Spay/Neuter & Vet Question (long)

I have another question folks, and this one is more detailed! I would like some opinions, mostly. I hope this is the right place for this.

First, a little background information - The kittens will be 12 weeks old. One is a boy and one is a girl. They have received three distemper vaccinations, an intranasal vaccination at 5 weeks, and two sub-q vaccinations at 8 weeks and 11 weeks.

I just spent about 2 hours calling all of the vets in the area (because I am not sure I want to keep the vet I went to for Mithril) and pricing their services. I also asked many questions, including what age they needed to be for speuters, shots, etc. I have narrowed it down to six potential places, based on location & helpfulness/politeness of the person on the phone. Here is what I have to work with:

Clinic #1: Age for Spay/Neuter - 5 months. Spay - $90. Neuter - $60. Age for Rabies Vax - 4 months. Rabies - $20. Requires 3 distemper shots. Distemper - $18. Office visits - $15. If both kittens come in at the same time, there is only one office visit charge. Take home pain meds, if needed - $10. Really nice over the phone and I like that they only charge for one office visit, even though you bring in two kitties.

Clinic #2: Age for Spay/Neuter - 6 months. Spay - $86.05. Neuter - $49.28. Age for Rabies Vax - 12-13 weeks. Rabies - $22. Requires 3 distemper shots. Distemper - $22. Office visits - $25. The office visit charge is an examination charge, and is charged per animal. However, if the animals are brought in for vaccinations only, there is no office charge. Take home pain meds, if needed - $20. Recommended for affordability by family members. This vet is almost 1/2 hour away.

Clinic #3: Age for Spay/Neuter - 6 months. Spay - $126. Neuter - $94. Age for Rabies Vax - 12 weeks. Rabies - $16.50. Requires 3 distemper shots. Distemper - $13.50. Office visits - $36. Not sure if the office visit charge is per animal or for both if they come in together. Most expensive spay/neuter prices. However, this clinic has a really good reputation amongst friends and coworkers.

Clinic #4: Age for Spay/Neuter - 4-6 months. Spay - $90.40. Neuter - $67.60. Age for Rabies Vax - 12 weeks. Rabies - $15. Requires 3 distemper shots. Distemper - $19. Office visits - $21. Not sure if the office visit charge is per animal or for both if they come in together.

Clinic #5: Age for Spay/Neuter - 6 months. Spay - $98. Neuter - $63. Age for Rabies Vax - 12-13 weeks. Rabies - $17.25. Requires 3 distemper shots. Distemper - $14.25. Office visits - $40. The office visit charge is an examination charge, and is charged per animal. A pet must have an Office Visit when they receive a vaccination. Provide Pre-op bloodwork before spay/neuter if requested for $32.50. Take home pain meds, if needed - $15-20. This is the vet that we took Mithril to. I have a mixed opinion of them.

Clinic #6: Age for Spay/Neuter - 4 months. Spay - $95. Neuter - $80. Age for Rabies Vax - 4 months. Rabies - $16. Requires 4 distemper shots. Distemper - $20. Office visits - $32. The office visit charge is an examination charge, and is charged per animal. Take home pain meds, if needed - $20. This vet will allow an appointment to be made to have them speutered on the first day and then receive a vaccination for rabies and distemper before I pick them up the day after, without charging an extra office charge.



I am as overwhelmed by all of this data as you probably are! I can visit the offices of any of these vets if I would like to, and I probably will once I narrow it down a little more, but I wanted to see if any of you great TCS members have any recommendations based on this information? I am not necessarily looking for the cheapest vet. I don't want to have to wait until they are 6 months old for speuter if I don't have to, because they could potentially breed before then and I don't want to have to separate the little darlings (I can though).

So, if you are still with me, based on this data, which offices would you want to visit?

Thank you so much. You are all very awesome.

Good for you for doing all the research!

I wonder if any of them will neuter earlier than they will spay, given the situation? Neutering is a much less invasive procedure, and I would assume neutering at 3/4 months is less risky than letting a male cat breed with his too-young-to-be-a-mom sister.

I also think the value of a "reference" is great, especially if it comes from someone who has had to use the vet for more than just annual check-ups.

When choosing a new vet, I have this list according to importance

1. impression on first visit - if I have time I drop in the clinic and check things out without my cat/cats but if not, I see how they treat my babies.
2. referrals from animal loving friends/acquaintances - this one is as important as #1. In my experience, a good source of info are the volunteers at the animal shelter. Because they care for their charges they usually know what vets are less money prompted and more into their jobs.
3. convenience/distance from home
4. cost/charges of services

My first cats were 2 adult strays - male (RB Dumdum) and female (Joji). I had them fixed at the same time which was good because Joji was pregnant at the time of the operation.

Thanks for the replies so far!

I have an addendum, because I have spoken with a friend:


Clinic #6 has been recommended by a friend who has a rescue cat. He and the ladies he got his kitty from are new friends, just made in the last two months. The two ladies rescue strays, ferals, and injured cats and dogs. They do their best to resocialize them and find them good homes. My friend's cat Nika was thrown out of someone's car window and his head was smashed against a mailbox. Clinic #6 patched Nika's head up, and now treats him for any other problem he has. The two rescuers also take all of their animals to Clinic #6.

So, I am definitely visiting that clinic! I may visit others.

I am looking forward to more advice too!

The only thing that throws me off about #6 is how they require 4 distemper vac's when EVERY other vet says 3. I wouldn't want to be forced to give a extra vaccine that isn't needed. I actually walked out of a new vets office on the day of my dog's neuter b/c they were going to require me to get a LYME vaccine to do the surgery (we don't even have fleas and ticks here and no other vets here recommend it!)

If it were me, I would probably check out #1 first. Prices for everything are pretty reasonable!

A couple of things I might want to know as well would be hours and days of operation and how that works with your own working hours - mundane, but handy if you need to drop off and still get to work at a certain time. How many vets on staff? How do they handle overnight stays - is someone in the building all the time? Do they do house calls if necessary? Working relationship with ER vet or are you on your own there? Areas of specialization? How fast can you get an appointment for acute problems? If a small practice, how do they handle back-up vet availability when needed?

You're doing such great research already - but I suspect you'll get a gut feeling as you visit the different practices. It'll probably boil down to who do you feel comfortable with having a long-term relationship with.

I would choose either Clinic #4 or Clinic #1. They are about the same price wise, but #4 will neuter them at 4 months old. Check and see if you can get any discounts by bringing both kittens in at the same time. And also check with both clinics if they offer a payment plan (make 2-3 payments for the entire bill).

I went by recommendations and reputation.
We have a 24 hour emergency hospital that is fantastic so that was not a concern. We have 3 actually. So The emergency question is a very good question. You don't want to be stuck at 3 in the morning with a sick cat and no options.
I chose the office that seemed the most cat friendly and I interviewed them. If the vet was in the dark ages about Nutrition, indoor only and declawing there was no way I was taking my cats there. If they sold The Hills I was not going there. That is my own thing since I don't believe in it I didn't want the vet to have a vested interest in pushing it on me.
I love my vet, their staff and the feel of the office. I feel confident in the care my cats are getting. That is important. You want to know that you chose well. The other thing is feel free to move on if it turns out to be not as good as you anticipated.