Low Cost Spaying?

[Quiksilver]

I adopted my cat at the Rosedale Animal Hospital. Asked about the price to have my female cat spayed and they said $300 plus $60 bloodwork, plus taxes!

So this is going to cost me a pretty penny to say the least. I have tried contacting Toronto Animal Services that charge around $90 to have a cat spayed; but unfortunately they only do bookings on Wednesdays and open at 8:30am ET ... I called at 8:35am, was on hold for 5 minutes and by 8:40am when an operator finally answered, she told me that they were booked for April 4th and no further bookings could be made until next Wednesday!

I've tried contacting them before as well and got the same response (a couple of weeks ago)

This is getting too much and they're evidently extremely busy so looks like I won't be able to get my cat spayed by them in a reasonable time. My cat is going through her heat cycle right now and it really pains me to see her like this.

I neglected to have her spayed before because she went through her first cycle at 8 months and never had another one until after the new year; odd really. Now after 3 weeks or so, she's in heat again.

Anyway, does anyone know a good, reputable vet that will charge at least way less than $400 to have a cat spayed? I understand that it will be impossible to find other clinic that charges $90 but $400 is also steep, so maybe a price range of over $100 and below $200, or $250?

Does anyone know of a vet that is reasonable in prices in the downtown Toronto area? I don't drive so I can't really go to any place outside the GTA but has anyone had their cats spayed recently for an economical price (while getting some good results post-surgery)?

I can't really afford $400.

Your info and help is very much appreciated. I'm running out of options here.

Thanks!

P.S.: I have insurance for this cat from petinsurance.ca but they do not cover spayings but is there someone out there that may charge less if I had insurance?

UPDATE: Downtown Animal Hospital charges $455 plus taxes ... OUCH!

[chico2]

WoW,that is expensive
It would probably be worth your while,to call a whole bunch of vets in the phone-book and maybe take the sub-way or a cab to get to outside of TO.
I'm in Oakville and my vet is definitely not cheap.
But there are tons of vets out there,call around,unless someone here knows of one.Good Luck!!
It surprises me the animal-hospital where you got her from,would not give you a discount,after all you adopted the cat from there.

[Quiksilver]

Well the Annex Animal Hospital quoted me at around $250 including any examinations and taxes, so not too bad. I guess this is the best deal I am bound to find.

Now I am hoping if anyone can give me some "reviews" of this Animal Hospital. I used to be a dog person and hated cats, but this little girl has given me a new found respect for felines all around I'd hate to take her to a sub-par place and, god forbid, something horrible happens.

[downloader]

Hey Quick can't you make another appointment with them? After all its a $300 difference in price. I'm not sure if cats are like dogs, you can't get them spayed when in heat. Good luck

www.bluewhippet.net

[Quiksilver]

Originally Posted by downloader

Hey Quick can't you make another appointment with them? After all its a $300 difference in price. I'm not sure if cats are like dogs, you can't get them spayed when in heat. Good luck

www.bluewhippet.net

No, exactly. I am not going to put her under the knife now that she's in heat. I leave on a trip next week (from Tuesday to Friday) so hopefully she'll be heat-free by then (her cycle started last Sunday, so hopefully she'll over this by this Sunday or so)

So the week after that (end of February) I will make an appointment with the Annex Animal Hospital so hopefully everything goes smoothly with her operation.

Question here though, are cats really in pain when they're in heat? especially if you try to pet them and they scream louder? Should I not handle my cat too much during this period?

[kayla]

I went through this recently and ended up calling the Montreal SPCA to see if they had a low cost spay/neuter program. They didn't but were able to give me a few phone numbers of people who did for about $40. The only problem was about a 2-3 week waiting time, but if you have to wait until she's out of heat anyways then this might be ok for you (and there might be less of a wait in Toronto anyways).

As for your question about the heat I'm not sure, I have also noticed cats in heat get more excited when you pet them. I have also noticed with some cats it helps to play with them to get their mind off it. Have you tried this? Or some extra yummy treats or catnip or something? I don't know if they are really in pain in the usual sense of the word, I kind of doubt it, I'm guessing it's more similar to a really strong hunger pain but who knows! Good luck.

