It’s about time to get my pup spayed, so I made the preliminary appt and asked the vet’s office how much it would be. I about fell over when they told me…seriously, granted…it’s been a LONG time since I had a dog spayed, the last two dogs I had done were were male, with the most recent one neutered about 10 years ago. I had two cats neutered last year, and the two of them together were about half of the quote for the dog. So, I’m taking a general survey…how much did you pay and what part of the country are you in? Thanks for contributing.
Is there a low cost spay/neuter clinic in your area? I had my animals fixed through the humane society and it cost $60 for my bitch, $40 for my female cat, $30 for my male cat, and when we get our new pup neutered it will be $40. Plus if any vaccines are needed they’re included in the price.
Just got my pup done a couple weeks ago. The price for the spay was $295 + tax, and I got a $90 refund from the Humane Society. I also got her microchipped at the same time, and a couple retained baby teeth popped out. The total bill was $316.40. That did not include any vaccines.
The difference is that at a private practice you are going to have someone monitoring your pet throughout the procedure. This most likely includes blood pressure, heart rate and rhythm (ECG), oxygenation, respiratory rate, and anesthetic depth. You pet will probably be placed on IV fluids throughout the procedure, and will have a catheter for quick IV access should something bad happen under anesthesia. It will often include pre-anesthetic blood work to ensure there is nothing that would need further workup prior to surgery. Your pet will also get pain meds after they leave (not all spay/neuter clinics will do that). A private clinic can also perform other procedures at the same time, such as pulling any retained baby teeth, gastropexy in large dogs, etc.
That’s not to say a low-cost clinic will not do a good job. Their surgical skills are usually excellent, because they do so many surgeries. But you aren’t going to get the same bells and whistles. Whether you think this is important is up to you, but realize that although everything is usually fine, you have fewer safety nets should something go wrong.
Spays are always going to be more expensive than neuters. And cat neuters barely count as surgeries 
I second trying to find the low cost spat/neuter clinic. I am taking a momma cat that was dumped at my place abut 3 months ago and very pregnant at the time. She is a bit feral (can touch her but she runs a few feet away when I do) but not mean and had to be someone’s pet at some point as she will walk right into my house if I leave the door open. I decided I would wait until she had the kittens and they were old enough to separate before capturing her and the kittens. I have captured the kittens and they settled down real quickly (used welding glove to handle them at first). On Wednesday I am taking the whole lot to the low cost clinic in town. They will all get spayed/neutered and their vaccinations for $35 each. They also tick the ear to indicate that they have been altered. A friend is taking two of the kittens for barn cats - I am going to keep momma as a yard/barn cat and the last kitten I will try to rehome but if the right adopter does not come around I will keep her also.
I think our vet gets 80 for spaying, and 60 for neutering, and he’s never lost one, I’ve never known of one not to have an easy recovery. We have puppy owners drive four or five hours back rather than spend 600 where they are.
He has over 40 years of experience. No more expensive vet practice is better in any way.
Southside Va. PM me if interested.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t use a low-cost spay/neuter clinic. I’m just trying to explain the cost difference. It would be like having an elective surgery in Mexico vs in the US. You’ll probably be fine in either place if you are healthy going in. But in general you are going to be getting a higher quality of care if you have it done in the US. It’s also going to be a lot more expensive.
Just remember you get what you pay for (usually!).
Low cost clinics often will not give iv fluids to prevent associated risks, have licenced anesthesia technicians or provide post operative pain management.
There’s usually a good chance with low cost spay neuter clinics that your pet will come out just fine, but there are significantly increased risks with less trained staff, monitoring equipment and post operative care.
I think it was around $140, but nothing shocking… Eastern Washington… as a caveat, it was about 2 years ago…
I had my pets done at a low cost clinic-- it’s a real vet clinic, but the majority of their business is spay/neuter at affordable rates. Male cat $35, female cat $50, dog depends on the size (my 50lb dog was $65). For older animals, they require bloodwork prior to spay.
Everything is a la carte: you choose what services you’d like and that’s added to the basic fee. You can opt for low-cost vaccs, worming, and authorize other surgical procedures like hernia repair, if found. They do offer pain medication, for an additional $15. Complications (pregnancy) is also charged a bit extra.
Between the cats and my dog, the clinic has done a great job. I was quoted $200 for one cat at a local veterinary hospital…for that price, I had all four barn cats done. I understood it was a “bare bones” clinic, but my animals were healthy and had no complications.
Low cost clinic - used for dumpees, barn cats, and hobos once catchable - $55 female, $35 male on cats. $75 female, $65 male on dogs. $25 for feral cats in trap. Those fees do include pain meds and also mandatory rabies. I definitely had one cat - who turned out to be pregnant - who had IVs, as she had the paw shaved. She had about a 3-inch incision, too. They do have an additional $10 “difficult case” fee they can charge, and they did with her, but still reasonable.
Vet clinic - used for house cats on the above extra care theory. $110 female cats, $65 male cats. No idea with them on dogs. Vet clinic has a “bulk” discount for 3 or more.
I’m in the midwest. I know some friends, especially on the east coast, who have driven a few hundred miles for hundreds of $$ in savings, so shop around, including neighboring states.
Anyone from the Northeast care to chime in? None of the prices listed so far come close to what I was quoted (around $600). I have a good relationship with my vet, am very happy with the care. I feel that it’s the right thing to have him do it since I already inquired and booked my pre-surgical appt, but I may not be able to eat this month.
There’s nothing wrong with calling around for quotes and just because you set up an appointment doesn’t mean you have to keep it. If it’s really going to put a huge dent in your budget, it would be wise to do some comparison shopping.
The last time I had a dog fixed in the north east was 13 years ago, it was $135 at the vets office and they did the same kind of treatment as the clinics around here.
