FEEDBACK ON pet overpopulation

In MOTHER NO. 23, Mike Kiernan discussed the problems created by this country's expanding pet population. I'd like to add a word on a couple of alternative methods of animal birth control that Mike didn't mention. One is available now—I have it done all the time—and the other is a very promising possibility for the near future.

Spaying and neutering (the techniques of surgical sterilization to which Mike refers) are objectionable to many people, myself included, because they involve desexing the animal by removing the ovaries or testicles. This is not necessary to achieve sterility. A male pet can have a vasectomy, and a female a Fallopian tubal ligation—just as humans can—without any impairment of its sex life. Alternatively, the female's uterus (womb) can be removed without disturbing the ovaries (which are also taken in spaying). I prefer this "plain" hysterectomy for my animals over the tying of the tubes because the former method eliminates the possibility of uterine infection—a common problem later on.

Since her operation, one of my female Siamese cats has a normal heat period every two or three months ... the others less often. The animals tend to gain weight (I assume because their appetite level is designed to build them up for frequent pregnancies) but they show no change in personality or behavior. When there are young kittens in the house, one of the sterilized females produces milk and helps to mother them ... so she's not deprived of even that joy.