Behavior Tips for Living with Intact Dogs and Cats

During times of crisis, veterinarians in some communities may stop offering elective surgical services, including spay/neuter. That means adoption agencies may be faced with fostering or adopting out intact animals, requiring that pets get spayed/neutered when regular veterinary services resume.

Share these downloads with caregivers of unaltered pets to help them prevent and address common problems that may arise from living with intact dogs and cats, including:

• Unwanted pregnancy
• Damaged property from urine marking
• Embarrassing behavior such as humping
• Health issues such as pyometra

A few quick tips to address problems that may arise from living with an intact pet include: 

• Separate intact male and female pets
• Set up and maintain litter boxes appropriately
• Keep cats indoors and keep dogs on leash or properly secured in the yard
• Use distraction tactics and training
• Identify precursors to humping, including persistent pawing, sniffing or licking