vet vs humane society

I need advice. I made an appointment to have Jassie (formerly know as Jasper when we thought she was a he)and Macy spayed next friday at our vet.
It costs $225 each - which does not include anesthesia or any possible pain meds they may need afterwards. I really like our vet, she is one block away and we trust her. But, spending no less than 500 is a tough reality for us right now.
SO, I called the humane society and they cost $48 each, including a pre-op examination and anesthesia. Should I just go with the humane society?? I mean they are the HUMANE SOCIETY - what can go wrong??

Any insight is greatly appreciated!!

I have no experience with the Humane Society but have heard many good things.

To do a spay surgery without anesthesia or pain meds sounds unethical to me. Surely, your vet must use some kind of anesthesia or sedative?? IMHO spaying is not a trivial surgery. It's a complete ovariohysterectomy. If a spay was ever attempted without anesthesia of any kind it would most likely send a cat into shock.

I think she meant that the price of $225 did not include the anesthesia/pain meds, which would be an extra cost.


But surely the Humane Society in your area does their own spays/neuters. I would think it would be okay to let them do it, unless you've heard some bad stories from people in the area, which I doubt you will. I think your vet will understand, considering the cost difference!

I will share my experience. I think you need to go the route you feel is best. The nearest vet to me charged $250. This was for laser procedure plus day long recooperation with personal attention in a high tech, upper end clinic. They only do two procedures a day.

The low cost vet (farther away but much cheaper) does many procedures a day. My final cost for Daphne's spay there was around $100 including meds, ecollar, etc. I simply could not afford the more expensive vet although I liked the idea of the laser and more personal attention. The low cost seemed to be more like a conveyour belt. I dropped her off in the morning and picked her up in the afternoon. The end result was the same - she is spayed

Personally, I would go with the low cost clinic, but that's just me. I am glad low cost clinics are out there. If not for them, there would be more unloved cats. As long as you feel comfy with the vet, they should be fine.

Originally Posted by Sandtigress

I think she meant that the price of $225 did not include the anesthesia/pain meds, which would be an extra cost.

Click to expand...

Oh ok, my bad. I thought it sounded strange Sorry JandM

My Dad used the Pound last year and he almost lost his Cat. They thought he was giving her up and put her up for adoption. They even said she was 2 years old when she was 6 months. I know vets cost more but I always use the Vets because the Pound here dosent even care about teh Pets. Its just one after another.

I would ask what kinds of anesthetics each place uses. Some use older anesthetics while others use the newer kind. Also, you may want to consider having a preanesthetic blood screen done at your normal vet if you choose to use the Humane Society. The blood screen will tell you if there are underlying kidney, liver, or blood issues, such as anemia or infection, that may make operating more risky.

Thanks everyone! We've decided to go with the Humane Society. I found some good feedback from other people in the area who have used the HS for this procedure and I was pleased to hear that the fee includes a pre-op exam.
I greatly appreciate all of your feedback.
**oh, by the way - my vet does use anesthesia - i would just have to pay extra - it's just not included in the 225**

Originally Posted by JandM

Thanks everyone! We've decided to go with the Humane Society. I found some good feedback from other people in the area who have used the HS for this procedure and I was pleased to hear that the fee includes a pre-op exam.
I greatly appreciate all of your feedback.
**oh, by the way - my vet does use anesthesia - i would just have to pay extra - it's just not included in the 225**

Click to expand...

I'm glad to hear you've had good feedback. Actually, the humane society in NYC is very well funded, and I'm sure everything will go just fine. Charging that much, your vet probably removes the entire reproductive system, including the ovaries. This is not routine, and many vets across the country don't do that. I doubt the humane society spay will include removing the ovaries - though again, many vets do not do this as a regular practice anyway.

I'd have said go with the humane society spay if money is tight. The end result will be, as Bonnie put it, that she is spayed.



Laurie