Spaying your pet prior to her first heat cycle or neutering your pet prior to maturity protects your pet from serious future health issues and helps control pet overpopulation.
Spaying your female dog or cat:
- Prevents her from becoming pregnant and eliminates all heat cycles and unwanted bleeding.
- Helps prevent serious medical conditions, including uterine infections and ovarian/uterine tumors.
- Reduces the risk of breast cancer.
Neutering your male dog or cat:
- Reduces the release of testosterone and eliminates reproductive behavior.
- Reduces negative behaviors like marking or spraying urine.
- Helps prevent serious medical conditions like testicular cancer or prostate issues.
When should my pet have the surgery?
Our veterinarians recommend that your pet be spayed or neutered at around six months of age. For females dogs and cats, this normally comes just before her first heat cycle. Having the surgery prior to the first cycle completely eliminates the risk of breast cancer.
For male dogs and cats, this comes before they become sexually mature and begin urine marking. Neutering also makes males less likely to fight and wander, reducing their chances of coming in contact with poisons, being hit by a car, or simply getting lost.
All pets must be current on the following core vaccines before surgery:
- Cats – Rabies and RCP vaccinations
- Dogs – Rabies, DAPP, and Bordetella vaccinations
Surgery Safety
As an AAHA-accredited hospital, we follow extensive safety protocols to protect your pet during and after surgery. Our safety procedures include:
- A pre-surgery physical exam and pre-anesthetic blood work to ensure that your pet is healthy
- IV fluids during surgery to support the kidney, liver, and heart
- Anesthesia protocol that is tailored to your pet’s health needs
- Monitoring of all your pet’s vitals during the surgery, including heart function and temperature
- After surgery, a dedicated technician monitors your pet’s vitals and ensures that your pet is comfortable
