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Health & Fitness

Don't Foget Pets During Breast Cancer Awareness Month

You can nearly eliminate the chances of your cat or dog developing mammary tumors by one easy method—spay prior to the first heat cycle.

Go pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Above is Mr. Sunshine, but he'll gladly speak for his mom and sister and any other girl cats and dogs who should be spayed early to avoid most risk of breast cancer.

You can nearly eliminate the chances of your cat or dog developing mammary tumors by one easy method—spay prior to the first heat cycle. For dogs that's even more important: while breast cancer in cats is more common than in humans, it is far less common than it is in dogs—one in four unspayed dogs will develop breast cancer after the age of four, but cats have the highest malignancy rate and the lowest survival rate of all three.

I hear this more often where cats are concerned: the myth that “it’s good to let a cat have a litter of kittens” has no basis in fact, and can be a death sentence since spaying your cat before it even goes into heat the first time is the best way to avoid breast cancer, not to mention reducing the risks of injury and disease a cat faces while out carousing. It works the same for dogs, and you're not only helping your pet life a good long life, but you are also reducing populations of homeless animals in shelters.

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Feline breast cancer is the third most common cancer among cats after lymphoma and skin cancer. In a 2005 study done at the University of Pennsylvania, “cats spayed prior to 6 months had a 91% reduction…those spayed prior to one year had an 86% reduction in the risk of mammary carcinoma development compared with intact cats." Spaying between 1 and 2 years of age only reduces the risk by 11%, and after two years it doesn't reduce the risk at all. Actually giving birth to kittens doesn't change the risk factors, either. The average age of diagnosis is 12 years.

The figures differ slightly for dogs depending on age and breed, but the best thing you can do is still to spay them prior to their first heat.

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But what about rescued pets who weren't in your hands when they were young? Those of us who have rescued or adopted pets who have borne even one litter would be wise to keep an eye open for symptoms.

Poor Mimi doesn't even get a break to eat.

Mimi arrived in my home on July 30, 2007, with four black fuzzballs who were three days into this existence. To my knowledge, she was about four years old and had had several litters of kittens, though this litter would be her last.

I frequently give Mimi's belly a little extra rub top to bottom, not because she likes it, but because I like her. I did with Kelly too, and she seemed to understand I wasn't invading her privacy.

The monthly breast exam for your kitty

That monthly mini-exam is a good practice for any animal guardian to undertake, just running your hands over your cat's body feeling for lumps or bumps or cuts or any abnormality that has simply shown up. Check for tender spots, look closely for any change in movement, study your pet's eyes and even smell its breath. Of course, you may end up with your nose surgically removed since many cats don't care for being handled in this way, especially in vulnerable areas like the belly, but do your best without too much bloodshed. For more information about a monthly mini-exam for your pet, read Help Your Pets to Stay Well which includes information on what to look for and a downloadable checklist for the exam.

Especially for the girls, check for any changes in those eight mammary glands, which are usually completely symmetrical and slightly reducing in size from chest to hips. Look for changes in the nipples or any discharge, uneven lumps or swelling and tender spots. At least we humans only have two mammary glands to worry about.

The spay scar

When I started this exam routine years ago, I found a small lump on my Sally’s belly and made a special appointment with the veterinarian to get what I was sure was a horrifying diagnosis. I wrung my cold and trembling hands as my veterinarian felt the area of Sally’s belly I’d indicated, only to learn that it was scar tissue on her spay scar. So, get to know your pet's spay scar, which is usually tiny and often invisible but may contain a little hardened scar tissue, and it may also be a site of cancerous growth, so check for changes.

For more information on the disease and treatment, reference these two articles as well as the linked pages above: Association between ovarihysterectomy and feline mammary carcinoma, http://www.biomedexperts.com/Abstract.bme/16095174/Association_between_ovarihysterectomy_and_feline_mammary_carcinoma, and Mammary Cancer in Cats, http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2445&S=2

When to spay, and early spay and neuter

It used to be that six months, the approximate age a cat or dog reached sexual maturity, was the best time to spay or neuter. There were two problems with this. First, cats often went into heat before this age to the surprise of their owners who thought Fluffy’s biological alarm clock wasn’t set for four months and a cat in heat is legendary for getting out of the house. Second, people wanted to adopt young kittens or puppies and were sent home with an assurance of a free or low-cost spay for them included in the cost of adoption. Somehow, they wouldn’t get back in time, sometimes never.

