One way to give your new female pet a good start is to spay her when you first bring her home. Spaying your pet is a good idea, both scientifically and behaviorally. Moreover, the benefits of spaying outweigh the risks as proven by all the researches. So, going for it is not a mistake.
You might have already judged by the title that there are two types of spaying, and it’s only natural to be curious about which one you should choose after deciding to spay your pet. This article will talk about laser spay vs. traditional spay and help you make the correct decision for your pet. So keep on reading to find if laser spaying is any better for your beloved pet and it is worth spending more money on the laser spaying.
What is spaying?
The term spaying refers to the ovariohysterectomy of a female animal. The ovaries and uterus are removed to sterilize a female pet in this process. Typically, pets can go home the same day of surgery and heal within a few days. Thus, you might need someone to take care of your pet for a few days.
After the procedure of spaying under general anesthesia, the female cat or dog is successfully prevented from producing future litters and avert potential health risks that intact female pets during their lifetime.
Let’s find out the Best Time to Spay a Dog
Some benefits of spaying female dogs and cats
By spaying female pets, you (the pet owner) can assist in saving your pet from a variety of major medical problems and perhaps limit the number of abandoned pets in the neighborhood as multiple pregnancies are prevented.
Spay your dogs
Other than pregnancy prevention, the other advantages of spaying your dog include:
- Heat or estrus prevention.
- When a female is in heat, she feels compelled to flee in an attempt to locate a mate. This is an undesirable and risky habit that is no longer present after spaying.
- Following the heat cycle, the hormone imbalances that induce false pregnancy are eliminated.
- Pyometra (an infection of the uterus) is prevented.
- Breast cancer prevention. Spayed dogs have less than a 0.5 percent probability of developing breast cancer if fixed before their first heat.
- Uterine and ovarian cancer is no longer a threat.
- Spayed dogs tend to live longer than intact female dogs.
- Spaying also reduces the chances of separation anxiety in dogs.
- Spaying calms down your pets.
Spay your cats
Spaying your cat has several health benefits for them, including:
- Uterine cancer prevention.
- Mammary tumors, which are sometimes dangerous and malignant, can be prevented.
- Spaying prevents the stress of repeated heat cycles.
- Controls uterine infections that can be fatal, such as pyometra.
In addition to the above benefits, your spayed cat will also get affectionate towards you as you are the owner and will stop marking territories using urine that solves the central problem of excessive wandering and howling.
The procedure of spaying
The procedure is the same for both the traditional spay and laser spay:
First, a two or 3-inch incision is made into the pet’s abdomen, just below the navel. This incision is made to remove ovaries, the uterus, and the reproductive system. Next, the veterinarian uses internal stitches, skin glue, skin staples, or stitches to close the incision. That’s how simple spaying is, and you shouldn’t worry as with modern technology, there is a low risk of complications.
Traditional vs. laser spay
Even though the final objective is the same, there are two ways to spay your pets that are discussed below so you can make the major decision to choose between the two options that is pocket-friendly too.
Laser spaying
Instead of a regular scalpel, your veterinarian uses a hot or cold laser while performing a laser spay because it offers more precision. However, laser spaying is not a risk-free procedure, just like traditional spaying with a scalpel.
According to veterinarians, the benefits of laser spaying include reduced pain in the immediate post-operative period and minor bleeding due to the cauterization of veins and arteries when the laser beam passes through the tissues. In addition, there is a low chance of infection with laser spaying.
The reason behind low chances of infection and swelling is that tissues at the incision site are superheated, so the microorganisms present at the time of surgery are destroyed.
Albeit using lasers instead of traditional scalpels may reduce pain, laser surgery can still be unpleasant, and bleeding (although unlikely) might still occur.
Traditional spaying
While some veterinarians prefer to do surgery with lasers, others prefer to use a scalpel when spaying pets. Traditional spaying has several advantages, including that it is widely available at most veterinary hospitals and is far less expensive than laser spaying.
Traditional spaying does not result in bleeding when performed by a trained veterinary surgeon. So, in short, the type of bleeding that can occur due to traditional spays cannot be avoided by using a laser instead of a scalpel.
Helping your pet recover quickly from surgery
No matter which procedure you go for, your pet will need some time to recover. Below are some ideas that will help you and your pet to get through this phase.
- Stay indoors, away from other animals, to give your pet a quiet area to recover.
- Limit your pet’s activities for at least two weeks after surgery or as long as your doctor advises.
- You should avoid allowing your pet to lick the incision site, as it’s possible that licking will create an infection. For this purpose, you can use a veterinarian ‘cone’ or a post-surgical t-shirt to hide the incision site.
- Also, avoid your pet’s contact with water for at least ten days.
Contact your vet if you see discharge, redness, or swelling at the incision site. Also, immediately call your vet if your pet is unable to eat or is vomiting, or has diarrhea following the surgery
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Conclusion
Because spaying your pet is an essential step for pet ownership, it’s crucial to know what kinds of spaying are offered and what each procedure includes. Make sure you’ve gone over everything we’ve spoken about so far so that you get comfortable with the notion of spaying your pet in the future and choose the correct option between traditional or laser spaying.