Maybe if you post your location someone might be able to refer other vets.
OP, SHOP AROUND! When I rescued my last dog at the a/c shelter,
the cost to acquire the female dog was $75. which included spay and rabies shot. I wanted my own vet to do it until his office quoted me almost $400. so I opted for one of the lower priced vets in the area. So for $75. plus cost of pain med. post surgery, it was worth it not to use my vet.
I paid about $300 earlier this year for a dog spay surgery. This is a large dog and I waited through one heat and had her spayed at 1 year, so that may make a difference. I had all the options - fluids, bloodwork, and she also had a hernia repair.
I would and have used the low cost clinic for feral cats. I am also a volunteer. Our low cost clinic requires either proof of need (meaning proof that a person’s income is below a certain level) or that the pet be a feral cat. It is very important that people understand two things. The first is what many people have mentioned here - most animals do fine, but there aren’t as many safeguards in place. A spay especially is a major surgery. The second is that the clinic couldn’t exist without donations. Many items are donated, the clinic has a number of volunteers, the vets volunteer their time. It is clearly a collaboration of a number of people in an attempt to provide services to those that couldn’t otherwise afford it and to alter feral cats.
It is relative. If you can’t afford it and it is going to cause serious problems, shop around as you can likely find something cheaper. If it is just on principal, remember how big of a surgery a spay is. It is a major abdominal surgery. If I can afford it, I prefer to go with my own regular vet as having a good relationship is so beneficial.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t use a low-cost spay/neuter clinic. I’m just trying to explain the cost difference. It would be like having an elective surgery in Mexico vs in the US. You’ll probably be fine in either place if you are healthy going in. But in general you are going to be getting a higher quality of care if you have it done in the US. It’s also going to be a lot more expensive.
what an interesting world view
OP If over monitoring you pet before and during surgery is important , then go with it.
There are plenty of low cost clinics who can do a fast safe and competent job for you. The advent of the pre-op blood, EKG, fluid ,blood pressure monitoring yadda yadda yadda comes as a means to generate income.
Is it needed? well I worked in vet clinical for 20 years and I would say not really.
Unless your dog has some underlying issue, the surgical safety is only as good as the technician monitoring them. If you are lucky they have had formal training, if you are real lucky they know what all the monitoring equipment means and how to respond to correct things when it goes poorly
I am sure you can find a reputable low cost service in your area
You can also decline all the extra pre and surgical monitoring at many places. If they wont let you, take it elsewhere.
[QUOTE=Casey09;8213593]
remember how big of a surgery a spay is. It is a major abdominal surgery. If I can afford it, I prefer to go with my own regular vet as having a good relationship is so beneficial.[/QUOTE]
Yes, I am going to go with my own vet, I feel that I owe it to him, he’s been good to us, and if there is any sort of issue, I’d rather he be the one to deal with it. I was just flabbergasted when they gave me the amount, I simply had NO idea it would be anywhere near that much.
I’ve done the low cost spay/neuter thing with barn cats, and I’ve also taken our animals to town sponsored rabies clinics, because it’s cheap and super convenient. I feel like with all the low-cost options out there, and places like Petco offering immunizations, it’s really tough for independent vets to make it. I want to help, really…but gosh is it a lot of $$.
I wouldn’t call good veterinary medicine “over monitoring.” I had an associate just the other day do a “routine” declaw on a 4 month old kitten. No pre-surgical blood work. Anesthesia went great. Woke up from anesthesia. But then suddenly died. Could doing blood work have clued her in that something was brewing? Possibly.
I was scheduled to spay a Schnauzer puppy. Did pre-op blood work. Very elevated liver values. Turned out to have a liver shunt. Very easily could have not woken up from anesthesia. She looked perfectly happy.
I could go on for days as I’ve been doing this for 15 years. As far as vets go, there’s no such thing as over-monitoring. We always want to hear that beep-beep as we do surgery. We always want someone standing there in case that beep-beep stops so they can get the lidocaine or atropine in fast. If that were your dog, so would you. Stuff happens, even to what looks like a perfectly healthy puppy.
Are we in this to make money? Of course. Do you want to make money at your job? Of course. We have a business to run. Staff to pay. Inventory to buy, rent to pay, etc. But we don’t jack up prices just because. We are practicing GOOD MEDICINE.
It’s okay that people go to the spay/neuter clinic. But when you pet gets sick (not from their work, that’s not what I’m saying) you will come to us because they don’t do that. The one near us doesn’t even do a pyometra or a C-section. They just don’t know how. They don’t know how to do a small mass removal. They don’t know how. We will see you then.
I’m in the northeast (NYC) and our cat’s spay was quoted between $350-600. We ended up on the lower end of the estimate ($400 maybe?) because it was an easy procedure.
$600 for a dog sounds about right for my area.
[QUOTE=hoopoe;8213608]
what an interesting world view
OP If over monitoring you pet before and during surgery is important , then go with it.
There are plenty of low cost clinics who can do a fast safe and competent job for you. The advent of the pre-op blood, EKG, fluid ,blood pressure monitoring yadda yadda yadda comes as a means to generate income.
Is it needed? well I worked in vet clinical for 20 years and I would say not really.
Unless your dog has some underlying issue, the surgical safety is only as good as the technician monitoring them. If you are lucky they have had formal training, if you are real lucky they know what all the monitoring equipment means and how to respond to correct things when it goes poorly
I am sure you can find a reputable low cost service in your area
You can also decline all the extra pre and surgical monitoring at many places. If they wont let you, take it elsewhere.[/QUOTE]
And I’m going to have to vehemently disagree. I work both as a regular day practice veterinarian and an ER clinician. Blood pressure monitoring is one of the biggest things we do to make sure things are going well. It doesn’t replace the technician, but it’s about the last thing I’d give up
