My rant about spaying!

Can't you get a rebate certificate from your local shelter? I paid $$$$$ for the oldest three cats to spay/neuter them (about a month's salary.)

When it was time to spay my two little girls, I got smart and got two rebate certificates. They cut the cost of spaying to half.

If I had been smarter about my three oldst ones I wouldn't be eating ramen noodles right now.

It's probably so much to get pet owners ready for paying ridiculous vet costs for anything else they have to get done at the vet..

"The spay is $150, but when you come in for a shot and some bloodwork, please give us your left arm"

I know of 2 places in Montreal that do low cost, not that it helps you just saying that there are a some in Canada.
Hopefully someone from Ontario will be able to give you an answer.

We had $5 desexing here for people who live in the poorer areas. I thought that was cool.

Here in Saskatchewan we paid $150 just to get Scratch spayed.. altogether we paid over $250!!!

Wow!! You guys really do pay alot for a spay! I guess I better feel lucky It costs for our low cost spay is around $30.00 and if its not low cost it is usually about $75.00! I know for dogs though it does cost more(w/o low cost)

If you think a spay is expensive, try having a hysterectomy yourself and see what the bill comes to.

I'm all for low-cost s/n, but it is insulting to the veterinary profession to imply that $200 is too much to pay for a surgical procedure. How are vets supposed to pay the rent/mortgage on their practice, pay their staff, purchase supplies and equipment (which by the way are often identical to those used in human hospitals), etc., etc., etc?

If your car needs to be repaired, you'll be very lucky to walk out of the repair shop with a bill for less than $200. A car mechanic usually has a high school diploma and a vocational certificate, and your car is a hunk of metal and plastic. Vets are doctors with the same education as the doctor you see yourself. A spay is abdominal surgery. A cat is a living being. Please do not insult the hard working professionals in the veterinary field by implying that we are money grubbing and getting rich by ripping you off. I assure you, we are none of the above.

Actually, vets have to have MORE education, than human doctors. Human doctors only have to treat ONE species.

There are low-cost spay/neuter clinics here in Tucson. The most that I have ever paid to spay a cat was $30. I had Pearlie-mutt spayed at the Humane Society clinic and it was only $65.

Frequently, the Humane Society gets a large donation and uses it for free spay/neuter certificates. In the past couple of months, they have been doing free spays/neuters of pit bulls AND paying the owners $10, for bringing the dogs in. (We've had a lot of pit bull attacks).

Holy cow, free spays for pit bulls? Thats kinda ridiculous, isnt it?? Maybe I need to move there, since I have a pit bull and shes in need of gettin fixed....LOL-not really, but, thats silly I really have never heard of such a thing!

When annual shots and spay where included together it cost me about $130, which I was happy with! I got two vouchers as well, so it saved me another $40 bucks. $500 to spay a cat is pretty excessive. I've heard about a "neuter-scooter" that goes throughout my state providing spays/neuters for something like $40.

I know whatcha mean....it's so darn expensive

It is expensive, but I found this article a while back that seems very reasonable: http://www.thepetcenter.com/sur/costspay.html explaining the cost from a vet's point of view. Being a veterinarian is not being a philanthropist. Of course they make money--why do you go to work? Although charging 500+ sounds ridiculous, and probably none of us would ever go to that vet!

Also, most people can find a way to get their pet taken care of through non-profit organizations and such if we don't have the money. Zissou's spay cost 50$ including overnight stay.

Well, that's not quite true. Vets have to have a wider range of knowledge but they have the same number of years of schooling.

Vets in the US and Canada have a minimum of 2 years of college (though most have bachelor's degrees) plus 4 years of vet school. MD's have exactly the same number of years of school.

