Why it's important to spay/neuter your pet/La importancia de esterilizar/castrar a tu mascota

(abajo en español)

Instead of simply listing reasons to spay and neuter your pets, I would like to respond to common arguments used by people who are, for one reason or another, against this.

1. Spaying and neutering is unnatural. I have no right to play God.
When we speak about wild animals that are a part of a natural ecosystem, then yes, spaying and neutering is, for the most part, unnatural and unnecessary. Our pets, on the other hand, live in a world that we created, so we are responsible for their well-being. Most veterinarians will tell you that spaying and neutering is part of this well-being and is actually beneficial for your pet's mental and physical health. In the case of homeless pets, this becomes almost mandatory, as population levels can get out of hand very quickly. Playing God? It's important to know the difference between interfering with nature and helping animals. In the urban context, we have to help, since not interfering leads to the suffering of millions of innocent dogs and cats due to overpopulation, including serious health concerns for both people and other animals living in regions with high stray populations.

2. My cat/dog never goes outside. There's no need to spay/neuter him/her.
Spaying and neutering makes your animal more calm. If you're ever seen a dog/cat in heat, you know that they can do some pretty crazy things in this state. By eliminating the need to reproduce, you're creating a more balanced animal. Do a quick search, and you'll see that spaying and neutering your pet is actually good for his physical and mental health. Also, keep in mind that your dog/cat does need much time to get pregnant (or to get another animal pregnant). By letting your non-neutered cat out even for a little bit, you might be contributing to the pet overpopulation problem more than you realize.

3. I want my pet to be able to reproduce.
In an ideal world, this would make sense, but our reality is pretty far from being ideal. Did you know that there are millions of animals killed in shelters in the US every year because of space and time limitations? This is the result of not spaying and neutering. While reproduction can be a beautiful thing, please keep in mind that even one litter (5 puppies) can be pretty challenging (in some cases impossible) to find homes for. You'd think that it would be easy to find homes for cute little puppies or kittens, but unfortunately this is not the case. Furthermore, what if none of the five puppies/kittens was neutered? Think of all the future litters!

4. My dog/cat is of a specific breed.
As far as I see it, all dogs and cats are beautiful. There is no difference between the love and affection you can get from a pure-breed animal and that of a mongrel. If, however, you are a fan of a particular breed, please consider the following: 1) Chances are, this breed is not going extinct. There are plenty of other breeders that will ensure that this remains true. 2) Your animal will actually be happier and healthier when you spay/neuter him or her. 3) There are millions of homeless pets that need homes. By focusing on reproducing one breed, you are making it harder for all of these homeless pets to find homes, which, in effect, is often a death sentence. Once again, we live in desperate times for many dogs and cats. If we truly love our pets, we will remember that there are millions of others just like them looking for homes, and we should do our best to ensure that their numbers don't grow. Instead of getting our animals to reproduce, let's do something selfless and help some of these other pets find good homes.

5. My dog/cat won't be the same if he/she is spayed or neutered.
Most veterinarians agree that a pet becomes healthier once he or she is spayed or neutered. As for changes in personality, these are generally for the better. What usually happens is that a pet basically remains the same, personality-wise, but simply loses some of the traits (such as aggression and wanting to roam outside the house) that can be harmful to both him/herself or others.


En vez de simplemente hacer una lista de razones para esterilizar o castrar a tu mascota, quisiera responder a algunos argumentos comunes contra la esterilización/castración.

1. La esterilización/castración es poco natural. No tengo derecho de jugar a ser Dios.
Cuando hablamos de los animales salvajes que forman parte de un ecosistema natural, es cierto que la esterilización/castración es poco natural y (con algunas excepciones) innecesaria. Nuestras mascotas, por otro lado, viven en un mundo que nosotros hemos creado, así que somos responsables por su bienestar. La mayoría de los veterinarios consideran la esterilización/castración de mascotas como parte integral de este bienestar, y lo ven como algo beneficial para la salud mental y física del animal. En el caso de los perros o gatos callejeros, esto se hace casi obligatorio, ya que el número de esos animales puede irse de las manos muy rápido. Jugar a ser Dios? Es importante de saber la diferencia entre interferir con la naturaleza y ayudar a los animales. En el contexto urbano, tenemos que ayudar, ya que no interferir lleva al sufrimiento de millones de perros y gatos debido a la sobrepoblación.

2. Mi gato/ perro nunca sale a la calle. No hace falta esterilizar/castrarlo.
La esterilización/castración calma a tu mascota. Si alguna vez has visto un gato/perro en cela, ya sabes que los animales suelen hacer cosas bastante raras en este estado. Eliminando la necesidad de reproducir, estás creando un animal mas balanceado. Haz una búsqueda en línea, y verás que esterilizando/castrando a tu mascota es bueno para su salud mental i física. También toma en cuenta que tu gato/perro no necesita mucho tiempo para embarazarse (o para embarazar a otro animal). Dejando salir a tu gato, aún por poco tiempo, arriesgas contribuir al problema de la sobrepoblación de mascotas más de lo que te das cuenta.

