Spay/Neuter Program & Clinics

The City has recently granted NOKA a sum of $29,000 per year, for three years, to subsidize spay/neuter clinics in Lethbridge. This is a bold and progressive step, as a reduction in the number of cats and dogs is necessary to reduce the homelessness and killing of adoptable pets. NOKA coordinates the subsidized spay/neuter clinic with local participating veterinarians. Please contact NOKA for more information about the community subsidized spay/neuter clinics for low income individuals and families.

The No Kill Animal Association of Lethbridge gratefully thanks the Government of Alberta, Culture and Community Spirit department for its generous contribution, through the Community Spirit Donation Grant Program, to the NOKA Spay/Neuter Program.

To contact NOKA about arranging a time for your pet's spay/neuter at a special clinic, please call NOKA's message line at 327-NOKA (327-6652).  At this time this subsidy is only available to low income individuals in Lethbridge.

If you live in CALGARY, check out the Meow Foundation's SNAP program.

Why Spay/Neuter?

Spaying and neutering are surgical procedures used to prevent pets from reproducing. In a female animal, spaying consists of removing the uterus and ovaries (ovario-hysterectomy). For a male animal, neutering involves the removal of the testicles, and this is known as castration. Sometimes the term 'alteration' is used, or animals are referred to as 'fixed.'

There are many benefits of spaying/neutering your pet. First of all, you should know that having your pet spayed or neutered will not make it fat and lazy. In fact, it may help your pet live a longer life. Pets becoming overweight and experiencing decreased energy levels are often over-fed and under-exercised.

So, the benefits of having a spayed/neutered pet is: Your pet will be...

1. Healthier. Spaying reduces the risk of breast, ovarian and uterine cancer. Neutering a male cat or dog reduces the risk of testicular cancer.
2. More affectionate. Spayed/neutered cats and dogs are focused on their families, not on the instinct to create a family. Spaying and neutering at an early age can may also prevent aggression problems.
3. Less likely to misbehave: Unneutered cats and dogs will mark their territory by spraying urine, even when indoors. While in heat, unspayed female cats will yowl and may urinate outside of their litter box to attract a mate. During a heat cycle, unspayed female dogs will be unsettled and have a bloody discharge.
4. Less likely to roam. Unspayed/unneutered cats and dogs will stop at nothing to find a mate. They will take advantage of any opportunity to get outside. This desire to roam exposes them to an increased risk of injury and contracting disease. A male dog can easily scale a 6 foot fence to get to a female in heat!
5. Cost effective. It costs less to have your pet spayed or neutered than it does to care for an unwanted litter.  And the registration fee for spayed/neutered dogs costs less than the fee for unaltered dogs. In addition, it also costs to kill unwanted animals, so spaying or neutering your pet means fewer unwanted pets end up at the City shelter where they are euthanised if no one claims them.

Does Spay/Neuter Surgery Hurt?

As the surgery is done under a general anaesthetic it is painless. The operation for both males and for females is straightforward and low risk. Recovery is usually uneventful. The worst your pet might experience is some discomfort for a short time after the operation. However, the vast majority of pets return to almost normal energy levels the day after surgery.

When Should My Pet Be Spayed/Neutered?

The usual recommendation is at 6 months of age for both cats and dogs. This is before the pet reaches sexual/reproductive maturity, or before females have their first heat cycle. It is generally advised that pet owners arrange the surgery for when the pet is around 6 months of age.

Some individuals feel that their dog or cat should have a litter before being spayed. This is untrue and contributes to the number of pets exceeding the number of homes in Lethbridge. Remember:

• Dogs and cats don't experience parenthood the way we do. They don't long for the experience and don't look forward to their offspring growing up and going to college and having families of their own. Reproducing is like breathing to dogs and cats--it's just what they do when left to their own devices.
• A litter of five kittens or puppies means that five more good homes just be found. In a city like Lethbridge, in which hundreds of animals die each year because there are not enough homes, spaying and neutering not only makes sense--it saves lives.

Help Control Pet Overpopulation!

In Lethbridge hundreds of cats and dogs are killed annually because:

• They have been abandoned by their owner
• There are not enough homes

The number of unwanted pets keeps growing. Spaying/neutering your pet is the best way for you to help control pet overpopulation and decrease the killing of pets merely because they are in excess of available homes.

Did You Know?

• An unspayed female cat, her mate and all of their offspring, producing 2 litters per year, with 2.8 surviving kittens per litter can add up to 11,606,077 cats in 9 years. To see a graphic depiction of how quickly cats can multiply, click here (Spay USA) (PDF).
• An unspayed female dog, her mate and all of their puppies
  and their puppies’ puppies, if none are ever neutered or spayed, add up to 67,000 dogs in 6 years. To see a graphic depiction of how quickly dogs can multiply, click here (Spay USA) (PDF).
• Littermates can reproduce together, also. Just because your kittens are siblings doesn't mean there won't be any 'hanky panky'!