Why Different Places Charge Different Prices For Spaying And Neutering
As youll soon see, theres a range of prices when it comes to spaying and neutering.
Other factors that come into play when it comes to determining the cost of a spay/neuter surgery are the veterinarians personal charges. Better-known vets may charge a higher price to spay/neuter a cat than smaller ones.
Your location also plays a role. Cheaper cities will typically offer more inexpensive surgeries. If you live in a more populous city, you can generally expect to pay more. The cats weight can also boost the price in some instances .
What Happens During Spaying And Neutering Surgery
Spaying is the surgical removal of a female cats ovaries and uterus, while neutering is the removal of a male cats testicles. While both operations are conducted routinely with few complications, only licensed veterinarians are allowed to perform them.
Following surgery, your veterinarian will instruct you on how to care for your cat while he is recovering. Most cats are back to normal within a few days. The surgery site usually heals within two weeks and any skin stitches are removed at a follow-up appointment with your vet.
Does Early Spay/neuter Lead To Undesirable Behavior
A prospective 2014 study evaluated postsurgical behavioral issues in cats.19 Porters et al. randomly divided 800 cats into 2 groups: sterilized at 8 to 12 weeks or at 6 to 9 months of age. Researchers tracked undesirable behaviors from immediately after adoption up to 24 months after adoption and found no evidence that age at the time of sterilization had an effect on the number of or occurrence of undesirable behaviors.
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Are There Other Benefits To Spaying My Cat
The most obvious benefit is the prevention of unplanned pregnancies. There is no behavioral, medical, or scientific reason for letting your cat have a litter before she is spayed.
“There is no behavioral, medical, or scientific reason for letting your cat have a litter before she is spayed.”
Once a cat reaches puberty, usually at around seven months of age, she will have a heat or estrous cycle every two to three weeks for most of the year, unless she becomes pregnant. She will be ‘in heat’ or receptive to mating for approximately one week in each cycle. During heat, she may display unsociable behavior such as loud and persistent crying and frequent rubbing and rolling on the floor. She may also urinate outside her litterbox as a marking behavior. This behavior coupled with her scent, will attract male cats from miles around. Removal of the ovaries will stop her estrus cycles.
The Cost Of Spaying And Neutering
The average cost to spay/neuter a cat can range anywhere between $50 and $100. Neutering tends to cost less because it is a less complicated procedure than having a cat spayed. The total cost of the procedure usually covers the surgery and anesthesia as well as hospitalization. Most vets will check liver and kidney function prior to surgery. This can add $30 to $50 to the cost of the procedure. Vets also tack on an additional $50 if the cat is pregnant, in heat, or overweight. To spay/neuter a cat helps ease the burden on animal shelters. As a result, many shelters and vet clinics are eager to fix pets at a reduced cost. Cat owners should get price estimates from several animal hospitals to find the best prices.
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Reasons To Neuter Your Male Cat
1. Reduce unwanted kittens and reduce exposure to disease – Reasons 1 and 3 above apply to males and females. Additionally, new young tomcats in the neighborhood may threaten other cats. Typically, these older Tom cats wont hesitate to fight for territory or other females. This can increase the risk of contracting FIV and/or FeLV from fighting and biting, not to mention receiving a nasty cat bite abscess too. These also require a vets visit so reason number 2 above also applies!
2. Un-neutered Tomcats will stray further away from home – These cats will risk crossing busy roads to find females and sadly may be the victim of a road accident.
3. Tomcats may start to scent-mark their home – This stinks and is very hard to remove. Ive heard reports of cats spraying beds, walls, and even a fruit bowl. Yuck!!
Why Is It Essential For Cats To Be Spayed Or Neutered
Female cats reproduce very frequently and in large numbers, the reason for overpopulation in cats leading to the idea of spay/neuter. This procedure to control population and euthanization. Pet cats live and interact with our family.
Young cats have the lowest risks and are less likely to have severe complications during surgery. And it makes spaying/neutering a requisite procedure as it increases their chance for longer and healthier life and helps decrease their aggressive behaviour.
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Does Spaying Cause A Cat To Gain Weight
Spaying a cat does may their metabolism to slow down slightly. As a result, spayed cats are more at risk of gaining weight. However, you can help keep your cat healthy by making adjustments to their diet if required and introducing more activity and exercise into their daily routine to prevent obesity.
Benefits Of Spaying A Cat
There are many advantages to spaying your cat. Here are some of the most important:
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Population control
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Reduced risk of reproductive disease
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Eliminating heat cycles
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Behavioral advantages
Shelters and rescues are full of homeless cats, and feral cat populations in America cause problems for wildlife. Spaying your cat will prevent her from contributing to the cat overpopulation problem . Plus, pregnancy can be accompanied by costly, potentially dangerous complications for your cat.
