012. Neutering Cost
Description
This article is from the Basic Health Care FAQ, posted to rec.pets.cats newsgroup. Maintained by Cindy Tittle Moore with numerous contributions by others.
012. Neutering Cost
The cost can vary widely, depending on where you get it done. There are many pet-adoption places that will offer low-cost or even free neutering services, sometimes as a condition of adoption. Local animal clinics will often offer low-cost neutering. Be aware that spaying will always cost more than castrating at any given place since spaying is a more complex operation. Vets almost always charge more than clinics, partly because of overhead, but also because they often keep the animal overnight for observation and will do free followup on any later complications (a consideration in the case of missed ovaries).
In the US, there is at least one group, "Friends of Animals" (1-800-321-7387) that will give you information on low-cost spay/neutering places, or do it themselves. They often have price-reduction certificates that your vet may accept.
Quoting actual prices may or may not give you an idea of the cost for you in your area. Costs can range from US$10 for castration at a clinic to US$100 for spaying at the vet's. This is money well spent. One pair of cats, allowed to breed, and with 2 litters a year and 2.8 surviving kittens per litter, will account for 80,000 cats in 10 years!
Early Neutering
Early neutering is increasingly an option, especually used by human societies and shelters to ensure that the cats they adopt out will not produce any more kittens. Studies have shown that there are no adverse effects to neutering kittens at 7 weeks of age. See the CFA's [2]position on this issue.
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