A Frank Discussion about Spay or Neuter for your Pets

June is “Snip, Snip, Hooray!” Month at Freddie’s Place Animal Hospital and Urgent Care. Our Place has excellent discounts on spay & neuter procedures, as well as a great exam special for anti-anxiety & sedative medication consultation to prepare for fireworks season in July. Give the Best Care Anywhere Team at Freddie’s Place a call to discuss the specials or just stop by.

One of the most common questions that new pet owners have is, “Should I have my pet “fixed” (an antiquated term for spay/neutering)? This is an age old question that fur families have wrestled with since dogs became domesticated, and big cats became house cats. The correct and clinical answer is “YES, most definitely” in nearly every case, as there are overwhelming positives to the procedures. Still, there are pet parents that have fears or reservations and that are outright against having their pets spayed or neutered. In this weeks Dog Blog, our FreddieSez team will examine both sides of the controversy to help you make the best choice for your pets.

Why People Choose NOT to Spay/Neuter their Pets?

  • The Owner wants to use the Animal for Breeding

    This is a smaller subset of owners but a focused group. Breeders will normally abstain from spay/neuter plans until the animal has lived its usefulness in this role. At the point of retirement from the reproductive position, they are often evaluated for the procedure. They can then retire to a different kind of life.

  • The Cost of Surgery and After Care

    The ever rising cost of treatment vs the never rising cost of living is a consideration for more and more fur families. As many Veterinary Hospitals become chain related, and profits drive the decision making of the staff, the cost of a procedure like this can become something the average fur family has to plan for in advance. The “What ifs” often muddy up the mind.  “What if something goes wrong, what additional will that cost?”, “What if there are hidden cost or follow up treatments not detailed?”, “What if the medication needed for after care is expensive?”

  • Fear of the Surgery and Outcome for the pet

    Every pet parent has that “what if” moment. After all, we are talking an invasive surgery and using a general anesthesia during the procedure, which always leaves some worry in the back of every owners mind. This is a normal fear for your loved one, even though somewhat irrational, as the National number of deaths during a spay/neuter operation is less than .02% of all spay/neuter procedures. Occasionally, there are some after operation concerns that can happen, but those are less than 1% of all spay/neuter operations. If there are do occur, they are likely abnormalities that are discovered during the process. These will likely require no additional treatment (slightly over 10% of the time). Normally the biggest medical concern faced is “Fur Family Anxiety” for the block of time their fuzzy kids are in surgery and recovery. Again, this is normal and comes with love and worry and it is quickly cured by holding their pet after the process and nursing them back to health at home.

We decided that putting the Objections first would allow those who are or have been on the fence to associate their worry with a documented reason(s) and know that we understand, it’s normal. This type of hesitation doesn’t make anyone a bad pet parent… however, we would ask that before you make the call to NOT to spay/neuter, you consider all the positives of the procedure.

On the Plus Side of a Snip Job

Our friends at the Humane Society of America have a strong list of reasons of why you SHOULD take the leap to spay/neuter your pets, and we at Freddie’s Place fully support there opinions … especially when you overcome and eliminate the “Fear Factor” from the equation.

  • Cost Savings on Overall Healthcare

    Every negative can normally be counter balanced with a strong positive. As for the concern of cost… would you believe that, in the long run, chances are you’ll benefit for a cost savings. That can come in the form of overall healthcare saving throughout the life of the animal. Studies show that having the spay/neuter procedure done in a timely manner can actually produce a healthier pet. The risk of certain cancers and female issues are reduced by huge percentages in pets who have undergone spay/neuter procedures. So, you can “spay me now, or pay me later”, as the idea of a longer and less health impacted life will keep your overall pet healthcare costs down. You also see the  benefit of an animal that will spend their days as a pampered family pet with no designs of parenthood makes perfect sense.

    In comparison the possible impacts to your pets health and the cost of treat these conditions, the out of pocket expense of a spay/neuter procedure is minimal.

    To help with the upfront cost of the operation, there are Spay/Neuter Clinics ran by the SPCA or private firms like UCAN that can be more cost effective, due to their specializing in the procedure as their full time gig. “All Spay, All Day!” Factories tend to not have the same customer touch or facilities as your everyday wellness veterinarian. Keep in mind that the cost will be lower but, as a trade off, you are forced to deal with unknown doctors at a strange location that often seems to lack any quality, personal care, or bedside touch. Specialty clinics have high success rates for this procedure, simply because it’s their livelihood. Simply ask yourself if the cost cut is worth the fear factor of the unknown.

    Most pet insurance carriers include the spay/neuter in their list of covered procedures, and offer reduced to no cost for the operations.

  • Reduces Territorial and/or Bad Behavior

    Nearly all dogs and cats mark their territory, it’s a fact. The pee struggle is real, especially with new fur babies moving past their infant stage. Once you see the signs of marking you’ll know its time to consider the spay/neuter, as they have reached the right age for the procedure. If you have a multiple pack household, it takes one loose leg in the pack or pride to start a pee war. Once the procedure is over, you should see a marked decrease in marking and in many cases it stops all together. Cats spray in a mist pattern, and their urine is potent and has long lasting impact. Doctors suggest that most kittens be considered for spay/neuter by their 5th month. Taking care of the spay/neuter will normally reduce their urge to spray by more than 90%. Sometimes a cat is going to pee in a shoe for revenge, no matter how diligent or wonderful you might be!!

    Other “behavioral” issues that can be curbed with the procedure are thing like “barking and mounting”, “weird yowling or throaty call or cry”, neighborhood roaming and weird physical acts during heat (we’ve all been recipient of the “weirdo hump and rub” that our favorite furry can’t control).