In terms of health advantages, spaying your cat drastically reduces her risk of mammary and uterine cancer. It also prevents reproductive disorders like uterine infection , uterine rupture and torsion, metritis, and cystic changes. These conditions can be fatal and are not always treatablebut they are preventable, via spaying.
Health benefits of spaying aside, cat heats come with their own problems. Intact female cats are more likely to wander outside where they are exposed to other cats, cars, wild animals, fights, diseases, and injuries. Although cats do not generally have vaginal discharge during their heats, theyll often display behaviors that some owners find irritating, like increased meowing and howling. An intact female cat may go into heat as often as once per month.
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Should Female Cats Have A Litter Of Kittens Before Being Spayed
People used to think that female cats should have a litter of kittens before being spayed, but Corbett says theres no good reason for that. And if youre on the fence about spaying because youd like your children to experience kittens, he has an answer for that, too: become a foster family.
There are a lot of shelters that help moms and kittens and are able to provide that experience of raising kittens, Corbett says. But instead of adding more kittens to the world that need to find homes, youre helping homeless kittens.
Post Neutering Home Care
When vets finish the operation of neutering, you should have to follow important instructions for your pet care. Cats generally after being brought home, they will have anesthetic effects. Vets put protective ointment in cats eyes in order not to dry out and to avoid possible blurriness. When you are home with your newly neutered cat, provide a warm, dark, and quiet place at least for twenty-four hours.
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Why Should I Neuter My Cat
Neutering a cat has multiple benefits for your pet. For example, your cat will be less likely to contract certain diseases as well as avoid unwanted pregnancies. Other advantages of neutering or spaying a cat include:
- Neutered cats are less likely to stray from home, which protects them from being involved in road traffic accidents and fighting with other cats.
- Your pet may become more affectionate. Female cats can often become gentler.
- A reduced risk of contracting certain diseases, including feline leukaemia and feline aids.
- A decreased risk of your female cat developing a womb infection.
- If female cats are spayed at an early age, they are less likely to develop mammary cancer.
When To Have Your Cat Neutered
Most cats , can be neutered from 4 months old. Neutering at this age has many benefits, especially for female cats, however, its always important to discuss the decision with your vet because exact timings should be based on a number of different factors, including:
- Weight: The risk of anaesthetic can be slightly higher in small kittens, so your vet may recommend waiting until your cat is a certain weight before they are neutered. Its also important they are healthy shape because overweight cats have a higher anaesthetic risk and more chance of complications during surgery.
- Other health conditions: if your cat is suffering from another health condition it may change their ideal neutering time.
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When Should I Spay/neuter My Cat Or Kitten
In previous years, theres been a lot of debate on the proper timing of feline spays and neuters. So much so, that if you lined up 5 vets and asked them, you may get 5 different answers. This debate can lead to confusion and a reluctance to go ahead with the procedure. If you have previously owned a cat, the advice now is probably different from when you last asked.
A recent report by leading veterinarians has persuaded many governing veterinary bodies to call for neutering before 5 months of age. This is the time before kittens reach sexual maturity and holds the best chance of avoiding the problems listed above. For further reading on this, check out the Feline Fix by Five website.
Spayed Vs Neutered Difference Between Spay And Neuter In Cats
Getting your cat fixed is a term used for spay/neuter procedures in cats.
- Spaying: It is a sterilization procedure in cats where the uterus and ovaries of female cats are removed surgically. After this process, the female cat is not able to reproduce anymore.
- Neutering: Also known as castration, this sterilization procedure in male cats removes their testicles. After this surgery, your male cat will be unable to father the kittens. Neutering prevents unwanted kittens, roaming, fighting, and urine marking in house.
The best part of taking this surgery is that the cost of spayed or neutered surgery for your cat is much less than cost of having and caring for their kittens.
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Are There Spay And Neuter Risks
Complications for spaying and neutering are rare, but there are risks, Corbett says. The risks reflect any type of anesthesia or surgery, so you always have to say that death is a risk. There are a very, very small percentage of animals who can respond poorly to anesthesia, so thats the number one worry.
Kruck says that similar to how humans can react differently to anesthesia, so can animals. The actual surgery, however, is less worrisome.
The risks from the surgery are few because the procedures are very routine, says Kruck. Possible surgical risks include ligatures slipping, contamination of the surgical field, abnormal bleeding due to a clotting disorder, bruising, and pain.
Though its not necessarily a risk, its important to know that sometimes spayed cats will still go into heat. In some cases, part of an ovary is missed during surgery because it was hidden in the abdomen, so the procedure has to be done twice, Corbett says.
