Paws and Effect: Friends Don’t Let Friends Have Unwanted Litters

Orange County Animal Services is proud to join The Bark Report with a special column called “Paws and Effect.” This column will be dedicated to informative animal services and adoption topics such as the importance of spay and neuter programs, adopting and adapting during COVID-19, introducing new pets into your home, and tips for helping pets and people adjust during family gatherings and celebrations. Join us for this monthly column to help spread the word about helping pets in many ways!

Spaying and neutering not only helps to reduce pet overpopulation in communities, but this service also provides health and behavioral benefits for pets. Put simply, it saves lives in a variety of ways.

One issue faced by nearly all communities is pet overpopulation. Spaying or neutering your pets is good for the community as a whole and packs a powerful punch in reducing the number of animals on the streets. While pet overpopulation involves canines and felines, free-roaming cats are almost always a more notable part of the issue and warrant special consideration by community spay and neuter programs.

The overarching goal of these programs in Orange County is to reduce pet overpopulation numbers using a humane approach that involves partnerships and community involvement, and to reduce the numbers of free-roaming cats and unwanted litters entering shelters. Every year, most animal shelters experience something called “kitten season,” during which kittens and cats swell shelter populations throughout warmer months (often April through October). And, in the case of Orange County, they push the number of shelter animals from 100 or so in the winter to upwards of 300 in the warmer months. Our community has been very responsive to our spay and neuter programs, which helps all pets in our area and beyond. Orange County Animal Services now offers no-cost and low-cost spay and neuter services for cats and dogs, and we’ve even launched a Working Barn Cat Program as part of a broader effort to more humanely manage free-roaming cats in Orange County.

Other important considerations for spaying and neutering pets are various health benefits. Typically, the lifespan of spayed and neutered pets is considerably longer than unaltered pets. This increased longevity of altered pets is often due to reduced risk of certain types of cancers and reproductive infections. Spaying and neutering also decreases their urge to roam, which lessens their exposure to dangerous encounters with other animals, traffic, poisons, and cruel humans. Unwanted behaviors such as spraying or marking territory and excessive vocalization may also be curbed by this routine procedure.

Every year, millions of cats and dogs of all ages and breeds are euthanized or suffer as strays. By spaying or neutering your pets, you can help protect them against certain illnesses, help address unwanted behaviors, and save lives by reducing pet overpopulation. Help us on our mission to improve the lives of pets and people by spaying and neutering your pets! If you would like more information about our available no-cost and low-cost spay and neuter programs, please visit https://www.orangecountync.gov/360/Spay-Neuter or call 919-932-4965.

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Paws and Effect: Friends Don’t Let Friends Have Unwanted Litters

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