1 Week to go...Let the nerves begin!

The one week countdown is on..Well technically 6 days today! But GiGi is going to get spayed this coming Saturday! Im so excited and nervous and happy and nervous!! LOL..Atleast I know what to expect after Hercules neutering and the trip down to Enola isnt horrible so Im not all that worried about that stuff!!! But I am worried about her after surgery because shes so rambunctious Im going to worry about Franklin trying to play with her right away but she hasnt had her claws trimmed in a while so Im sure she wouldnt be afraid to let him know when he has crossed the line. But back up plan if he doesnt leave her alone is to take a litter box and some food and water into my bedroom and lock her in there alone. But let the countdown to (almost) complete responsible pet ownership!! This will mean that all my cats have been fixed!! **Springtime is Franklins neutering..His is going to require some major savings**
Thank you LDG for helping me find this place!!!! Your awesome!!

**Tyler**

Yup, since Herc needed an abdominal incision (just like for a spay), you're pretty much all experienced now!

Doesn't the low-cost place do dogs, too? Most do.....worth asking about anyway. And call around to different vets. I only paid $100 for my 125-pound Rottweiler to be neutered (my regular vet). The price goes up for larger dogs, should be less for a small dog like Franklin.

I would keep them apart for a few days so she can rest and recover. You could also ask the vet to trim nails while she's there, my vet offers it for any cats going under anaesthetic they check nails, teeth etc. Also a great time to get microchipped if not already done.

This vet doesnt do the nail trimming and stuff like that and Id have to go a seperate weekend to microchipping.

As for Franklin...the clinic I use (SNAP of Pa) only does cats but they do have vet places they work with for dogs. Im going to talk to the coordinator on Saturday when I take GiGi to get spayed about the different places and how to get a coupon for Franklin. I priced everything around here at my normal vet and its going to cost me around $300 no matter where I go because he has to have atleast 2 appts 3 weeks apart before he gets neutered and then the total cost of neutering....You would think with having about 8+ Vets around here it would be a bit cheaper but its not. But regardless if I have to sell a kidney by this spring (Im setting my goal at March) that Franklin will be neutered!!!

Originally Posted by 3CatsN1Dog

I priced everything around here at my normal vet and its going to cost me around $300 no matter where I go because he has to have atleast 2 appts 3 weeks apart before he gets neutered and then the total cost of neutering

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What's up with that? Pre-op check-ups or something? Weird.

IMO, neutering a dog isn't quite as important as neutering cats. They aren't nearly as obnoxious when intact, and they're easier to keep from breeding unintentionally. But of course you'll still want to have it done. It's just not as much of a pressing concern as it is with cats. More time to save up!

From how it was explained to me he needs to have 2 (minimum) pre op checks to monitor his health and then possibly another one if there are any anesthesia related problems to test for. I also think I made the vets really mad because when they were going on and on about all the shots he needed I told them I only give my animals their rabies shots (by law the only one we need around here) and that I will not give them any other shots! And the lady went on and on how if I have cats they need the leukemia vaccine and stuff like that and I got really P.O.ed by that point and told her to shove it because Im not killing my cats over some stupid vaccine that they dont need! Anyways!!! (lol) When I told her that Franklin is a mini doxie she went on and on about how they cost more to neuter because they are a high maintenance breed when it comes to surgery and that he needs to stay over night for observation and stuff like that...Personally I realize some people prefer that but Id rather just bring him home because they dont know him like I do and I would be the first one to be able to say if something was wrong with him. Hes my baby and I want him home with me not over night in some clinic where they only care about the money! But Im going to talk to the SNAP coordinator and see about driving down to Cumberland County to one of their vets and getting him neutered. Its really not that bad on gas or a horrible trip at all so no matter what Ill still be saving a lot of money going there!

3 Days till Spay day!!!! Quick question..I used a hard carrier for Hercules to take him but GiGi prefers our soft sided carrier to lay in and sleep in...Would that one be ok to take her in or should I just stick with the hard carrier??? I just want her to be comfy on the trip down and back and I dont want her to stress out being in the hard carrier. I know that the clinic doesnt mind the soft sided carrier as long as its a forreal pet carrier

If she can't get out of the soft-sided carrier and the clinic doesn't have a preference, that should be fine. Or (if the clinic wants her in a hard carrier), you could take her in the car in the soft carrier and then switch to the hard carrier before you go into the clinic.

Quick healing vibes for GiGi!

I didn't know Dachsies are high-maintenance when it comes to surgery. I know that short-nosed dogs and sighthounds can have issues with the anesthetic, but I never heard anything about Dachsunds. Some vets will try to take advantage....sigh. If he's over 2 years old I'd want pre-op bloodwork, but other than that I think they're being overly demanding. I hope you can get in with the low-cost program. That sounds a lot better.

