Opinion: Spaying and Neutering

[cactuspancake]

(Note: not trying to start an argument or anything, just a friendly discussion sparked by my unfavorable feelings towards altering “unnecessarily.”)

As I’m going to vet school soon, I was just reading up medical things just to get a feel of what I’m going into, and started coming across all of this interesting stuff about spaying and neutering. I was wondering before about advantages and disadvantages, and apparently when you actually ask questions like  “how does castration actually cause the animals to become ‘calmer,'” the answers are a little bit more interesting that one would think, especially in females. A lot of the information I have is for dogs and cats but it’s likely a lot of these things are true for all animals.

• Animals are twice as likely to develop bone cancer after being altered, both M&F.
• Five times greater risk of heart cancer (hemangiosarcoma)
• Increase in urinary tract cancer
• 27-38% increase in adverse reactions to vaccines
• Increased liklihood of alopecia
• Higher incidence of an ACL injury (a debilitating ligament injury affecting the knee)
• Neutered males are significantly more likely to progress from one geriatric cognitive impairment condition (out of the four conditions – disorientation in the house or outdoors, changes in social interactions with human family members, loss of house training, and changes in the sleep-wake cycle) to two or more conditions.
• Possible urinary sphincter incontinence
• Increased likelihood of obeisity
• Spaying in female dogs removes the production of progesterone, which is a natural calming hormone and a Serotonin uplifter. Spaying may therefore escalate any observable aggressive behaviour, either to humans or other dogs.

Current research on sterilization:

Various studies of the effects neutering has overall on male and female dog aggression have been unable to arrive at a consensus. A possible reason for this according to one study is changes to other factors have more of an effect than neutering.^[29] One study reported results of aggression towards familiar and strange people and other dogs reduced between 10 and 60 percent of cases,^[30] while other studies reported increases in possessive aggression^[31] and aggression towards familiar and strange people,^[32] and yet another study reported no effect on territorial aggression, and only a reduction in dominance aggression that existed for at least 5 years.^[33] For females with existing aggression, many studies reported increases in aggressive behavior^{[34][35][36][37]} and some found increased separation anxiety behavior.^[32][38] A report from the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation reported significantly more behavioral problems in spayed and neutered beotches and dogs. The most commonly observed behavioral problem in spayed females was fearful behavior and the most common problem in males was aggression.^[39] Early age gonadectomy is associated with an increased incidence of noise phobias and undesirable sexual behaviors^[40]

• ^{The only benefits I’ve found are associated with pregnancy risks, and obviously, the reduction in uterine cancer in female rabbits.}

I believe that there is an alternative to causing hormonal discomfort, the guilt of taking your animals organs against their will, and unwanted litters; what about the vasectomy, or severing of fallopian tubes??

Like other forms of neutering, vasectomy and tubal ligation eliminate the ability to produce offspring. They differ from neutering in that they leave the animal’s levels and patterns of sex hormone unchanged. Both sexes will retain their normal reproductive behavior, and other than birth control, none of the advantages and disadvantages listed above apply. This method is favored by some people who seek minimal infringement on the natural state of companion animals to achieve the desired reduction of unwanted births of cats and dogs.

I’m still upset about Franz’s neuter because unwanted pregnancies were never an issue, but I did it mostly because of pressure and my desire for his litter behavior to improve. I feel like he’s not as happy as he was before, and he’s having more hormonal issues now than ever. I know that it’s due to a new female in the house, but I was really hoping for some sort of change for the better which I think can only come with time and training anyway. If I could do it all over again I think I would get him another form of birth control if he has a girlfriend, or just leave him intact.  I agree that rabbits are very hormone driven and sometimes that can be a bit crazy but that in itself is an oxymoron as hormones are what make us… us. They do everything from make us feel love to helping us sleep or be happy. I think it’s truly a bizarre practice that’s become normalized to alter animals purely for the benefit of humans. I think the reason they seem more “calm” is because we’re denying them their ability to feel their emotions the way they were born to feel them.

[Monkeybun]

We are not denying them emotions they were born with. We are relieving them of the constant drive to mate that they are born with. He isn’t less happy, he is less… sex-driven. Simple truth.

Monkey is way calmer than she was pre-spay, as funny as that may sound for her. But it is true.

