Spay & Neuter Services
At Ruckersville Animal Hospital, we recommend that all non-breeding dogs and cats be spayed and neutered. All patients admitted for routine altering services are able to be discharged the same day and will typically go home with a short course of oral pain/anti-inflammatory medications to be administered over several days.
We recommend all anesthetized patients have preanesthetic bloodwork and an ECG prior to their surgery, but do not require it for routine spay and neuter procedures. Our canine patients will receive an IV catheter in order to administer the anesthetic drugs, as will our female felines as the surgical procedure is more invasive. All anesthetized patients will be constantly monitored by one of our Licensed Veterinary Technicians and will receive an injection for pain/inflammation prior to their procedure.
Additional surgical options include nail trims, Home Again microchip placement and removal of deciduous (baby) teeth if applicable. These are all at additional costs and can be discussed with your the LVT when your pet is admitted to the hospital.
We recommend all anesthetized patients have preanesthetic bloodwork and an ECG prior to their surgery, but do not require it for routine spay and neuter procedures. Our canine patients will receive an IV catheter in order to administer the anesthetic drugs, as will our female felines as the surgical procedure is more invasive. All anesthetized patients will be constantly monitored by one of our Licensed Veterinary Technicians and will receive an injection for pain/inflammation prior to their procedure.
Additional surgical options include nail trims, Home Again microchip placement and removal of deciduous (baby) teeth if applicable. These are all at additional costs and can be discussed with your the LVT when your pet is admitted to the hospital.
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Canine Spay & Neuter
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Feline Spay & Neuter
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For female dogs, we routinely recommend they be spayed after 6 months of age. There are some exemptions to this "rule". Should your dog have a hooded or inset vulva, meaning there is a larger than normal amount of tissue above the vulva which makes it appear hidden, we will typically recommend that your pet go through at least one heat cycle. The reason for this is that when the hormone levels increase, the vulva will increase in size and may cause it to protrude more than previously. Having a hooded vulva could potentially cause chronic urinary tract infections and/or incontinence, which is why we recommend waiting in these cases.
We recommend for male dogs to be neutered after 1 year of age for small dogs and after 18 months for larger breeds. By delaying the procedure, it allows the body's skeletal and muscular systems to fully develop. Some exemptions to this is if the dog is showing unfavorable marking, territorial or aggressive behavior. In that case, we recommend the dog be neutered as early as 5 months of age. |
We recommend for both female and male cats to be surgically altered between 5-6 months of age. Female cats are considered spontaneous ovulators, meaning any sense of an intact male in the area can cause them to go into heat and therefore be ready to breed. As the cat's gestation period is 2 months, it is possible for cats to have up to 5 litters per year!
Male cats may begin inappropriately urinating (spraying) around the home as a way of marking their territory. Unfortunately, once a male cat begins to spray, they may continue to do so even after they are neutered. |