How Much Does it Cost to Spay a Cat?

Knowing how much is it to spay a cat can mean the difference between worrying about affordability and making a choice that could potentially prevent hundreds of future kittens. However, there’s no denying that having your pets spayed or neutered is now an essential part of helping your animals live healthier lives. Of course, this article can only provide the average cost of neuter surgeries – but we give you everything you need to know in this complete breakdown of spaying and neutering for pet owners.

Why is it Important to Get a Female Cat Spayed?

As mentioned, many cat owners know that when you spay or neuter a cat, it can affect your pet’s health in many ways. In general, for the average cat, the benefits of spaying and neutering are as follows:

Stop Unwanted Kittens Being Born

Pet parents who are simply looking to stop their cat from getting pregnant, and helping with pet overpopulation, will be pleased to know that licensed veterinarians complete spay surgery so frequently that the surgical procedure is almost second nature.

Speaking to PetMD, Dr. Sturtz states that spay and neuter operations are “the least complicated surgery that we do. And, for a short procedure, it provides the most benefit for the animal’s quality of life.”

While most domestic cats will have undergone spay or neuter operations, feral cats can still happily procreate. Particularly male cats. Of course, those most at risk from the harm of breeding are female cats, who also have the most repercussions.

While neuter clinics do their best to keep up with controlling the population, this can only be done with proper cat spay operations. As such, doing so reduces the strain on animal shelters via strays and unwanted domestics.

Prevent Health Problems

While this list isn’t extensive and all-encompassing, some of the most common benefits of spay/neuter operations for cats (and pets in general) include:

To Prevent Testicular Cancer (in a Neutered Male Cat)

While this article focuses on spaying females, there’s significant evidence to suggest that neutering a male will prevent testicular cancer. For further info on whether this is the right choice for you, it’s worth seeking out the local vets for expert veterinary advice.

Reduce the Risk of Mammary Cancer

Pet parents will be pleased to know that spaying a cat fairly early in their life has been shown to dramatically reduce the risk of mammary cancer. In fact, if done before the first time a cat is in estrus (heat), the risk falls to below 1%. After the third heat, that risk increases to 26%.

To Reduce Undesirable Behaviors

One of the most common reasons why many owners of cats will look into spay/neuter options (other than to prevent unwanted pregnancies) is to reduce undesirable behaviors. If your cat has ever kept you up when they yowl loudly for a mate, or you feel that the human-animal bond is suffering through behaviors such as spraying inside the house or similar, then choosing to spay/neuter cats can be a very appealing alternative!

What Pet Owners Need to Consider When Spaying/Neutering a Cat

The price to spay a cat is naturally one of the biggest considerations – but do be aware that there are ways to affordably spay and neuter a cat. While these are often best discussed with a licensed veterinarian, we do give a general breakdown of what help you can get with spay/neuter surgery, below.

What Happens When Your Female Cat is Spayed?

Many people understand that spaying a cat is the term used for the surgical removal of the female cat’s reproductive organs. Indeed, it is a surgery that requires general anesthesia. The surgical process is based around placing a suture along the blood vessel that supplies the ovary/fallopian tubes. This reduces the risk of heamorage during the healing process.

After this, the ovarian artery and vein narrows and the ovary is removed, without any risk of bleeding from the wound. After this, the two ovarian horns are pulled down to reveal the uterus. Another suture is tied around the uterine body, for the same effect/reason. By doing this, the cat is also less likely to suffer from bacterial infection and therefore uterine infections.

After this, the uterus is removed. This process of removing the reproductive tract is not reversible (neither is neuter surgery) but offers plenty of reduced risk from potential health problems, as mentioned above.

At What Age Should you Spay a Cat?

While there are benefits to choosing different points of a cat’s age to spay cats, the general consensus is that pets should be spayed before they reach sexual maturity. In other worth, before the cat undergoes their first heat. The thought of placing your beloved pet under surgery a this age may be upsetting, but having your cat spayed or neutered can be much better for them in the long run.

While there’s nothing wrong with having your pet spayed or neutered at any age, this is the time when you can reap the most benefits – from reducing the risk of uterine tumors through to helping reduce the risk of prostate problems.

How Much Does it Cost to Get a Cat Neutered?

So, now you know the basics, it’s time to break down the cost of how much to get a cat fixed. However, as you may be aware, there can also be some additional costs, which we’ll give you a rundown of too.

Average Cost of Spay and Neuter Surgery

The average countrywide cost to spay female cats typically runs between $300 and $500. For male cats, the average will typically run around $200. These prices (for both the male cat and females) for spaying/neutering your furry friend are based entirely on private

Problems That Could Lead to Any Extra Cost

Because neutering and spaying surgery is so common, there are very few times when cost of surgery will instigate any additional pricing. However, there may be times when this will happen, such as when the vet feels there needs to be other urgent work done, while the pet is open and on the surgical table. Or, if you have a particularly pesky pet that doesn’t like to be held, you might notice the vet adds in the extra cost of clipping the claws or similar.

Looking into Financial Assistance and Low-Cost Clinics

If you aren’t sure you can afford the cost of neutering or spaying your pet, you’ll be please to know there that there are affordable options out there. Even if you don’t have any pet insurance plans under your name, you can still go with various charities and non-profits who provide full veterinarian services at a cost price. A good quality vet will usually know where to look for these, even if you don’t -and a good veterinarian will usually place the wellbeing of the animal above personal gain – happily pointing you in the direction of a place with reasonable neuter cat costs.