in under-resourced communities. These programs have unquestionably had an impact on dog populations, although evidence in cats is less compelling ...