On the topic of spay/neuter

HollyHeart goes in next week for her spay. And I'm not really sure what to expect.

Every one of our cats has been spayed at the vet's. Well- last week when I took HollyHeart in for her second round of shots, I asked how much it was going to cost us to spay her. It was over $300! And that's $300 that needs to be spent somewhere else right now. Though- I was going to pay it if we had to. We had Sneaky Pie done there 9 years ago, I just don't remember it being so expensive.

So I called the local Humane Society- they have a clinic in the area. A little further away from the vet office- but close enough. They had room for her, so they'll do her next week (even though she's only 4 months old- I guess they're done that early)

I'm assuming they'll do just as good of a job as the vet. I won't use the clinic for anything else. Getting an appointment for shots there can be hard, (mandatory rabies shot in the area) and I'd rather pay the extra (and it's not all THAT much more) to go to the vet's once a year and be able to get in and out quickly.

Cheryl

Oh hun, I'm sure they're very experienced and do spays/neuters all the time. I can't see there being any real difference at all. I just can't get over the cost of spays these days. Around here it is $250-$300 depending on the vet but if you adopt through the shelter the spay fee is only $87, MUCH better. I know that if the vets would just lower their prices, it would encourage people more to do the right thing and have their pets spayed/neutered. Good luck to your baby.

If we had done what I wanted to originally- which was get a cat through a rescue, it only would have cost us a little over $100. And it would have been an older pet too.

Not that Sneaky's having a hard time adjusting to this kitten, but I'm kind of over the "hyperkitten" syndrome. She eats my plants, I think I'm going to have to throw out at least 2 of them (that's how bad she's dug in them) and there's another one that I'm concerned about, that may wind up in the trash too.

But what was I to do? I had a friend who found an unwed mother, and took her in. She had 4 kittens to give away, we had lost a kitty in August, the kids were begging me for another one, etc, etc. So we went this route instead.

And I wouldn't get rid of her now anyhow. The whole family's attached to this little black cat. I'm just worrying over a new situation. I had a friend who used PETA's SNIP van, for her 2 cats, and she had no problems at all, so I'm sure HollyHeart will be fine.

I wish vets would lower prices too.

Cheryl

I would go to my local shelter over the vet's for spay/neuter any day. Why? Because the vet's there do nothing but spay and neuters all day and can probably do it with their eyes closed!

My theory is that vets charge a fortune for spay/neuter because they don't want their vets to be stuck in run of the mill surgery like that all day - they want to keep them open for consultations and more complex surgeries. They add lots of extra things that really aren't needed.

The vet at my shelter is amazing - she always leaves the tiniest incisions, and it's all held together by surgical glue and causes a lot less problems than regular stitches. The animal comes home same day, and gets to recover at home rather than a vet surgery which I think is better for everyone!

The difference in cost is that the clinics are subsidized by donations, and the vets are not. Also, most vets will do pre-anesthetic testing, to make sure the cat can tolerate the anesthetic. Low-cost clinics usually do not do that. It is rare for a cat to not be able to tolerate the anesthetic, which is why the clinics have such a high success rate, but as you asked, those are the differences.

But the clinics are very experienced at what they do as they do it on a high volume basis.

I'm sure she'll be fine! And yes - most clinics will spay/neuter as young as 7 weeks - or as long as the cat is over 2 pounds, as many are used to dealing with ferals. Many vets won't do it until they're at least four months - some make you wait until they're 6 months. My theory on this is that even if they're familiar with the research on early spay/neuter, they have no experience working on cats that small.

I refuse to use the shelters or clinics for my cats.
The ones I know use ketamine and cheaper stuff to fix the cats also and do not even use a i.v.
I do not know if they are all like that but the ones here are.
I would rather pay more then use those places.
I just paid $375 to have Wrinkles done at my vet.

Cheryl, I adopted Holland from the Denver Dumb Friends League and she was spayed when I got her at just under 5 months. She didn't have any trouble healing at all, I'm sure HollyHeart will be just fine!

I can't believe $300 for a spay!! Holland is my fist, so I don't know what my vet would charge, but I paid about $120 to adopt her, and she was spayed, had a microchip implant, I got a free vet checkup (there's a network of vets who partner with the shelter to donate a free visit for the newly adopted), and they gave me a nice hard-sided carrier.

Good luck to you and your baby!

You won't use a clinic bc they don't use an IV? I am sure if there was an emergency they have what they need. You don't need an IV for a regular old spay or neuter. My shelter does a low cost clinic every month and we also have a TNR clinic too and they just do surgery after surgery, all low cost, all with no IVs and there has yet to be any problems that I know of.