[Inisfad]

I may make some enemies here, but I have to say that, unless a cat was really unhealthy to begin with (and then probably a spay at that time wouldn't be advisable anyway), I have never done any bloodwork prior to a spay or neuter. In my defense, I have to say that all of the 'pets' that I have done have been abandoned or strays (I've actually never had a pet from a pet store or breeder, but have had over 60 cats and 20 dogs in the past 10 years or so, re-homing some and keeping the ones no one wanted). What kind of bloodwork do they do for a spay, or what are they looking for? My vet always told me it was the anesthesia that could be harmful, if anything. Usually I found that animal sanctuaries (as opposed to shelters that destroy animals in a certain period of time) had good info for low cost s/n.

[badger]

I'm always asked if I want pre-op bloodwork and I usually say no, unless the vet finds something suspicious during the initial examination; and I have to sign a paper stating my refusal, probably so that if anything goes wrong during the op because of an underlying condition, I can't hold them responsible. It does not include testing for viruses, that would be an additional $50 each. My vet provides basic vaccs and neutering (male) for $125, which is cheap compared to what I'm reading here. This includes the initial exam, which is basically just a once over (teeth, eyes, ears and a feel-up).
I may have posted this before, but when some vets in BC (all, or almost all, of East Indian origin) got together and decided to offer cheap spay/neutering to their clients, they were hounded by their professional association and other vets, who ended up challenging their mastery of English! I have no idea if they went ahead, but I think these professional associations can be real bullies, and are basically untouchable (see Canadian College of Physicians and Surgeons, a secret society if there ever was one).

[chico2]

Cindy,don't be sorry,not everyone knows what a cruel procedure declawing is and the vet is certainly not going to tell you,at least not most vets.
It compares to cutting off the first joint on your fingers
We've had lenghty discussions about declawing,even a very descriptive piece,explainng what is really done to the cat.
I am not PC-savvy enough to find it in the Forum,but I am sure someone else is.
In my lifetime,I've had maybe 15 cats,would never even dream of declawing,just the word sends shivers down my spine.

[chico2]

Badger,I just checked Vinnies neuter-bill from 2003,it was $100+$25 recheck,it was just before my old vet left for Scotland.
I am sure by now with the vets(3) that took over it's at least $250.

[Winston]

Chico 2

I asked my vet years ago because I really do not have a lot of information about this and they advised that they no longer perform that type of a declaw??? That it was actually the removal of the nail and some form of a glue / suture // to help with healing the skin...I could not stand the thought of it being an amputation....

Cindy

[Mahealani770]

I feel so sorry for all of you who can't find low-cost clinics. Here in Georgia, Petco has a vet that comes into the store and sets up a low-cost clinic right there in the middle of one of the aisles! All you have to do is get there early and get in line. Shots and other things cost 50% less than what you'd pay at a vet's office. While we were taking Minnie (stray kitty) there for shots, we were given a flyer for the Atlanta Animal Alliance and they have something called project catsnip. You can read about them on www.projectcatsnip.com. They are a non-profit, low-cost mobile clinic. I just went on the website and made a reservation for Minnie and her spay will only be $60.00. Everything else including blood work and pain meds are free. They even include a free rabies shot. Dogs are $40.00 to get fixed. Maybe they travel to Canada? Check it out. I wish you all luck in finding affordable vet care. And to the moderators, forgive me if I wasn't allowed to post this information, just trying to help.
~M~

[vfrohloff]

Originally Posted by Inisfad

I may make some enemies here, but I have to say that, unless a cat was really unhealthy to begin with (and then probably a spay at that time wouldn't be advisable anyway), I have never done any bloodwork prior to a spay or neuter.

Me either, unless the vet has reason to believe there is something wrong with the cat. Quite honestly, I wouldn't be able to afford to spay/neuter my own cats and ferals at $400 each. I guess in that case I would just have far fewer cats than the 5 I have now, and the ferals I feed would be allowed to breed rampantly all year long. Is that a better option than getting them fixed at a cheaper spay/neuter clinic with no bloodwork done? I don't think so. By the way, it is my own vet that runs the spay/neuter clinic at Vanier College and I trust her judgement 100%. If she doesn't feel the need for bloodwork, then neither do I.