Moose shows major affection for my husband, he still has his emotions intact just fine. Same with Smudge, she is as happy as a little bunny could possibly be.

And honestly, there is no other form of birth control. It is up to us humans, who breed these animals to be our pets, who cause the high numbers of these animals to be around, to control their population so they can actually enjoy their lives. It isn’t for our benefit, it is for theirs.

For cats; every cat I ever had growing up was spayed or neutered. All of them were wonderful house pets, all of them healthy, all of them calmer and more affectionate with us.

I think your Franz is just reacting to the new bunny int he house so soon after his neuter. You aren’t seeing hormonal reactions, you are seeign territorial reactions.

[FluffyBunny]

Personally, I believe that it’s absolutely necessary to spay non-breeding female rabbits, since the unspayed females have such a huge cancer risk. As for males, I think it’s much more of an optional thing. If they show any sexual frustration (constant mounting, becoming very destructive, etc.), I think that they should be neutered. Obviously, if there’s any chance that they’ll ever be around another rabbit, they should be neutered.

I do think, from personal experience and what I’ve read, that spaying/neutering makes rabbits’ lives richer if it means that they can have a fulfilling bunny-relationship with another rabbit. With unfixed rabbits, it’s almost impossible for them to have a lasting bond. If some rabbits were born to constantly be “hormonal” and frustrated, perhaps it’s a good thing to change how they experience emotions.

[peppypoo]

Honestly, this is something that I’ve wondered about too – in most pet-lover circles, it’s generally assumed now that the responsible course of action is to have your animal spayed or neutered. Arguments of the animal being “happier” or “having a rich life” are necessarily subjective by nature; it’s impossible to really tell either way. Is it just something we tell ourselves to justify the involuntary surgery so that our animals are “easier” to live with?

Though I don’t know much about animal physiology, estrogen and testosterone play substantial roles in human physiology.  As rabbits are commonly used model systems for human medicine, I don’t doubt that this holds true for rabbits as well, and sterilization will interfere with a whole slew of these processes besides only the desire to mate.  It’s very often repeated on here that females have an 80-85% chance of developing reproductive cancer before a certain age…I’d really like to see reference for that sometime. Not that I doubt the research; I just wonder on what qualifications these conclusions were made. 

Looking at the life histories of wild rabbits, I think it’s pretty clear that the animal’s “purpose” so to speak is to reproduce. They reach sexual maturity at an early age, and even with their legendary procreation rates don’t manage to overpopulate their native areas given the appropriate natural predators. Seeing this, both a high level of procreation and an early death seems to be in the books for most wild buns. Obviously, this requires a good deal of hormone-driven sex seeking behavior in their relatively short lives which I don’t feel is appropriate or even ideal for the highly artificial environments in which we try to raise them (what do you mean, no NIC condos in the wild?). I think if we wanted our animals to enjoy “natural” life to the maximum, domestication as companion animals was the first step to disaster. Rabbit physiology was selected for through generations of environmental pressure; in the absence of the natural environment, it’s difficult to say whether maintaining the natural physiology is the kind thing to do. 

As for rabbits kept in multiples, I really don’t see a way around spaying/neutering. Even if Franz were sterilized through a vasectomy, his hormone levels would still be intact and he would constantly attempt to mate with Jasmine. Although the neuter would mean no baby bunnies, Jasmine might take poorly to the unwanted mating attempts, leading to nasty bun fights. Attempts to introduce intact buns of the same gender would be equally disastrous.

Personally, I’ve seen no obvious change in any of my buns post-procedure. My Peppy girl was always a super affectionate bun, but in the months since her spay she still followed me around, begs for nose rubs, and showers me in bunny kisses just as much as she did before. Both she and Remi are just as dedicated to their crazy sprints and binky marathons as ever.  Of course, some behavior changes such as a depression in activity are inevitable with age, and it will never be possible to know exactly what the causes were short of some kind of cloned bunny blind controlled experiment. But that’s just being silly.  

Ultimately, given practical considerations and the lack of a good objective rabbit “mood meter”, I opt to believe that spaying and neutering is the responsible option for us. If nothing else, the behavioral changes after sterilization do indeed make buns more easy to live with, decreasing caregiver stress and thus increasing quality of life for altered buns.  Would a bun be “happier” being caged all the time for punishment due to hormonal behavior, or would they prefer free roaming under the eye of a caregiver that trusts their little furbaby? I think most of us know how mischievous buns can be, and that it takes a special person to understand and accommodate them; imagine how much this pool would shrink if we were all dealing with hormonal buns! 