I love the clinics and I will always recommend them to everyone. It is much more affordable, just as safe as they are all licensed vets just like at your $300 spay regular vet clinics, and they are in and out and back home recovering with you where they are comfortable and not stuck at a vet's office overnight all alone.

I agree with what someone else said that all those vets at cheap clinics do are spays and neuters, over and over and over. They can do it with their eyes closed. In fact, I have job shadowed at the most expensive clinic in the area and you should have seen the vet just toss the male cat on the table and neuter him in 2 min with no gloves or anything. I have also seen the vets at my shelter take all the time and care in the world with each animal.

So price isn't everything.

No, they won't use an IV. One of our ferals(ironically enough it was the one that wasn't pregnant or in heat like the other 2) I think it was Biter didn't do too well with the anesthetic so she had to be confined to her carrier overnight. She wouldn't eat or drink(in fact they told us not to give her either) but they sent her back anyways telling us if she was still not drinking bring her back the next day for an IV. She was already dehydrated when we got her back and she looked sick, I kept checking on her all night worried she was going to die, yes she was that bad and they sent her back to us. Mama(who was in heat) and Goldie(who was pregnant) did fine and the only reason Mama had to stay in the carrier overnight was that it was raining and they didn't want the glue getting wet that night. Goldie was released right away and she was happy and climbing a tree within 30 mins, and nursing the kittens(who were old enough that they should have been weaned, but she was still willing to let them nurse. Biter was the same way.)

I was throwing the idea back and forth of having Nut neutered by one of the low cost organizations but I think I'll just pay the vet to do it so I know he's safe, given an IV(I pay extra for that) and blood work(once again extra), and most important pain killers. I wouldn't let them touch Attitude, a neuter is one thing an open surgery for a spay is another. Attitude also recovered a lot faster than the ones we had done through the TNR place. I also know if one of them was having a rough time they would be kept overnight to be watched. With my vet you drop the cat off in the morning and pick them up that night given they had an uncomplicated surgery and the cat was doing fine.

I'm not into assembly line surgery. They do the surgeries as quickly as possible and don't care if the animal is well enough to go home that night.

Taryn

Originally Posted by LDG

Also, most vets will do pre-anesthetic testing, to make sure the cat can tolerate the anesthetic. Low-cost clinics usually do not do that. It is rare for a cat to not be able to tolerate the anesthetic, which is why the clinics have such a high success rate, but as you asked, those are the differences.

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I have taken probably 75 cats to be spayed/nuetered over the years (not all mine, a lot of strays and a few ferals). When ever possible I do pay the extra for the bloodwork, but if I can't I take the chance and have the surgery done anyhow. The risk of cancers or pyometra (sp?) in an unspayed animal far outweigh the risk of anesthetic reaction. Only twice has there been a problem, both males from the same feral colony. One survived after a rough day wrapped in a blanket under my shirt to keep his temp up, the other went into seizures on the table and eventually had to be put to sleep.

You can't help but worry when one goes in for surgery, but the odds are in her favor even at a low cost clinic. for Holly and her worried Mom.

This is one of the main reasons that I prefer to have males vs females. I've only had a few females (mixed or purebred) and its been under $200 to spay them - many of them closer to $125 so its not too bad.

But the boys are always under $100 to neuter

I know that spays are more expensive because it's akin to doing a complete hysterectomy on the girl cat, while a neuter is just doing a quick snip snip vasectomy on the boy cat. That's why I always either adopt a boy if the kitty isn't fixed or a female only if it's already been spayed because I get nervous about the spaying surgery since it's more invasive.

I just had my 5 month old kitten Midnight neutered for $110. The normal price is something like $150 I think, but in Illinois where I live, it's Spay and Neuter month, so they are offering between $40-$50 off the price of a spay/neuter. The bloodwork was included in the price.

I know everyone is really down on ketamine because of the recent recall. I asked my vet if they used it and they said yes. I expressed my concern but they said they routinely check for recalls and they haven't had any. I won't lie, I was worried. But they said if it would help they'd call as soon as the surgery was over and let me know how he's doing. They called, he was fine, came home with me a few hours later and he slept off the anesthesia the rest of the night with me at home. He was totally fine the next day and he was back to his usual hyper kitten self.

I am not against ketamine because the recall.
I is not safe to use on sphynx cats and certain other breeds of cats.
If you dont believe me come to cat shows and talk to the breeders and ask how many kittens have died from ketamine.
Another thing vets have other stuff they can use.