Even the most philanthropic among us still prefer to sleep inside a building and eat on a semi-regular basis. Like I said, I'm all for making low-cost s/n available, but the basic expenses have to be met anyway. Either the cost of state of the art surgery has to be underwritten by another source (most often a charity such as a humane society), or corners have to be cut in the surgery itself - which usually means injectable anesthesia cocktails instead of gas (which increases the risk of anesthetic complications somewhat), not maintaining absolute sterile conditions the way one ideally should for surgery, not monitoring anesthesia (which means that if something goes wrong it is likely to go undetected until it may be too late), etc. Even so, it is overwhelmingly likely that the patient will be fine, but the old adage that "you get what you pay for" holds true. If you wouldn't settle for anything less than state of the art surgical care if you were the patient, then you should think twice about accepting this for your best friend's care. If you truly can't afford full price s/n, then by all means use a low cost program. But if you can afford it, then please don't bargain hunt. Some things are just more important than saving a few bucks.

I just wanted to add my 2 cents here. In our area (yes, I'm Canadian and live in a small village) the local vet has special days for low-cost neuter, other days for low cost flea meds, etc. They have a calendar that they hand out with all the special days marked.

I agree and have stated before that we shouldn't expect vets to work for little to no income just because they supposedly love animals. They are also a business like any other. If I had my own business, I seriously doubt I would give my services free just to be a "nice guy". It is our responsibility to shop around for pricing, choose a vet with a good reputation (which is also our responsibility to do the research), and pay the fee required to care for our animals (the ones we took on and made the commitment to care for).

I don't believe for one minute that there is anyone out there that would accept not being paid for their work if their boss said they didn't have the money to pay them that week. So, why should vets work for people who can't pay them. Probably most of the younger/newer vets are still paying off student loans as well as clinic rental/staff salaries/clinic utilities/insurance/etc. plus their own personal living expenses such as apartment/home, food, clothing, transportation, etc.

I for one would be embarrassed to expect these professionals to give me free care.

I had 16 done the last 2 years, it was low cost but they were great there, $25 for fe,ales and $15 for the boys, only 4 were boys though, that's here in So Ca

There are people who complain that our adoption fee is too high (It's $150 for a cat or kitten....$225 for a pair) What they don't understand is that we do not get a break on the vet bills (our kittens/cats are spayed/neutered prior to adoption).

Katie

And you are totally justified in being suspicious of someone who charges 500$ for a spay/neuter procedure. Just like every other profession, there are veterinarians who are interested in ripping you off.

You should call each one back and ask them what exactly they do (which kind of anesthesia, etc, the best one is isoflourane inhaled the last I heard). My vet has signs in each exam room saying to please ask the cost of each procedure and when you do they explain why it costs that, etc. When they can give you a discount (like on small packages of prescription food) they do. When it is important they do not.

Also, do not assume that low cost s/n programs use less-than-the-best procedures and equipment. Some have to. Not all do. It is as bad a myth as that vets should give free services. Alot of them are lucky enough to have generous communities donating all sorts of things, including money. The clinic Zissou was spayed at does. It cost me 45$ but the procedure itself cost as much as it would at a vet, I just didn't pay it. Researching your low-cost program or your veterinarians practices are more important than the price.

I guess it's probably equivalent to the difference between taking your Mercedes to Canadian Tire for service or taking it to your Mercedes dealer. Or, a Cosmetic Surgeon to the stars versus one for the general public. It's sometimes a matter of what the client is willing to pay.

Even in Canada dentists charge different fees for their services. If you want to go to the higher priced dentist you must pay the difference between what your insurance says is a standard fee for a procedure and what the dentist charges. It's your choice if you want to pay the extra and go to the more expensive dentist. I suppose vets are allowed to do the same. As with everything (doctors, dentists, cars, you name it) - shop around, ask for references - do your homework.

I completely understand. We were going to a dentist a few years ago that charged quite a bit over what our dental plan covered and we paid it willingly as he and his staff were very good and the quality of the fillings was excellent. However when he started booking us for cleanings every 4 months (and these were periodontal cleanings which cost extra) saying that I had such plaque build-up that I needed to come every 4 months, I drew the line. We changed dentists to one nearer where we live now and we get our yearly REGULAR cleanings and I'm told that I have very little plaque build-up. Makes me wonder about the higher priced fellow - either he was stiffing me or the water or something where we now live is good for my teeth.

