There are many reasons why neutering an animal can be beneficial to their longevity and health and it is a valuable tool in ensuring we don’t have an overabundance of animals in our shelters. One factor that should be taken into consideration when it comes to planning the timing of de-sexing is nutrition and its effects on your pet.
Metabolic requirements reduce after your pet has been neutered. We recommend reducing their intake shortly after they come home from their operation as this change in metabolic requirement happens within 48 hours of surgery. It’s been shown that not only is the change fast, it can be as much as 30% less than what they required prior to the surgery.
Studies have also shown that it’s harder for your animal to lose weight once they have been neutered so making sure they are getting the right nutrition before-hand will help to make sure your animal maintains ideal body condition afterwards. We know it can be hard to gauge the right amount of nutrition for your pet as they are growing which is one of the reasons we offer Best Start visits to new kitten and puppy owners. During the Best Start consult the nurse will discuss all things best-care related and that includes the very important question – ‘what and how much should I feed?’
None of this means however that we shouldn’t desex our animals. What it does mean is that we need to consider how we will feed our animals once they have been neutered. For some animals it can be as easy as reducing their current food and we find that many of our clients that are feeding a high quality formulated food find the reduction is enough. For some animals though, a change is in order and there are a number of diets that can be utilised to keep your animal in peak physical condition.
One diet ideal for neutered animals is Royal Canin Neutered, which has been specifically formulated to help you maintain your animals body condition at it’s optimum. There are many other well formulated diets out there, including some breed specific ones, which are great to feed after neutering. If you would like advice on which diet would suit your pet best pop into the clinic and talk to one of our lovely nurses or contact us here.
