{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]],"date-time":"2026-04-14T22:15:30Z","timestamp":1776204930211,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)","issue":"5","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["javma"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2016,9,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p><jats:bold>OBJECTIVE<\/jats:bold> To determine characteristics of cats sterilized through a subsidized, reduced-cost spay-neuter program in Massachusetts and of owners who had their cats sterilized through this program.<\/jats:p>\n<jats:p><jats:bold>DESIGN<\/jats:bold> Cross-sectional anonymous survey and telephone interviews.<\/jats:p>\n<jats:p><jats:bold>SAMPLE<\/jats:bold> 1,188 (anonymous surveys) and 99 (telephone interviews) cat owners.<\/jats:p>\n<jats:p><jats:bold>PROCEDURES<\/jats:bold> Owners who had a cat sterilized at clinics held between January 2006 and December 2008 were invited to complete anonymous surveys. Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with owners who had a cat sterilized during clinics held in 2009.<\/jats:p>\n<jats:p><jats:bold>RESULTS<\/jats:bold> Most cats had never been seen by a veterinarian previously; \u201ctoo expensive\u201d was the most common reason for this. Total annual household income was significantly associated with the number of times the cat had been examined by a veterinarian and reason why the cat had not been spayed or neutered previously. Most cats were acquired through informal means and without actively being sought, and there was often a time lag between acquisition and sterilization. Undesirable behavior and avoiding pregnancy were primary motivations for neutering and spaying, respectively. Nearly half of owners who indicated they would have had their cat sterilized through a private veterinarian if the clinic had not been available stated that the surgery would have been delayed because of cost.<\/jats:p>\n<jats:p><jats:bold>CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE<\/jats:bold> Findings suggested that spay-neuter decisions were related to owner income and procedure cost, that elimination of the reduced-cost spay-neuter program would likely have exacerbated the spay-delay problem, and that gradations of financial need should be considered when evaluating relationships between income and spay-neuter decisions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.2460\/javma.249.5.490","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2016,8,24]],"date-time":"2016-08-24T14:23:28Z","timestamp":1472048608000},"page":"490-498","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":23,"title":["Characteristics of cats sterilized through a subsidized, reduced-cost spay-neuter program in Massachusetts and of owners who had cats sterilized through this program"],"prefix":"10.2460","volume":"249","author":[{"given":"Valerie A.","family":"Benka","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Emily","family":"McCobb","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1272","reference":[{"key":"ref1","series-title":"J Appl Anim Welf Sci","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1207\/s15327604jaws0901_7","article-title":"Impact of a bilingual mobile spay\/neuter clinic in a US\/Mexico border city","volume":"9","author":"Poss","year":"2006"},{"key":"ref2","series-title":"Ecol Econ","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"740","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecolecon.2006.09.011","article-title":"Analysis of programs to reduce overpopulation of companion animals: do adoption and low-cost spay\/neuter programs merely cause substitution of 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shelter","volume":"209","author":"Patronek","year":"1996"},{"key":"ref10","series-title":"J Am Vet Med Assoc","first-page":"637","article-title":"Dynamics of dog and cat populations in a community","volume":"210","author":"Patronek","year":"1997"},{"key":"ref11","series-title":"J Appl Anim Welf Sci","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"207","DOI":"10.1207\/s15327604jaws0103_2","article-title":"Human and animal factors related to the relinquishment of dogs and cats in 12 selected animal shelters in the United States","volume":"1","author":"Salman","year":"1998"},{"key":"ref12","series-title":"J Appl Anim Welf Sci","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.1207\/S15327604JAWS0303_1","article-title":"Shelter relinquishment: characteristics of shelter-relinquished animals and their owners compared with animals and their owners in US pet-owning households","volume":"3","author":"New","year":"2000"},{"key":"ref13","series-title":"J Appl Anim Welf Sci","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"229","DOI":"10.1207\/s15327604jaws0704_1","article-title":"Birth and death rate estimates of cats and dogs in US households and related factors","volume":"7","author":"New","year":"2004"},{"key":"ref14","series-title":"J Appl Anim Welf Sci","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"314","DOI":"10.1080\/10888700903163534","article-title":"Sterilization of companion animals: exploring the attitudes and behaviors of Latino students in South Texas","volume":"12","author":"Faver","year":"2009"},{"key":"ref15","series-title":"PetSmart Charities A&U barriers"},{"key":"ref16","series-title":"J Am Vet Med Assoc","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1023","DOI":"10.2460\/javma.234.8.1023","article-title":"Population characteristics and neuter status of cats living in households in the United States","volume":"234","author":"Chu","year":"2009"},{"key":"ref17","series-title":"Attitudes on pet homelessness are shifting: 2014 US shelter pet report","year":"2014"},{"key":"ref18","series-title":"MSPCA Dorr Research: cat and dog populations in Massachusetts"}],"container-title":["Journal of the American Veterinary Medical 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