[Golden Girls]

Originally Posted by Inisfad

I may make some enemies here, but I have to say that, unless a cat was really unhealthy to begin with (and then probably a spay at that time wouldn't be advisable anyway), I have never done any bloodwork prior to a spay or neuter

My above opinion was based on the fact that the last dog I helped (Dobie Max)had kidney failure and who would know - he was a stray? I feel the vet should of advised me it would be better in this instance to get the blood work done as his age was also questionable. He never should of had to endure the surgery nor should he of died so tragically and painfully - 2 days later. This was a very painful lesson.

[chico2]

I don't think I had bloodworks done on my cats either when they were neutered,but they were kittens and otherwise healthy.
Now,when my cats are older,whenever they need anasthesia,I usually have bloodwork done before,the same as would be done with me,should I need surgery.
With stray animals,it probably is needed,although shelters and rescuers are trying to keep the costs down,since there probably is not enough money available,nobody knows their over-all health,which GG sadly discovered:sad:
It seems to me though,bloodwork is pushed by the vet,I was told since Rocky is 10yrs(I thought he was 12 ) old and Chico 9yrs,they need bloodtests every year.

[OntarioGreys]

Bloodtests provide info on bloodclotting times, liver, kidney, pancreas health, WBC can tell them if there is a current infection , some things can not be determined simply by a physical exam alone, some issues the vet can get around safely by using different combos of anethesia drugs, other issues may warrant antibiobics first and holding off on the surgery, other issues may require whole blood transfusions prior to the surgery taking place to get the animal through alive, animal do die in surgery that is the reason you are required to sign a release form prior to surgery absolving the vet from blame should your pet not survive.

With Maya she looks absolutely healthy she is playful and activel has a great shiny coat, the absolute picture of heath,her first physical was fine but at 2 years old big surprises were learned ,

but she has a blood clotting disorder, a factor in her blood that allows it to clot is barely there, which means she require transfusions to ensure clotting and healing will take place, she also suffers from hyperthermia, drugs have to be carefully chosen, she needs to be sedated and operated on right away do to stress disorder, a certain med needs to be on standby ready to inject immediately if she starts to crash during sugery, she would likely be referred to another clinic that has the equipment for laser surgery, throughout her entire surgery and recovery her temperature and respiratory must be closely monitered that means in recovery she cannot be left alone and just checked on from time to time, extra staff has to be brought to ensure her vitals are monitored 100% of the time of her stay.
Even though we know this today if she has surgery a month from know I still want another bloodtest then as well to check for any changes new problems that could cause problems.
If I had not done annual bloodwork and decided to forgo presurgery bloodwork, chances are she would not live thru the surgery.

I know there have been several posts here from people who have lost pets during routine surgeries a blood test is a lot cheaper than paying for a cremation.

As far as costs, a vet in the Toronto area has significantly higher operating cost, rents, mortgages and city taxes have to paid they often have more modern technologies compared to rural vets, I pay less I am in a small city taxes and property costs here are way lower than Toronto , here a person can buy a mansion for a million in the heart of Toronto you may be likely to find a fixer upper, so that difference get reflected in how much a vet charges

Another factor is the technologies the vet has in his practice, some offer laser surgeries and have their own ultra sound equipment, that equipment is very expensive to have but can make the difference in life and death in diagnosing in on the surgery table

[abraxus]

I'm sympathetic to "Quicksilver"'s dilemma about spaying. I adopted my cat from the H. Society in Jan., they mailed me a $150 spaying voucher, but I'm encountering the same problems.......cheapest I've found is $300 before taxes, bloodwork etc. I too have been on endless hold with Toronto Animal Services spaying service. My only suggestion is to do what I'm going to do - go down to Exhibition Place in person and talk to someone at A. Services face to face, politely of course. There is an epidemic of feral cats in Toronto right now and the city should be more on the ball with this service. I'm going to head down today, so if I find out anything I'll post. I also think the H. Society should provide a spay service themselves.......my cat was only there for a day before we adopted her, otherwise it would have been done by their vets. Now it's my problem. Seems almost like a case of feline services price fixing here in Toronto,as I've heard of much cheaper prices elsewhere.

[heart433]

Etobicoke Vetrinary Hospital charges $117&up for a spay/neuter. They are a small clinic and never very busy. You need only call about a week to let them prepare. I have taken my and my sister's cats to them and they have a small, friendly staff that will talk to you for as long as you need to feel comfortable.

http://www.infovet.ca/etobicokevet/s...5&itemId=2457&

[Cattyjack]

http://www.spayneuter.ontariospca.ca/