Neutering of cats and dogs in Ireland; pet owner self-reported perceptions of enabling and disabling factors in the decision to neuter

Centre for Applied Health Economics, Griffith Health Institute, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis, School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Greencross Vets, Greencross Vets, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Consultant Social Science Research Professional, Glendalough, Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, Ireland
DOI
10.7287/peerj.preprints.731v1
Subject Areas
Animal Behavior, Science and Medical Education
Keywords
behaviour, Cat, neutering, pet ownership, attitude, dog, qualitative methods, population control, focus groups.
Copyright
© 2014 Downes et al.
Licence
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ PrePrints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
Cite this article
Downes MJ, Downes MT, Devitt C, More SJ. 2014. Neutering of cats and dogs in Ireland; pet owner self-reported perceptions of enabling and disabling factors in the decision to neuter. PeerJ PrePrints 2:e731v1

Abstract

Background: Failure among pet owners to neuter their pets results in increased straying and overpopulation problems. Variations in neutering levels can be explained by cultural differences, differences in economic status in rural and urban locations, and owner perceptions about their pet. There are also differences between male and female pet owners. There is no research pertaining to Irish pet owner attitudes towards neutering their pets. This paper identified the perceptions of Irish cat and dog owners that influenced their decisions on pet neutering. Results: Focus groups were conducted with 43 pet (cats and dogs) owners. Two major categories relating to the decision to neuter were identified: (1) enabling perceptions in the decision to neuter (subcategories were: controlling unwanted pet behaviour; positive perceptions regarding pet health and welfare outcomes; perceived owner responsibility; pet function; and the influence of veterinary advice), and (2) disabling perceptions in the decision to neuter (subcategories were: perceived financial cost of neutering; perceived adequacy of existing controls; and negative perceptions regarding pet health and welfare outcomes). Conclusions: Pet owner sense of responsibility and control are two central issues. Understanding how pet owners feel about topics such as pet neutering, can help improve initiatives aimed at emphasising the responsibility of population control of cats and dogs.

Author Comment

This paper is the first to examine owner attitudes on pet neutering in Ireland and one of few to take a personal owner approach. This paper on pet neutering will be a submission to PeerJ for review.

Supplemental Information

Raw transcription text from focus groups

DOI: 10.7287/peerj.preprints.731v1/supp-1