Spay & Neuter Awareness Month: How & When Is It Celebrated?

February is spay and neuter month. During this month, many pet organizations promote spaying and neutering your pets to avoid overpopulation. Furthermore, spaying and neutering can also save pets’ lives, and there are some health benefits attached.

With that said, how this month is celebrated varies. Sometimes, local clinics may provide discounts on the surgery. However, it is primarily a campaign involving advertising and informing. Some organizations may raise money to help homeless animals become spayed or neutered.

There are several ways you can celebrate this month. Let’s take a look at some options.

How to Celebrate Spay & Neuter Awareness Month

1. Spay or Neuter Your Pets

If your pets aren’t spayed or neutered already, you should see if there are deals on the surgery this month. Even if there aren’t any deals, we highly recommend doing it anyway. It’s an easy way to improve your pet’s health and help the local pet community.

2. Raise Money

There are many pets out there that need to be spayed and neutered. However, there may be no one to finance that surgery for one reason or another. Raising money can help these pets become spayed and neutered, too. You can start a fundraiser online or hold a more substantial fundraiser, like a bake sale or raffle.

3. Tell Others

Even if your pets are spayed and neutered, you probably know many people whose pets aren’t. Therefore, you can use this month as an opportunity to spread the word about the benefits of this surgery. Share information on social media and let others know about local deals.

4. Attend Fundraisers

There may be fundraisers going on near you. If there are, consider attending one. Even if you don’t have much money to donate, having another warm body to share the event on social media and encourage others to go can be helpful.

5. Volunteer

Shelter animals are often the result of not spaying or neutering their parents. You can use this month to volunteer at an animal shelter.

Reasons to Spay & Neuter Your Pet

In the spirit of February, here are some reasons to spay or neuter your pet.

1. Behavior Changes

Pets that are spayed or neutered have less fluctuation of their hormones. Therefore, they’re less likely to experience negative behavioral changes. Females won’t go in heat, and males will be less driven by females in heat. Most pets are calmer and experience fewer mating-driven urges (like marking or wandering). It’s a win-win for both you and your pet.

2. Improved Health

Spaying and neutering prevent some cancers in both cats and dogs. Furthermore, spayed and neutered animals may be less likely to run away, which reduces their likelihood of becoming injured or sick. Many hormonal-driven problems may be reduced, too.

3. Prevents Overpopulation

In many areas, there are too many pets. Many animals are euthanized each year just because there aren’t any homes for them. While there are many ways to reduce this statistic, spaying and neutering to reduce the number of homeless animals is one of them. Spaying and neutering are vital to curbing overpopulation.

Conclusion

February is the nationally recognized month to spay and neuter your pet. However, celebrations vary a lot from area to area. Many local businesses have discounts or may run fundraisers for shelter animals. There are several ways for you to celebrate, ranging from donating money to spreading awareness.

No matter how you celebrate, now is the perfect month to spay or neuter your pet if you haven’t already.

See Also: 

• National Heartworm Awareness Month – How and When Is It Celebrated?

• National Pet First Aid Awareness Month – How and When Is It Celebrated?

Featured Image Credit: Motortion Films, Shutterstock