First off, I'm currently unemployed, so I know what it's like to be short on cash and wondering if I'll be forced to choose between paying a bill and eating. I live in southwestern Ontario, and although I have no clue how much spaying/neutering costs (both my kitties were Humane Society rescues, so the alteration was part of their adoption fee), I find that my vet offers extremely reasonable prices, and is more than willing to reduce the costs even further if there are mitigating circumstances. When I take my Ozzie in for his annual exam, it will cost me less than $80 (Canadian), and this will include shots, stool sample, nail-trimming, dental and weight check; if I want to, I can bring Spike in at the same time to have his weight and teeth checked, too ... for no additional charge. (I can also come in any time I'd like and use their scales to check my kitties' weight, and have the vet tech assist me. I don't have to call ahead, nor do I have to pay for this service.)

I know my vet is willing to accept payment plans, so if something terrible happens and I can't afford to pay the bill all at once, I can pay it in installments and still ensure my kitties get the best possible care. I also know, for a fact, that my vet takes emergency calls where she tends to sick and injured cats for free because either the cats are homeless or because the owners can't afford to pay even a little bit. It's possible that the price of some surgeries and procedures is increased in order to pay for these "free" emergency sessions, but I can't say that I mind terribly. I can't afford to help every sick and injured cat out there, but if I pay a little bit more at the vet and that money goes towards helping other cats ... who am I to complain?

Okay, so I'm spoiled. I live in a town with a top-ranked veterinary medical school, and my vet is a feline specialist who genuinely loves cats. I'm well aware that there are other, unscrupulous vets out there (my parents had to make do with one for years for their elderly cat, until they found one who suited them and actually seemed to care about their pet), but it's comforting to know that I can call my vet's office at any time of the day or night (they have an emergency line) and get quality care for my boys. And you can bet I'd be willing to pay more than I do for this service.

If only more communities would do more to unite & help fund the S/N programs. A small group in our area organized & made a tremendous difference! They have donation jars at the local businesses & they do fundraisers. You could check out their website www.inyopets.org and maybe get some ideas!
I think that people do get involved, if they are asked - so often, they just don't take the time to realize the problem

I agree... prices are ridiculous. And someone may want to give a cat a loving home, but just can't afford the amt to get them spayed. My mom was a single mom, with 3 little girls... she found 4 kittens in a box under a truck tire in the parking lot at her work. She just happened to see them or they would've been run over. She took them to get their shots at a clinic, that charged $15 per cat (it was in the early 80's) but the cheapest spay was $75. We were having mac & cheese & hot dogs for dinner as it was... she couldn't afford that!

That's it exactly. When you go to any place of business, you become the employer so to speak, and the business is the employee. Employers pay their employees for the work they do, plain and simple.

As for the student loan debt, it is 100% true for Americans. These days a large percentage of vets graduate with student loan debts well over $100,000. Four years of undergrad plus four years of vet school can easily cost $200,000 and that is just for tuition - not even counting all the other expenses related to school!

What that means is that you can assume that your vet paid $100,000 or more just for the privilege of being a vet in the first place. Who among us would pay that kind of money only to give away what we've just paid that much for?

The difference in pricing between CA and the US may be in part due to the difference in the value of the Canadian $ vs the US $. A bill of $200 CA would be approximately equal to a bill of $140 US.

Overall, I do have to say that the people who complain about pricing and bargain hunt when they truly could afford to pay the standard price are the ones who make it difficult for those who truly cannot afford needed services. I would be willing to say that very few vets would not be willing to offer steeply discounted services when they are truly required, except that I can say from experience that vets become very accustomed to getting burned by clients who live in the ritziest part of town and drive BMW's and complain about how the vet's prices are too expensive.