Sorry that was kind of all over the place; it’s 5am here now! I was going to go to sleep but then I saw your post and it got me thinking, heh
 

[Beka27]

You don’t have to neuter males the way you (absolutely) have to spay females. If you are content with having a male as a single bun, and can deal with any of the associated “intact bunny” behaviors, that is certainly your right. The big issue comes with intact bunnies living indoors. The spraying and smell of males can be… intense.

If there are two or more of the same species in the house, you have to spay/neuter. At that point, it becomes less about the individual rabbit, more about the health and safety of the multiple rabbits involved, and most importantly, about preventing even more rabbits being brought into the world. Shelters are already too darn full.

While this might not be a popular opinion around these parts, and we all think the world of our buns and other pets, we have to remember that they are just that… pets. We make the choices (with assistance from our vet) that work best for them and best for us. It is true that sometimes trade-offs must be made. But we aim for the longest and healthiest life possible.

I am not a purist (“neutering is unnatural!”) by any means, and I’ve got to say that I would not have unaltered bunnies in my house. Meadow was a holy terror when unspayed. As much as I hate to say it, if I were facing those behaviors for 5+ years with absolutely no hope for reduction, I would have had a difficult time keeping her. Not for myself, but for my child’s safety. It is always better that people find ways to KEEP the bunnies they have chosen to take in, than at the first sign of difficult behavior, “get rid of” them. Spay/neuter gives people a chance to do something to help fix the issues that make keeping their bunny hard.

You always have the people who say they have a male with no issues: no territorial behavior, no destruction, no spraying, his bum smells like roses, etc… That is great for them. Chances are they got the bun as an adult AFTER the excessive teenage hormones had already run their course and the bun had calmed naturally. If they choose to not neuter, fine. As long as they recognize that the bun must always be a single, indoor bunny that is their prerogative. But for MOST, this is not the case.

[Sarita]

I’m certainly not a vet but I would say that most vets that I have known are very pro spay and neuter – not sure what they teach them in school about the ethics of this though.

Everyone has made great points concerning this.

I think Franz’s hormonal changes are due to age not the neuter. Most of the time, we get our young animals altered at a point where they are already becoming hormonal. I think too you are being subjective when you mention that his is not as happy…he may be happy and maybe you are unhappy at the behavior…it’s really hard to know what are rabbits are feeling – we can tell when they aren’t acting normal and possibly ill but even then, it’s just hard to know since we aren’t rabbits. And honestly, I’ve never seen rabbits be any particular way or act any particular way.

Doing rescue work has ingrained in me that I must alter my pets and I feel better about myself for doing this because I feel it’s the responsible thing and I’ve never had a vet who said it was the wrong thing to do for my rabbits.

Surely you will discuss all the risks and advantages in vet school and you may discuss the ethics of it as well in class and among the other students and I’m sure that is going to be an interesting conversation to have with vet students and teachers.

[LoveChaCha]

I found this interesting article just now: 

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/c…terine.htm

 

“It’s worth mentioning that the original studies were in lab or meat rabbits – not pets. But vets in both Britain and America, spaying rabbits routinely over the past few years, report that they are finding abnormal uteruses in a high proportion of slightly older pet rabbits, confirming that the findings of these 40-year-old studies are just as relevant in pet rabbits today.”

 It is not just uterine cancer, but ovarian, mammary gland cancer as well.

I read about rabbits before getting one and getting her spayed was top priority. Before Chacha was spayed, she was a complete ball of hormones. She did not have any false pregnancies (thank goodness), but she was spraying and she gave me hell when I tried to trim her nails.

There is always a risk to every choice or procedure, I am happy that I got my bunny spayed.

[Elrohwen]

I want to say a big fat ditto to peppypoo! Very well written. I do think there must be issues that develop from removing important hormones, but I also firmly believe that it is the best way for our pets to have a quality life in the environment we’ve created for them.

The only time I’ve been convinced otherwise is for giant dog breeds as neutering has been linked to bone issues. In the case of an extremely responsible and competent owner I think this is fine, but the vast vast majority of pet owners should stick with spay and neuter, IMO.

