By Dr. Ezra Ameis, DVM
Let me start by saying this—if you’re looking for an article about how turmeric will keep your pet living longer, you’re in the wrong place. With headlines touting anti-aging treatments for pets, it’s easy to believe pills are the path to a longer life. But the real champions of longevity have always been, and will always be, the basics: healthy diet, exercise, weight control, and daily movement. And here’s the surprise—spaying and neutering make pets live longer too.
Spaying & Neutering: A Longevity Boost
Large studies consistently show that altering pets contributes to longer lifespans. A University of Georgia analysis of over 70,000 dogs found that neutered males lived 13.8% longer and spayed females 26.3% longer than intact counterparts—adding roughly 1.5 years of life.
Banfield Pet Hospitals’ massive dataset, covering millions of pets, found even greater benefits: neutered male dogs lived 18% longer, spayed females 23% longer, while spayed female cats lived 39% longer and neutered male cats gained an astonishing 62% in lifespan.
Mechanistically, spaying and neutering reduce or eliminate the risk of reproductive diseases—like mammary tumors, testicular cancer, pyometra, and uterine cancers—all of which can cut lives short.
The Diseases We Prevent
Many owners don’t realize how common these conditions are in intact pets. Pyometra, a severe uterine infection, affects up to 15–24% of intact females by age 10. When it occurs, it almost always requires emergency surgery—often costing $3,000–$4,000, even at a reasonably priced clinic.
Mammary tumors affect an estimated 26.7% of intact females, and more than half of those diagnosed will die from the disease. Ovarian tumors occur less frequently, in about 0.5% of dogs, while testicular tumors make up 5–15% of all tumors in male dogs. They are especially common in older intact males—average age around 10 years—and cryptorchid (undescended) testes are up to 13 times more likely to develop tumors.
Spaying and neutering prevent or substantially reduce these problems, making them critical tools for preserving both health and longevity.
But It’s Not a Substitute—It’s a Support
Even with these benefits, reproductive procedures are only part of the picture. Weight control remains critical: overweight pets often live more than a year less than their leaner counterparts. Balanced nutrition, daily exercise, and mental enrichment keep animals physically and cognitively strong. And here’s another often-overlooked factor: pets that receive regular veterinary care live up to two years longer on average than those who don’t, thanks to earlier detection and treatment of disease. These lifestyle pillars are the true foundation of a long, healthy life. The best gift we can give our pets isn’t just more time—it’s better time.
Dr. Ezra Ameis is an emergency veterinarian and the owner of Paw Priority in West Hollywood, a clinic providing general practice, urgent care, and acupuncture. To suggest a topic or ask a pet-related question, email hello@pp.vet.