With costs for everything rising, many pet owners are face with a daunting question: where should you spay or neuter your companion dog or cat?
Many private practices will have costs ranging from $600-$900 per pet depending on age and size of the animal whereas a high-volume neuter clinic may range from $50-$150. So, what’s the difference?
Full-service Practice Charges Usually Include:
- Pre-anesthetic labwork
- surgery suite or sterile operating room (OR) used
- Close anesthetic monitoring, just like a human having an anesthetic procedure
- IV catheter for easy intravenous access if needed
- Pre-medications that are safer for the heart and blood pressure
- Inhaled gas anesthesia with intubation
- Broad spectrum pain medications immediately on recovery and medications to go home
- Monitoring during recovery
- Nail trimming if owner elected
- Microchipping if elected
- Follow up surgery recheck
- Easy access for post-operative issues or concerns
High-Volume Clinic Cost Usually include:
- Injectable anesthetics
- Assembly line style multi-pet surgery room used
- Spay or Neuter Tattoo
- Single 24-hour pain injection such as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
- Microchip
High volume may be an excellent choice if you have a young healthy animal and you are on a budget. If you have an older cat or dog or a pet with an underlying condition such as:
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Cushing’s disease
- Kidney problems
- Malnourished
- And more…
then anesthesia for your pet will be safer at a full-service practice that is able to take more preventative measures.
Additionally, some animals have other issues that need to be addressed like retained baby teeth that need to be removed or have tissue folds over their genitalia that traps dirt and should be surgically treated.
There are also giant breed dogs that have a 33% chance of having a life threatening stomach bloat and torsion called gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV) that can be pre-emptively treated by attaching their stomach to the inner abdominal wall during their spay or neuter. High-volume clinics are not set up for these things but a full-service veterinarian typically is.
The other benefit of a full-service practice is that pre-anesthetic labwork can catch underlying issues and your pet will receive good pain coverage before and after the procedure as well as fluids
There are pros and cons to both full-service and high-volume, low cost places. The main con to full-service is that it costs more but if you can afford it, it may be a safer and less stressful option for your pet.
For folks on a budget that want the best for their pet, surgery at their family vet may be cost-prohibitive. If that’s the case, a low-cost option may be the best one for you and your furry friend.
An in-between solution is to let your veterinarian do the pre-anesthetic labwork and provide pre- and post-operative pain medication for your pet and evaluate his or her health status prior to using a low-cost clinic
Most veterinarians understand the financial incentives to use a low-cost facility and can help you balance that with the reality of what your pet needs for the best outcome. Talk with your family veterinarian to find the solution that is right for you and your animal companion.