FWIW, I had Otto neutered at 5-6 months. Before that he showed no signs of being hormonal (except for circling me while honking once), didn’t smell, and had perfect litter habits. His boy bits had been descended from 8 weeks of age too. Despite that, I thought neutering was the best thing for him and his future. Without being neutered I don’t think he would’ve had a chance of bonding with another bunny and having the life he has.

[Molzy]

Cactuspancake –

I’m curious about these statistics….could it just be that owner’s who get their animal altered are also more likely to bring them in to the vet in the case of injury or illness, thus skewing the statistics? Or were these controlled lab experiments?

Man, I’ve been in grad school too long already, constantly questioning statistics and confounding variables!

Personally, for me, I think that spaying and neutering of dogs or cats is essential due to the overpopulation we have, unless you are constantly with your dog when outdoors and don’t let it interact with other dogs (and likewise don’t let your cat outdoors or have cats of multiple genders indoors). I know with my bunny, he really calmed down after neutering, meaning he gets more time out of the cage, which I think it worth it for him!

[cactuspancake]

I agree with everyone especially the point of the overpopulation problem and always getting female rabbits spayed. BUT if you have a male rabbit (or any animal) like Franz that doesn’t show ANY undesirable behavior that’s hormone related, has never sprayed, never mounted, reacts positively towards strange animals, isn’t cage or food possessive, and you AREN’T worried about unwanted litters, then what is the reason? Franz has always been a great companion besides peeing on the couch and leaving turds everywhere lol but that’s where I’m coming from. The statistics all have about 50 sources from science journals and I read some of the studies of which a lot are controlled lab studies. They are listed in wikipedia “neutering.” I think that the push for spaying and neutering to the public has such a clear message that maybe we aren’t seeing if we necessarily need neutering all the time? The message I hear is “ALWAYS SPAY AND NEUTER…. NECESSARY…DON’T WANT UNWANTED BABIES!!!” But I see a lot of people with “only pets,” too. My dog was 19 yrs old and she was an only dog, but I guess breeders often speuter to prevent people from stealing their genes. Franz was so expensive because he was a breeding rabbit… He was $130. The rabbit next to him sprayed constantly and I would’ve had him fixed if I got that one, he was ridiculous! Thanks for the good conversation I will actually ask my vet about vasectomies and just see what she says; we email eachother all the time.

[Monkeybun]

Even single pets can get out, despite best intentions. It’s always better to be safer than sorry. And it isn’t good to bond animals that haven’t been neutered, just snipped. They still want to make babies all the time, they can’t resist that urge. It isn’t fair to them.

And Franz is reacting to your new bunny, imagine how it would be if he just wanted to make babies with her all the time.

[Deleted User]

You have to weigh the pros and cons against one another, just as you would for yourself when deciding on birth control.

[Sarita]

I’m not certain how accurate Wikipedia is…I think anyone can update this site…you are better to talk to your vet and other vets to get more accurate information.

[LoveChaCha]

Wikipedia, from what college professors have said (according to my boyfriend) have really inaccurate information.

[Dee]

I have found that animals in general tend to be friendlier and less aggressive when spayed, although there are always exceptions. I have observed this in cats, dogs and horses- my experience with rabbits is limited to seeing BunBun before/after neutering (he was much easier to live with after his neuter). I must say that I saw the most dramatic differences in horses and my rabbit after neutering. They go from being aggressive and highstrung and absolutely obsessed with mating to being calmer, easier to handle and able to enjoy the company of other animals of their kind without the constant need to either attack or impregnate them.

I think that spaying females is a must- I couldn’t imagine looking at Nelli (my 3 year old girl bunny) and knowing that because I didn’t have her fixed, she had over a 50% chance of getting cancer of the reproductive organs. It would terrify me- I would prefer to go through the one-time expense and stress of the operation than that dreadful possibility looming overhead. I had it easy when it comes to Nelli- I adopted her from the House Rabbit Society and she was already fixed when I adopted her at 5 months old.

