Yuba Sutter SPCA Homepage

Through direct action, Yuba Sutter SPCA promotes the humane treatment of animals, educates our community on responsible pet care, reduces pet overpopulation through an aggressive spay/neuter program and celebrates the human/animal bond.

Cats
In 7 years... one female cat and her offspring can produce

420,000

surplus animals

Dogs
In 6 years, one female dog and her offspring can produce

67,000

surplus animals

Spay / Neuter Myths:

Myth: Preventing animals from having litters is unnatural.
Truth: We've already interfered with nature by domesticating dogs and cats. In doing so we helped create their overpopulation. We must now take responsibility for solving it.

Myth: It's better to allow a female to have one litter before spaying.
Truth: The best time to spay a female is before her first heat. Early spaying greatly reduces the incidence of mammary cancer. Mammary cancer is very common in older intact females and is the most common cancer to spread to the lungs. Early neuter reduces the incidence of diseases of the prostrate, testicles, and other tissues influenced by male hormones. Testicular and perianal gland cancers are the second and third most frequently diagnosed tumors in older intact male dogs.

Myth: Behavior is adversely affected by surgery.
Truth: The only change in behavior is positive. Male cats tend to reduce territorial spraying, depending on their age at neutering. Neutered dogs and cats fight less, resulting in fewer battle scars, contagious diseases and abscesses. They also wander less because they aren't as interested in pursuing females in heat.

Myth: Animals become fat and lazy after spaying or neutering.
Truth: In most cases, animals become fat and "lazy" only if their guardian overfeeds and under-exercises them.

Myth: We don't need to neuter males because they don't have litters
Truth: It takes two to tango. In fact, one unaltered male can be responsible for impregnating dozens of females.

Myth: I don't need to spay my dog because she is always kept in the backyard.
Truth: Males will jump fences they wouldn't normally jump, just to get to a female in heat.

Mind Boggling facts
Average number of litters a fertile cat can produce: Average number of animals in an average feline litter: Average number of litters a fertile dog can produce: Average number of animals in an average canine litter:	3 PER YEAR 4 TO 6 KITTENS 2 PER YEAR 6 TO 10 PUPPIES

Please don't allow your pet to reproduce. The Yuba Sutter SPCA runs a low cost clinic so it doesn't have to be a major expense. In fact, by the time your pet has one litter and you've purchased puppy/kitten food and given the tots their shots, and had them wormed, you've already spent more than it would cost to have prevented their births. And you can't put a dollar figure on lives destroyed because there wasn't a home for them.

Spay & Neuter Facts