Spay a Stray Campaign
February is an international spay/neuter awareness month. As usual ABVC, your vet in Dubai organizes campaigns in order to educate pet owners about the advantages of spaying/neutering their pets and has organized a free TNR program called Spay-a-Stray, supporting the control of the stray cat population in Dubai.
Al Barsha Veterinary Clinic, for many years, has been actively at the forefront of the TNR (Trap, Neuter & Release) program in the UAE. The campaign for February 2023 will consist of two full days per week (every Tuesday and Wednesday) dedicated to spaying stray cats. The target per day will be to spay/neuter 15-20 cats, resulting in a minimum of 120 stray cats spayed this month.
Each day open for our Campaign starts with receiving our cats between 7-9 am. Our team tries as much as possible to separate them into male & female groups and estimate their weight and age group. When this is done, the cats will be one by one anesthetized. When sleeping, all cats receive a full check-up in which we check their eyes, ears, and teeth, if they have worms, or wounds. Of each cat, the left ear tip is “tipped” (clipped off) this is a universal sign that the cat has been spayed or neutered and as such is taken out of the reproduction and can therefore be left to roam the streets without the risk of getting pregnant.
HOW IS THE PROCEDURE PERFORMED?
In females, the surgeries performed are either “ovariectomy” for the removal of the ovaries only, or “ovariohysterectomy” for the removal of the ovaries and the uterus through a small opening in the abdominal wall. The sutures are placed intradermally to prevent the cat to remove them later when released. In males, the surgery performed is “orchidectomy” or the removal of the testicles by opening the scrotum. No stitches are put in, and the scrotum will heal by itself within a few days.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF SPAYING/NEUTERING?
Aside from reducing feline overpopulation and limiting the risk of unwanted litters, spaying/neutering offers many important health benefits, both for male and female cats!
Spayed/Neutered cats will take less part in fights, roaming in search of a partner, and as their urge to mate is no longer so obvious, these cats will be far less loud, all for their and our direct benefit. On top of that some further less thought of advantages which also are relevant in stray cats, are:
Sterilization of female cats can reduce the risk of major health issues like developing mammary, ovarian and uterine cancers. Breast cancer is extremely common in intact female cats.
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