We had to get BunBun neutered due to his obnoxious “manly” behavior. I’m glad that we got it done before I got quite as attached to him as I am now because I would be a wreck about it now! It went smoothly and after a couple weeks, BunBun was much calmer and stopped . But the main reason that I’m glad we neutured him is that he could never have bonded with Nelli otherwise, When they first met, Bun had only been fixed for 2 weeks, so he humped Nell a litle bit, but that soon subsided. They have such a sweet relationship and it could never have happened if they were obsessed with making baby buns. For us, neutering/spaying the bunnies has worked out just fine .

[peppypoo]

Wikipedia, from what college professors have said (according to my boyfriend) have really inaccurate information.

How funny, I’ve had at least two college professors that swear by it . Maybe it’s a science prof thing…my biochemistry and molecular genetics professors recommended us to look up stuff on wikipedia all the time.  Though the wikipedia text iself may be inaccurate, their sources (like cactuspancake is refering to) are are fine and the reference sections are often great places to find information on your topic of interest.

When we got Tammo, we weren’t really aware of what information was out there for rabbit owners, and only got him neutered at the age of 2yrs because of popular recommendations.  To be honest, he had absolutely no behavioral problems either, nor did he develop any post-surgery.  Like cactuspancake, I’ve always thought the neuter in that situation was a little unnecessary.  I think the SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS message is so strong because one coherent message is always easier to get across to the general public, and well, if you can only have one blanket message to get across, telling people to spay and neuter I daresay is better than telling people not too.

[cactuspancake]

It’s extremely difficult to post inaccurate information on wikipedia. You can even do an experiment to see. It’s highly moderated. At Harvard everyone uses it including professors, and I dare anyone to find a piece of false information. Some things are a little fishy, but they’re very obvious because they’re not sited, and not by people who claim to be PHDs. Gotta check your sources! I saw a spot on the news a long time ago when Wikipedia was new and they attempted to edit posts and replace them with inaccurate info and they were unable to do it due to moderation. I trust my grades with it and it hasn’t steered me wrong yet!

[Sarita]

Very interesting about Wikipedia…I’ve always wondered so that’s good to know.

[bunnnnnnie!]

I always feel like I have to post in these threads, as I seem to be one of the only handful of members here who chooses to have an intact bun.  

Zeus is an intact male bun, and for the immediate future, I do not have plans of neutering.  He’s a single bun, and always will be.  I’ve committed now to letting him be “king of the roost”, and not getting any other pets.  He was here first, so his needs and happiness is my priority. .  He has none of the negative behaviors of an intact bun, and I love my life with him.  So, for this specific bunny and this specific situation, I feel that neutering is not a neccessity.  But honestly, I’d say we’re more the exception to the rule, versus the norm.

 If I knew someone was getting into bunnies for the first time, I would suggest altering them.  Might sound hypocritical, but like I said, I do think this is a specific situation/environment where having him intact just works.  The combination of me living by myself with no other people or pets, owning a specifically laidback bun who by nature isn’t aggressive or destructive, etc, has meant that we get by just fine without neutering.  But it’s most DEFINITELY not something I would suggest to everyone, not by a longshot.

[LBJ10]

There are actually a lot of people out there that don’t see the point in having a rabbit “fixed”. When I was a kid, my mom let me get a rabbit. It was a girl and she had some serious bunnitude. Anyway, having a rabbit spayed back then was practically unheard of. To most people, that would be like having your hamster spayed. I am doubtful that there was even a vet in town willing to spay/neuter a rabbit anyway. Of course my parents were pretty reluctant to take small animals like that to the vet, so I suppose I will never know. Anyway, my point is that a lot of people do not think of rabbits like they would a dog or a cat. My co-worker, the one that loves my rabbits, looked at me like there was something seriously wrong with me when I told her that both of our rabbits have been neutered. I swear, she thought I was from Mars or something. She asked me why and said she didn’t see any reason for it since they are both boys. I didn’t want to go into a long explanation, so I just said they were both naughty and needed to be calmed down!

[Elrohwen]

LBJ, I also get the crazy looks when I say the buns are speutered. When I tell people I have two, a girl and a boy, the first thing they say is “Wow, they must have a lot of babies!” I tell them the buns are neutered and they look at me like “You can do that?”

I live in the NE where neutering dogs and cats is extremely common (we actually don’t have enough dogs to fill up shelters here and they get dogs from down south), but people still haven’t heard of neutering rabbits. I know I didn’t until I started researching them.

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