FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
SPAY/Neuter
Spaying and neutering helps communities reduce the number of dogs and cats condemned to be euthanized in shelters or live without homes.
Spaying eliminates the heat cycle; stops the bloody discharge; reduces the incidence of a number of health problems such as ovarian and mammary cancer; promotes longer, healthier lives; reduces crying.
Neutering stops the mating drive; reduces the urge to roam; reduces mounting; can reduce spraying behavior in cats; eliminates testicular cancer and decreases the incidence of prostate cancer.
Book your appointment here.
Your pet should be at least 2 months old and weigh at least 2 pounds before undergoing surgery. We encourage early-age surgery due to the quick recovery time a younger cat or dog experiences.
We perform spay/neuter surgeries on cats, dogs, and rabbits. We neuter rats and guinea pigs.
It is best to wait 6-8 weeks after the kittens/puppies are born, so that the mother can nurse until her litter is weaned. Female cats/dogs can get pregnant even while nursing a young litter, so, if this is a possibility, the spay surgery can be done even while she is still nursing to prevent another pregnancy.
From October 2012 until December 2022, we have performed 64,867 spay/neuter surgeries. Numbers include dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, and rat surgeries Want to get your animal spayed or neutered? Book your appointment online here.
Each animal is anesthetized for surgery. While under, they are given an injection of painkillers, for pain relief during and immediately following surgery. Our staff veterinarians do recommend additional pain medication to go home with your pet, as many animals experience discomfort for several days.
If your male cat is neutered before he starts spraying, it is less likely he will spray. If you male cat is already in the habit of spraying, chances are unlikely that the neutering will cause his behavior to stop.
Two reasons. (1) We specialize in spay/neuter and have performed almost 60,000 surgeries since inception. It is safe to say we are experts at what we do. (2) Our services will cost much less. Based upon fees that would have charged to client if spay/neuter surgery had been performed at a full-service veterinary clinic including, but not limited to pre-surgical examination fee , monitoring fee, operating room fee, anesthesia fee, pack fee, medical waste fee, and overcharges for the surgical procedure; conservatively priced at $400 saved/client.
Yes, we do. However, the spay surgery cost varies according to the degree of heat and the stage of pregnancy. Please see our pricing here.
Clinic
Yes. There is always at least one veterinarian on site to do pre-op and post-op exams and surgeries. All of our veterinarians are licensed in Maryland.
Please visit us our online booking portal and follow the prompts and select a month and day that fits your schedule. If you are unable to book an appointment online, please contact us.
Given that our clinic specializes in spay/neuter surgeries, we do not require some of the costly equipment needed for a full-service veterinary practice.
Yes. If your animal is getting spay/neuter surgery, we are able to perform additional services, please click here. If you have a specific question, please contact us.
Alas, no. As a clinic specializing in high volume spay/neuter, we have neither the staff nor resources to perform wellness checks. But we certainly wish every animal the best of wellness!
Yes! We have forged almost 150 partnerships with regional and national rescue groups, seen here. If you are interested in partnering with us, please contact us.
No. We do not offer 24 hours care for animals.
FERAL/COMMUNITY CATS
Yes. We are a feral friendly clinic.
No, but many of our partners are actively engaged in finding foster and adoptive homes for feral kittens. We are happy to direct you to them – so let us know so we can help you!
Yes. As part of the SAVECats program, we offer free spay/neuter, microchip, rabies vaccine, and ear tip for Anne Arundel County residents. See here.
Yes. We offer spay/neuter, rabies vaccination, and ear tip for $40 for residents who live outside of Anne Arundel County.
Yes. We “rent” our traps for free to individuals who want to use our TNR services. We ask for your credit card at the time of rental. If you lose or are unable to return the rented traps, you will be charged the cost of the traps (~$75/per trap). Please contact the SAVECats Program Director, Niki Cochran, about cat trap rentals.
The SAVECats program was created following the passage of Anne Arundel County bill 96-17. This bill granted rights of life and liberty to cats that have been ear tipped. Learn more.
Yes. Please visit this link for get more information and sign up.
Yes, they do. Take for example, the 19,526 cats we spayed from 2012 to 2019. Using a kitten calculator, and assuming 3 litters/year, 4 kittens/litter, 50% female. 50% survival rate, 90% fertility rate, 4 year lifespan, these 16,429 cats would have produced an unbelievable 10,761,250 kittens. Want to help prevent homeless kittens? Here’s how.
check in/Pre-operative
Drop off for dogs is 7-7:30 am and for cats is 7:30-8 am. If you are running late, please call us at 443-607-6496 so that we can plan and address the situation accordingly.
-Complete and send us your consent form. If you have not completed the form, we are happy to provide one to you when you arrive for drop off.
-Send us a signed copy of your rabies vaccine certificate. If you are unable to find your animals’ rabies certificate and we are unable to procure it, we may need to administer the vaccine.
By law, all pets in Anne Arundel County are required to have up to date rabies vaccinations records. We are unable to perform surgery without proof of vaccination.
Fasting ensures that the animal’s stomach is empty of food, which reduces or eliminates the possibility of nausea and nausea-related choking following surgery.
