Line #1 Main/LazyNeuteredPet


1	It's an old myth that neutering your dog or cat will make him fat, lazy and dumb. This isn't true. While altering a pet can cause metabolism issues[[note]]This has even shown up in ''humans'', as eunuchs were historically known to gain weight more easily.[[/note]], it's usually not the difference that this trope makes it seem. Overfeeding and not enough exercise are other common reasons for a pet gaining excessive weight.
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3	Also, the obesity and lethargy that neutering can cause in real life is not to be confused with the inaccurate lazy portrayal of castrated or companion animals in fiction.
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5	One of the metabolic issues that castration and spaying causes is lethargy, which is an unnatural sort of low energy. Lethargy should not be confused with laziness however. Obesity is another effect of this endocrine disrupting procedure. In cats, this gonadal divestation (what spaying and neutering is) not only lowers metabolism, it increases appetite, which can result in them either having a hard time regulating their appetite or having an insatiable appetite. However, being fat doesn't equate to being lazy.
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7	In fiction, however, spayed and neutered animals (but ''especially'' neutered ones) will usually end up chubby, lethargic, ''and'' lazy after the surgery. A previously energetic pet will suddenly just want to sit around all day. This trope is one of the top reasons why AnimalsFearNeutering; they don't want to become lazy, fat, dumb, and lethargic like the others they've seen.
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9	Sub-trope to ArtisticLicenseBiology. Sometimes goes hand-in-hand with CatsAreLazy or DogsAreDumb.
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12	!!Examples:
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14	[[foldercontrol]]
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16	[[folder:Fan Works]]
17	* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': Tom, who was Mittens's former fling and has been adopted out of a shelter, gets neutered by his new owners and becomes a morbidly obese BigEater who spends his days sleeping and looking out the window. Occurs in "The Party."
18	[[/folder]]
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20	[[folder:Literature]]
21	* ''Literature/TailchasersSong'':
22	** Cats mock lazy cats by comparing them to eunuchs (AKA, neutered toms).
23	** [[spoiler:Hushpad]] was a playful ProperLady kitten at the start the book. When Tailchaser reunites with her, he finds her [[FormerlyFit much rounder]] than he remembers (but [[BigBeautifulWoman nonetheless pretty]]). Tailchaser soon finds that all [[spoiler:Hushpad]] wants to do is nap all day. She isn't even remotely interested in having kittens anymore. The two cats [[DidNotGetTheGirl part]] due to their conflicting interests.
24	* Almost all neutered toms in ''Literature/WarriorCats'' become lazy. Kittypets are already known for being plumper than their forest-dwelling brethren, but neutered ones are especially so.
25	* Mentioned in both the novel and film version of Stephen King's ''Literature/PetSematary''. Louis initially doesn't want to get his daughter Ellie's cat Church fixed while they're living in Chicago, as he fears this very trope and that the operation would destroy the cat's 'go to hell' personality that he rather likes. However he does decide to go through with it when they move to Ludlow because, as their neighbour Jud puts it, "fixed cat don't tend to wander," and Louis wants to avoid Church being killed in the very busy road on which their new home is situated. It [[spoiler:doesn't work.]]
26	* Pufftail from ''Literature/{{Stray}}'' makes mention of a few overweight BigEater cats who have gotten "the Operation".
27	* ''Literature/TheUnadulteratedCat'' by Creator/TerryPratchett describes neutered toms as "fat and lazy and just want to kip all day", although the book is clear that they're not dumb (indeed, they may have ''more'' on their minds than the sex-obsessed Entire Tom), and that neutering is A Good Thing.
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30	[[folder:Live Action TV]]
31	* ''Series/TheRedGreenShow'': In one episode Dwight Cardiff advocates getting a dog that's been neutered because "that basically accounts for their lack of interest in life whatsoever."
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34	[[folder:Web Comics]]
35	* [[http://smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2207#comic One strip]] of ''WebComic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'' comic consists of UsefulNotes/CharlesDarwin screaming "Eat, fight, fuck!" at a cat, who does those things with relish and savagery... up until it gets neutered, at which point it declares itself free of evolution's influence. The final panel of the comic is the cat, now morbidly obese, sighing about how happy it is.
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38	[[folder:Western Animation]]
39	* One CutawayGag from the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS3E13ScrewedThePooch Screwed the Pooch]]" has Peter imagining what his dog Brian will be like after being neutered. There Brian is overweight and eating chocolate, lamenting that he knows it makes him fat, but doesn't care.
40	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' episode "Dog's Day Afternoon" revolves around Timmy [[FreakyFridayFlip switching bodies]] with Vicky's dog Doidle, which leads to Vicky planning to have Doidle neutered. Her other pets have also been neutered (including those that normally aren't castrated, such as a fish), which has made them all lethargic [[EmptyShell to the point of nonresponsiveness]]--one spontaneously falls over without even blinking. Timmy obviously [[AnimalsFearNeutering tries to avoid]] his fate, and Doidle is clearly displeased where he's headed when they switch back bodies, but he ultimately ends up neutered.
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Context Main / LazyNeuteredPet