September 2016 by Margaret R. Slater, DVM, PhD

Audience: Executive Leadership, Veterinary Team

Video Length: 42 minutes

Within the last few years there has been increasing controversy regarding the long-standing recommendation that nearly all pet cats and dogs should be spayed or neutered, with new debate around when and even if such surgery should be performed. This session presents a critical assessment of the currently available literature regarding spay/neuter in dogs and cats considering both individual animal and population level aspects. It provides an overview of the evidence regarding both the risk and benefits of sterilization surgery and their implications for recommendations regarding the procedure. This presentation was recorded at the 2016 ASPCA Cornell Maddie's® Shelter Medicine conference at Cornell University.

About Dr. Margaret Slater

Dr. Slater obtained her DVM from Cornell University in 1986 and spent a year in small animal practice. She returned to Cornell to complete a PhD in epidemiology in 1990. Dr. Slater was on the faculty of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University from 1990 until 2008 when she joined the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Dr. Slater is internationally recognized for her work on the sources, problems and potential solutions for free-roaming cats and dogs. She is on the International Advisory Council Science Advisory Board of the Alliance for Contraception in Cat and Dogs and has more than 115 peer-reviewed publications and two books.