The rate of animal homelessness is off of the charts. Not getting your animals spayed or neutered just adds to the problem. Wether you adopt or buy your pet it should be mandatory to undergo this process. By having your pet sterilized, not only will you prevent the increasing of animal homelessness but also protect against health problems and behavioral issues associated with mating. According to humanesociety.org, the basic recommendations are, "Owned cats should be altered before 5 months old. Owned female dogs should be spayed before 5 months old.
Owned small breed male dogs should be neutered before 5 months old.
Owned large breed male dogs who are house pets should be neutered after growth stops between 12 to 15 months old due to orthopedic concerns.
Owned large breed male dogs who roam freely should be neutered before 5 months old due to the population concerns of unintended breeding.
Shelter animals should be altered prior to adoption, as early as 6 weeks old.
Community cats should be altered via TNR (trap-neuter-return) at any age after 6 weeks old." Please take your time and read this. Some major animal cruelty sites you can visit to donate to certain funds include: humanesociety.org; secure.aspca.com; peta.com; (etc). Thank you!!