Survey of recommendations given by Australian veterinarians on the age of desexing of dogs and cats

摘要

BACKGROUND Currently in Australia there are no standardised recommendations regarding the age at which dogs and cats should be desexed and there is a lack of clear evidence to support desexing at any particular age. The purpose of this study was to determine Australian veterinarians' opinions and practices in relation to dog and cat desexing.METHODS A cross-sectional survey was emailed to all members of the Australian Veterinary Association in March 2013. Chi-squared test analysis was used to examine the association between demographic variables of respondents and the recommended (< 16 weeks, 20 weeks or > 6 months) and minimum desexing age (<10 weeks, 12-16 weeks or > 20 weeks).RESULTS Respondents most commonly recommended desexing dogs and cats at the age of 6 months (24 weeks) before they have a season or a litter. The mean recommended age for desexing dogs was 21.9 weeks and for cats it was 20.8 weeks. The most common minimum age that veterinarians would desex dogs and cats if requested was 12 weeks. The mean minimum age for desexing dogs was 14.2 weeks and for cats was 13.5 weeks. A large proportion of respondents reported that they would perform early age (< 16 weeks) desexing if requested. A smaller proportion reported that they would perform very early age (< 10 weeks) desexing if requested. Anaesthetic risk was a major concern that inhibited respondents from desexing earlier. Respondents reported they would be more inclined to recommend earlier desexing with greater support from the scientific literature.CONCLUSION Respondent age, university of graduation, year of graduation, sex and current employment played significant roles in veterinarians' recommended and minimum ages for desexing.