  • Eliminates the Aggression

    As some pets come of age, they begin to exhibit dominate behavior in their family unit. This is normal as they start to search for their place in the pack. Nobody wants to be a bench warmer on a team of All Stars, so there is always jockeying for position in the pack. This attempted coop can, and often does, include the attempt to replace or overtake the ranking of their humans, as well (nothing personal, it’s an instinctual thing)  Having the spay/neuter will create a calmer and more easy going animal. They will no longer see the need for physicality or domination, as those urges fade. What shouldn’t change is the pets overall personality. Once the surgery is done and the recovery is complete, they should bounce back to their old self, minus some unneeded parts and uncontrollable habits.

  • Cuts the Risks of Certain Cancers

    Pets are developing cancer at an ever increasing rate. Having the spay/neuter reduces and/or eliminates certain types of cancer from ever showing up in your pet. Things like prostate cancer, testicular cancer, cancer of the uterus or ovaries are reduced or nearly completely gone from your pets future health profile. This peace of mind should be reason enough to schedule that spay/neuter procedure.

  • Helps Control Animal Overpopulation

    We would be remiss if we didn’t mention this as a benefit for everyone involved. The plain truth is that we live in a society of overpopulation in most, if not all, animal communities. Pet shelters and rescues are overflowing, as not enough families want “2nd chance” animals or shelter babies. Designer pets and puppies/kittens are always favored to your average “mixed breed” or elderly fur buddy.

    Cats have it worse, as it seems you can always get a cat for free from your buddy or from a guy in your neighborhood with a box of cats from an unwanted litter his female just birthed. Statics show that cats in shelters are less likely to ever get that second chance at a forever home.  To put real numbers to the problem of overpopulation, over 10,000 animals are euthanized on a daily basis in US shelters because they are abandoned and unwanted. Shelters are just to taxed and overcrowded to care, store, and feed all the animals.

But still the merry-go-round turns, as scores of animals go unaltered and left to their own devices. There is no birth control for your pets other than spay/neuter, and the animal is not going to walk into a veterinarian on their own to ask for help. In under-served communities (those without the veterinary resources or support needed) there are no options to have the spay/neuter procedure. In low income areas of the nation, families simply can’t afford the procedure, so it’s never done. There are over 70 million stray animals in this country that are left to fend for themselves, and reproduce at natures will. Until we, as the dominate species, decide that it is cruel and usual to abandon and destroy animals because they are too old, have unfix-able behavioral issues, cost to much, or are “just not a right fit”, then we will continue to let them down. Spay/Neuter is more than just a procedure, it is population control, behavioral control and potentially positively life altering for an animal.

Keep in mind, spay/neuter isn’t a magic FIX ALL for all problems, but you should see a reduction or elimination of most common concerns. The idea of a healthier, happier and more well behaved best buddy should be motivation enough. When you add in the long term savings that you could see from NOT having medical issues that arise in a pet who is not altered, then it does become a smart choice.

Another positive result of the procedure is that pets who have with a spay/neuter have a life expectancy of 2+ years longer than their “unaltered” counterparts. An additional 2 years with your fur kids is reason alone to push you into Camp Spay/Neuter, don’t you agree?

What Happens During a Spay/Neuter Procedure?

This is an all important question to understand and answer, and the answers do vary. It would be nothing but a guess for us to speak for everyone in the industry, however, at Freddie’s Place we can tell you exactly what our Spay/Neuter package includes…

  • Anesthetic Introduction/ Anesthesia

  • Bloodwork–PreOp Profile and CBC

  • IV Catheter Placement

  • IV Fluids, if needed or required

  • Post Op Antibiotic and Pain Injection

  • Take home Antibiotics and Pain Mediation

  • Complimentary Nail Trim

  • e-Collar

All of this is included at a single price for all cats and a varied pricing for dogs (based on weight). The spay procedure is more costly, simply because it is a more involved surgery.

There are possible additional items and procedures that could increase costs. Such things as overweight animals, senior pets, pets with pre-existing medical conditions, umbilical hernia repair, or a complete blood profile if your pet is over 7 years of age. Costs on these would be quoted to you prior to scheduling the surgery.

Overall, we believe our base package is complete and contains the needed items for the large majority of Spay/Neuter procedures. We also firmly believe you’ll find our prices at or below competitors other Animal Hospitals in our general area.  Add to that our Freddie’s Place state-of-the-art facility and Best Care Anywhere Team delivering compassionate and caring treatment to your special fur kids, we believe Freddie’s Place is the right choice for not only your pets spay/neuter, all wellness and urgent care health needs.

In the end, regardless who you chose, it makes good sense to consider these facts and do the right thing for you AND your fur family. Take the steps for a best possible life outcome by scheduling their Spay/Neuter. Your pets lives, and yours, will be less stressful and they will have a long term diagnosis of better health and happiness in the future. 

We hope this information was helpful and perhaps opened your eyes to some details you didn’t know prior to reading today’s Dog Blog. If you like what you read, keep in mind that we have a complete list of fun and informative pet health and wellness related articles in our #FreddieSez blog library archives. You’ll find our complete list of blogs are the following address; www.FreddiesPlaceAnimalHospital.com/FreddieSez

In closing, until we meet at the “Same Fred Time, Same Fred Channel”, we hope you have a fun and happy week ahead, that you treat each other with respect and kindness, be with the ones you love and love the ones your with, but above all else… always be Pet Friendly! #FreddieSez