3. No quiero quitarle a mi mascota la oportunidad de parir.
En un mundo ideal, eso sí tendría sentido, pero aquel mundo está muy lejos de la realidad en que vivimos. Sabías que en los Estados Unidos, por ejemplo, cada año se mata a millones de animales en los albergues solo por falta de espacio y limitaciones de tiempo? Esto es el resultado de no esterilizar a nuestras mascotas. Aunque el parto suele ser algo maravilloso, toma en cuenta que es muy difícil (y a veces hasta imposible) de encontrar hogar para todos los cachorros/gatitos de una camada. Se pensaría que encontrar hogar para animalitos tan "chulos" sería fácil, pero desafortunadamente no lo es. Se complica la cosa aun mas cuando uno piensa de todas las camadas futuras de estos mismos perros/gatos, si también no se les esteriliza!

4. Mi gato/perro es de raza (pura).
Según yo, todos los perros y gatos son bellos. Fíjate que no hay diferencia entre el amor y el cariño que te da una mascota sin raza y lo de una mascota de raza. Sin embargo, si eres muy fan de alguna raza particular, toma esto en cuenta: 1) Lo más probable es que esta raza no se va a acabar. Hay muchos otros criadores que asegurarán que eso no pase. 2) Tu mascota será más feliz y más sana después de ser esterilizada. 3) Hay millones de animales que necesitan un hogar. En fijándote demasiado en una sola raza, lo haces más difícil para ellos de encontrar este hogar, lo que, en muchos casos, es igual a una condena de muerte. Te recuerdo otra vez que vivimos en tiempos desesperados para muchos perros y gatos. Si realmente amamos a nuestras mascotas, recodaremos que hay millones otros, iguales a ellas, buscando una casa, y deberíamos hacer lo posible para asegurar que su número no crezca. En vez de reproducir nuestras mascotas, hagamos algo desinteresado para ayudar algunos de aquellos animalitos a encontrar un buen hogar.

5. Mi perro/gato no será lo mismo después de la operación.
La mayoría de los veterinarios concuerdan que una mascota será más sana después de ser esterilizada. Cuanto a los cambios de personalidad, son generalmente para mejor. Lo que suele pasar es el animal no cambia de personalidad, solo pierda algunos rasgos (como la agresión o el deseo de salir al exterior) que pueden hacer daño a sí mismo o a otros.

VEGAN + VEGAN-FRIENDLY RESTAURANTS AROUND THE WORLD: CatBar (Barcelona, Spain)

Address: Boria 17 (Laietana, Metro Jaume 1)
Phone: (+34) 932956815
Website: http://catbar.es/

CatBar, located in the Old Town in Barcelona, is a handy option for vegans traveling to that city. The language of choice here is English, so even if you speak no Spanish or Catalan whatsoever, you'll be fine. Its cat-themed interior is very hip, and they've got a really good selection of regional microbrews. They have a fairly basic but decent selection of food. The burger that I ordered was alright, though not spectacular. I've had much better. It seemed like the type of veggie burger that you'd get way back when veggie burgers first appeared. The salad was quite tasty. The meal set me back about 10 Euro, reasonable for Barcelona, but a bit more expensive than you'd pay in other parts of Spain. Note of caution: as is the case with many restaurants in Spain, the kitchen only opens around 6 or 7 pm, so plan accordingly.

The importance of posting about animal rights

As someone who cares about animals, I am deeply affected by how unfairly we treat the animals with whom we share our world. Sometimes I come off a little strong, but this is only because I believe this to be a very serious issue, and with so many lives being lost to this unfairness, an empathetic individual can't help but want to get involved.

First, as a disclaimer, I realize that it is easy to go overboard and post story after story after story of animal cruelty. Posting something to show people how cruel people can be has been, for the most part, done to death (even by me), and I try to avoid doing it. Most people are aware of much of the cruelty that is out there, but not everyone is aware of the steps needed to be taken to help end the cruelty. This is why positive posts which encourage people to take the steps needed to change our relationship with the rest of the animal world for the better are much more effective.

I recently caught myself wondering about the opposite end of the spectrum, about vegetarians/vegans who post nothing at all about animal-related issues. I suppose many would say that their diet is their personal choice, and they don't want to be all preachy about it. It all depends on one's perspective. Of course not eating meat or other animal products is a personal choice, but it is a personal choice that is linked to diminishing levels of violence in the world, to lowering the number of innocent animals killed. This is a very important goal, ane even if you want to avoid being preachy, you can still post something, anything, that helps others get on a path that minimizes violence. I guess I just wanted to remind my fellow vegetarians and vegans that we are the voice of the animals of the world. We are the ones who should use our empathy, if we do indeed have it, to try to save lives. If we don't speak for the animals, who will? Some would argue that no matter what you say, you won't change someone's opinion unless that person is willing to change anyway. I would argue that by sharing helpful information, you are helping to create the possibility of that happening. Sitting by passively will change something in your world, but it will do little to change the system. While this might sound unrealistic at first, think of all the social change that has occurred in the world in the past century or so in the areas of women's rights, workers' rights, even animal rights. How much of this would have occurred if people just stood by passively, or only complained about how awful the world was without taking concrete steps to change it?