Many shelters now spay and neuter cats when they reach two pounds, about eight to ten weeks, what I call the "two pounds or two months rule", and they are not available for adoption until then. They recover quickly and are still cute kittens and puppies, frisky and full of fun, and no one needs to worry about their biological clocks.

Low cost spay programs at shelters

If you’ve taken in a stray or adopted a pet who is not spayed or neutered, there’s no question that spaying or neutering is expensive. Unfortunately, many pets are not spayed or neutered because of the cost and veterinarians in solo or small practices can't afford to reduce their costs—surgery is serious business and it really costs them because their staff is small and volume is low compared to shelters who often have volunteers and sometimes funding for low-cost spay/neuter clinics.

Here are a few options to help keep it affordable. Most programs have an application process with an income level that determines the final price of your cat’s surgery. In many cases the surgery alone can be done for under $50.00, sometimes as little as $25.00. These are current at the time I'm writing the article, but shelters and rescues offer new low-cost spay/neuter opportunities all the time—it's one of the most effective ways to reduce shelter overcrowding and homeless pet populations. Call or check their websites and see what recent opportunities they offer.

You can contact Carol Whaley of the Low Cost Spay/Neuter Program (LCSN) at Animal Friends at 1.800.SPAY.PGH or cwhaley@ThinkingOutsideTheCage.org or on their website at www.thingkingoutsidethecage.org.

The Western Pennsylvania Humane Society has a three-level program that includes spay/neuter as well as vaccinations and microchipping, detailed at http://www.wpahumane.org/spayneuter.html. For more information call: North Shore Shelter, 412-321-4625, e-mail clinic123@wpahumane.org; Elizabeth Shelter, 412-751-2010.

The Animal Rescue League offers Spay Day dates set by the veterinarian twice a month. Cost is $45.00 & includes spay/neuter, FVRCP & a rabies vaccination. All surgeries are by appointment only, and they fill up fast so don’t wait. The information can be found on their website at http://www.animalrescue.org/veterinary-clinic-spay-and-neuter Please call 412-661-6452 x 211 to make an appointment!

The Homeless Cat Management Team offers spay/neuter services for stray, feral and rescue cats at their clinic at 207 Allegheny St, Tarentum, PA 15084. Homeless Cat offers both no-charge and Fast Track clinics where stray and feral cats receive surgery and a mandatory ear-tipping, the universally-recognized sign of a cat who has been "trapped-neutered-released". The no-charge clinic is just that—neuter, vaccinations and care at no charge for feral cats. They also offer a Fast Track clinic which offers the same service for $45 if the cat in question can't wait, and rescue cats can receive surgery for $60 for females, $35 for males. Visit their website for more information on stray, feral and rescue cats, and how to register for one of the clinics.

City of Pittsburgh Spay and Neuter Program

At the end of February 2012 Pittsburgh's City Council approved a program sponsored by Council President Darlene Harris that will provide a voucher for up to five pets per household to City of Pittsburgh residents. The bill allocates $170,000 toward the program, yet the city spends much more than that in combined animal control costs. Council decided that spaying and neutering pets of city residents will result in reduced costs immediately and into the future. Read more about it and if you are a City of Pittsburgh resident you can also download a form here: City of Pittsburgh's free spay and neuter program.

Low cost spay and neuter clinics

Outside of the shelters, the Spay Neuter Clinic at the corner of Frankstown and Rodi Roads always offers low-cost spay and neuter as well as other basic services. Call 412-244-1202 for information and an appointment, or visit their website at http://www.spayaz.com/pittsburgh-pa/. The practice is actually one of several which originated in Arizona specifically for the purpose of low-cost spay/neuter, but you’ll find the Pittsburgh office with a phone number, and, most importantly, you can download their price list.

And outside of the Pittsburgh area, you can do a search on Low Cost Neuter and Spay at http://neuterspay.org/ (search by city, not zip code, it’s more successful), Love That Cat at http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html, or Spay USA at http://www.spayusa.org/.

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