Neutering

Why neuter?

Did you know that kittens can reach sexual maturity from around the age of 4 months old? This means they can then have kittens themselves! Neutering prevents unwanted pregnancies, helps control the cat population, reduces the likelihood of your cat developing certain conditions (mammary cancer and pyometra (womb infection) in females and FIV and Leukaemia virus in males transmitted through cat bites from fighting), and also curbs undesirable behaviours. Castrated males are much less likely to stray, spray, fight and be run over while wandering, whilst spaying females means they won’t come into season and ‘call’, thus avoiding drawing competitive toms to your house.

When to neuter?

“Traditionally male and female cats have often been neutered at six months of age, but this is after many cats reach sexual maturity and not based on any scientific rationale. For social, health and population control reasons, it is now recommended neutering should routinely take place at around 4 months of age.”

– https://icatcare.org/advice/neutering-your-cat/

In accordance with the charity International Cat Care’s recommendation, and Cat Protection’s early neutering scheme, we recommend neutering between 4 and 5 months of age.

Why choose us to neuter your cat over other practices?

We treat neuterings with the same standard of care as all our other surgical procedures, and whilst we reduce the cost of our surgical time to make the procedure as cost effective as possible, we never compromise on safety or sterility.

• Every patient we anaesthetise has a dedicated intravenous cannula so we can respond quickly to any patient change whilst under anaesthesia
• We use a superior anaesthetic with faster recovery and no ‘hangover’ effect (Sevoflurane)
• All early cat spays are kept warm during surgery using a forced- air warming system (Bair Hugger®) and they also wear socks! Maintaining core temperature prevents hypothermia and improves recovery time
• A registered veterinary nurse (RVN) monitors every anaesthetised patient via a combination of methods including a pulse oximeter and capnograph to check oxygen levels in the blood and carbon dioxide levels in the breath to ensure patients are stable
• All operations are performed using sterile gloves and single-use disposable sterile drapes
• Spays have small wounds and no external stitches, so are quick to heal and any scarring is minimal
• All neuters receive free laser therapy post-op to stimulate the body’s natural healing process
• We virtually never need to use distressing lampshade-style buster collars
• All pre and post op checks are included in the cost of neutering
• Pain relief is included in the cost of the procedure too and includes two pre-surgery pain killers given by injection, local anaesthetic during the procedure and 3 days of post-op pain-killer

Visit our Standards page for more information on our surgical standards of care.