Although you might want to consider getting him his Distemper and Parvo vaccines. The others aren't really necessary but those 2 are diseases you really want to avoid. If he had his puppy shots and a booster after a year, he's probably covered, but if he didn't have those you really should consider it.

If there's someone in the clinic overnight I don't think that's unreasonable. But if nobody is going to be there I don't know why they'd keep him. Much better for him to be at home with his family so he can recover in comfort.

He has had all of his puppy shots and boosters and dewormed all that jazz....We took care of that when we got him from the breeder. Ive only heard good things about one vet in the area but they are so booked up they arent accepting new clients right now. But the vet closest to me (literally right down the road from my house) is so money hungry that its all my BF's step mother talks about how much it cost her to go there. I took Franklin there for his boosters but thats only because his puppy records were already there and so was the records of his dame and sire (I think I got that termonology right) so I got was able to learn all about his families health histories and everything like that when I got his boosters. Anyone who got one of that litter was able to get the information on the parents if they went to that animal hospital. Ive noticed a lot of businesses make their prices based on the average income in the area and unfortunatly I live in an area where its quite expensive to live in..I wish they made acceptions for people lacking in funds because I live in a trailer and pay rent by doing farm work for the landlord!!


I think Im going to take both carriers for GiGi so she can ride in whichever one she wants in the car..I have a feeling though its going to be a harder trip than with Hercules shes not one to be ok sleeping in a carrier like he did the whole way down...Especially that early in the morning shes a morning kitty and likes to play! Plus the cats are all going to have issues again at night when I take the food away at 6 Friday night. We didnt get any sleep the night before we took Hercules cuz everyone wanted their food back! Oh boy 2 more days to go...My poor wittle baby girl!!!!!!

Calming vibes to you, 3C&1D, over GiGi's imminent surgery and Franklin's eventual one. (Love the name Franklin! I once had a foster pair of rats who I named Frank and Fiona. Poor things had been abused by their previous owners and took a lot of work to bring around. But they were eventually adopted out to a wonderful forever home. But I digress, sorry! LOL!)

Remember that cats can sense our emotions, so take a nice deep breath, and let it out slowly. Repeat as needed, and both you and Gigi will feel better.

I hope you are able to find a more understanding vet for Franklin. All that pre-work and an overnight stay for a neuter sounds quite excessive to me. Nothing like that has ever been suggested for any animal I've ever owned or fostered, so hunting for another vet sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan to me.

Good luck with both and let us know how Gigi's surgery goes!

I will...Tonight at 6 they get all their food taken away..Franklin too because the cats will steal his food if there is no other around!!! Then we are up at the buttcrack of dawn tomorrow to drive an hour to go down to Enola to the clinic and since we are the first appt it will be fairly quick for us we should be back home by 1030...then its naptime for EVERYONE!! LMAO

I always get nervous too, I had to bring Callie quite far a few weeks ago for her spay.( and in rush hour traffic) She was pretty quiet in the carrier . I was plesantly surprised. Good luck tomorrow.

Hercules was an angel the whole way down and back for his trip but aside from his trills and chirps he is a really quiet cat. GiGi however is a female in every since of the word she must voice her opinion about everything and for her knowing that her darling daddy is right in the front seat is going to insue a ruckus I think. Im not optimistic about her ride down and back haha!! Worst case scenario because we dont stop at all and I drive like an old lady with my cats in the car if shes really bad I might convince BF to let her lay with him for the trip down. The way home however she should be pretty well looped out and sleep the whole time.

Thanks for all your vibes everyone..Ill make sure I post tomorrow before we leave and when we get home with some pics of my spayed kitty cat all looped out on her meds!

Originally Posted by Willowy

What's up with that? Pre-op check-ups or something? Weird.

IMO, neutering a dog isn't quite as important as neutering cats. They aren't nearly as obnoxious when intact, and they're easier to keep from breeding unintentionally. But of course you'll still want to have it done. It's just not as much of a pressing concern as it is with cats. More time to save up!

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Actually it is just as important to get dogs neutered. They will jump fences or dig under them and they are at risk for various health problems as well.

To the OP, I understand how you feel. Sasha goes in to get spayed in a couple of weeks and I am not looking forward to the nerves I get while waiting to hear from the vet that she is okay. I have spayed and neutered lots of animals and still get nervous.

Originally Posted by ink

Actually it is just as important to get dogs neutered. They will jump fences or dig under them and they are at risk for various health problems as well.

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They can jump the fence or dig under it ONLY if they're left outside without supervision......really, it is much easier to contain a dog. I do think they should be neutered for various reasons, it's just not as pressing of a concern as with cats. Like, if someone could only afford one neuter at a time, and they had a cat and a dog, I would definitely recommend neutering the cat first.