Overall, the risks are real, but they are rare.
If youre still nervous heading into the procedure, keep Humlies words in mind: Every pet owner is probably nervous about a surgery, even though its very, very routine surgery most of the time. At our clinic, our doctor has literally done thousands and thousands of them.
What Are The Complications With Spaying A Cat
The Complications with spaying a cat are:
- There is always a potential that your cat will experience negative side effects after being spayed, just as there is with any form of invasive surgery. Some animals react badly to the anesthesia used in surgery, and significant problems, including death, can result.
- Infections might also develop at the surgical site. Infections will be treated with antibiotics, and keeping the operation site clean can help reduce infection risk.
- If your cat eats her sutures, a no-chew cone may be placed around her neck to prevent her from accessing the operation site until it heals completely.
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Benefits Of Neutering Your Male Cat
Reduced numbers of unwanted kittens
One unneutered male cat can make many female cats pregnant. Having your male cat neutered can play a significant role in helping to reduce the number of homeless cats in your neighborhood.
Reduced risk of many common health issues
Neutering can help to reduce cat aggression and may mean fewer injuries from cat fights, and a reduced risk of your cat contracting FIV or FeLV . Neutering can also curb your male cats tendency to roam, reducing his risk of being injured by a vehicle.
Helps to reduce the incidence of spraying
Typically, unneutered male cats will spray urine inside the home more often than neutered males, and often try to get outside more. Having your male kitten neutered while hes young can help to prevent spraying and other territorial and mating behaviors from starting.
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Spaying And Neutering Considerations
A spayed or neutered animal will not be able to reproduce. Pet owners wishing to breed a cat in the future should take this into account. However, having a cat altered will improve overall health and may even add years to its lifespan. Spayed and neutered cats tend to be calmer than unfixed felines. Many pet owners with children choose to have cats fixed to make feisty, aggressive felines more docile and less of a threat to toddlers and babies. Some fixed cats gain weight after the procedure. This is due to hormonal and activity level changes. Many cat owners find it necessary to monitor a pets food intake after the surgery has been performed. Otherwise, spaying and neutering are quite safe.
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Why Spay Or Neuter
Removing a female dog or cats ovaries eliminates heat cycles and generally reduces the unwanted behaviors that may lead to owner frustration. Removing the testes from male dogs and cats reduces the breeding instinct, making them less inclined to roam and more content to stay at home.
Early spaying of female dogs and cats can help protect them from some serious health problems later in life such as uterine infections and breast cancer. Neutering your male pet can also lessen its risk of developing benign prostatic hyperplasia and testicular cancer.
The procedure has no effect on a pets intelligence or ability to learn, play, work or hunt. Some pets tend to be better behaved following surgical removal of their ovaries or testes, making them more desirable companions.
Spaying A Cat: Everything You Need To Know
Written bySmall Door’s medical experts
Making the decision to spay your cat can bring up lots of questions. What are the advantages of spaying your cat? When is the best time to spay? How do you care for your cat once shes been spayed? In this article, well discuss what you need to know to make this decision, as well as what you can do to prepare for your cats spaying.
In This Article
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Pros & Cons Of Spaying & Neutering Cats
Its time to start thinking about spaying or neutering your cat. But, you are not quite sure if it is the right thing to do. If youre wondering whether you should just leave your cat as nature intended, consider the positive and negative aspects of spaying and neutering before making your decision.
Spaying The Positive Side
Spaying removes the risk of pregnancy.
Pet overpopulation is a serious problem and by allowing your cat to have litters, you are adding to the problem. Finding homes for your new family additions is not as easy as you may think. Even if you choose to keep the kittens, you will have the additional cost of vaccines, parasite control, toys and food for several pets. In addition to costs, the health of the mother can be in jeopardy during delivery. Some new mothers can have serious complications delivering kittens and can even develop health problems during nursing. All these potential problems can be avoided by spaying your cat.
Spaying makes for a calmer cat.
Without the drive to mate, your cat may be quieter and wont be prone to cat calls and the incessant need to seek out a mate. The spayed pet no longer attracts males and their annoying advances and serenades. Spayed cats are also easier to get along with. They tend to be more gentle and affectionate.
Spaying keeps your cat healthier.
Spaying The Negative Side
Spaying means sterilization.
Spaying may cause weight gain.
Neutering The Positive Side
Neutering removes the risk of pregnancy.
What Are The Negative Effects Of Neutering Cats
All of the behavior changes mentioned above are positive changes. Plus, getting your female cat neutered will help prevent unwanted pregnancy and reduce the risk of some illnesses. However, there are some negatives to getting your kitty fixed. To give a balanced viewpoint here is some more detail on these drawbacks.
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