Each animal is anesthetized for surgery. While under, they are given an injection of painkillers, for pain relief during and immediately following surgery. Our staff veterinarians do recommend additional pain medication to go home with your pet, as many animals experience discomfort for several days.
Even in young, healthy animals, there is an extremely small chance of complications related to general anesthesia. In older animals or animals with severe illness, that risk is increased. Fortunately, with the inhalant gas anesthetic agents being used and the monitoring equipment, those risks can me minimized.
The two things the veterinarian on site always recommends are (1) pain medications to go home and (2) e-collar, also known as an Elizabethan collar, “cone of shame,” or “lampshade.”
The core vaccines are rabies and DHLPP (distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvo, and parainfluenza). And yes, every pet should get them. Our staff veterinarians are happy to administer these during your visit. Please be advised that these vaccines can only be administered to animals that are greater than 2 months old and that the distemper vaccine will require boosters, which you can get from your full service vet.
It depends. Lyme disease is transmitted by tick bites. If your pet runs free in an overgrown back yard, or you live near or go for walks in wooded area, you may want to consider the lyme vaccine.
Check out/post-operative
Glad you asked! Typically, checkout is a three-step process. It starts when you receive a call from us to go over post-operative care instructions for your animal and discuss the surgery, services, and products you elected to have that day. Then, you will receive, by email, a link to a secure payment portal – where you can review and pay your invoice. The final step involves your arrival at the clinic parking lot; texting us (text number provided at check-in) to enter the virtual discharge queue; coming up to go over the visit summary, settle balances, and chat; and us saying farewell to you and our new bestest furry friend.
Discharge of dogs runs from 2-3 pm. Discharge of cats runs from 3-4. If you are unable to arrive within the appropriate time periods, please call us; be advised, however, that we do charge a late pickup fee for pickup after 4 pm.
14 days. During this period, keep your pet indoors where they can remain safe and comfortable. Dogs may be walked briefly on a leash to relieve themselves.
The best way is by our email or text number (provided at check-in). Please send your post-op pictures or questions to this number. During business hours, we respond rather quickly; after business hours, we do our best to respond as quickly as possible.
If your animal is in distress, please visit the closest emergency animal hospital.
Please limit your pets’ physical activity; no running, jumping, rowdy play, swimming, or strenuous activity during the 14 day recovery period.
Following surgery, your pet may not want to eat – and this is perfectly normal. Your pet’s appetite should return after 24 hours.
Do not bathe during the recovery period. Keep the incision area clean and dry. A rub-down with a damp towel is an appropriate and safe alternative.
After surgery, your pet may experience difficulty having bowel movements. It may take a few days for gastrointestinal system to return to normal function.
Some pets will cry or whine as they are waking up from anesthesia, in response to administered pain medication, or in response to pain. Our veterinarians do recommend additional pain medication to go home, and this may help alleviate pain and reduce vocalization.
Your pet may experience diarrhea as a consequence of administered or prescribed medicine. If diarrhea is bloody or remains after 12-24 hours, please contact us.
We recommend that you keep the e-collar on your pet for the full 14 days during recovery. Without an e-collar, your pet may lick the incision site, increasing the chance of discomfort, inflammation, infection, suture removal, and, in the worst case, bleeding due to opening the surgical wound.
Keep the incision site clean and dry during recovery. If your pet has injured or opened the incision site, confine and e-collar your pet and contact us.
Our veterinarians administer pain medication prior to surgery to alleviate pain during recovery; this pain medication wears off following surgery in the evening, the same day as surgery. We recommend and offer a three-day supply of pain medication to go home with your pet. Please do not administer over-the-counter medication to relieve your pet’s pain.
Despite prescribed pain medication, pets may experience pain and, consequentially, restlessness, difficulty sleeping, tenderness, and/or loss of appetite. If these symptoms arise and persist for 24 hours, please confine your pet and contact us.
Panting is common may occur due to a reaction to medication, soreness, or anxiety. This should resolve in 12-24 hours.
Discharge of dogs runs from 2-3 pm. Discharge of cats runs from 3-4. If you are unable to arrive within the appropriate time periods, please call us; be advised, however, that we do charge a late pickup fee for pickup after 4 pm.
The full recovery period is 14 days. During this period, keep your pet indoors where they can remain safe and comfortable. Dogs may be walked briefly on a leash to relieve themselves.
In the surgical area, fluid produced during healing may accumulate in a seroma, or fluid pocket. Most frequently, a seroma is not painful, does not interfere with healing, and absorbs into the body. However, under some circumstances, the seroma may become enlarged and need to be drained. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Trembling or shaking is a common physiological response to stress from surgery. The trembling may be localized to the surgical area or involve the entire body. Shaking is not necessarily an indicator of pain, cold, or distress. If shaking persists or you are concerned, please contact us.
Your pet may have difficulty urinating, be unable to urinate, or be unable control urination after surgery. This effect may be a temporary side effect of anesthesia drugs or mediation but should subside after 12-24 hours.
Nausea and vomiting may occur after surgery as the anesthesia drugs wear off. If vomiting persists or blood appears in the vomitus, please let us know.