Desexing

As well as stopping unwanted breeding, there are many good reasons to have your pet desexed. But if you are unsure, we recommend you first read “Should I Get My Pet Desexed?“

Desexing is quite safe. At Macarthur Veterinary Group we use the best possible anaesthetic, surgical and pain relief techniques to ensure the safety and comfort of your pet.

We can also desex other species including rabbits and ferrets, and there are good medical reasons for doing so.

What do I need to do?

Some preliminary things to consider

• Are your pet’s vaccinations up to date? They should be – preferably before coming into hospital.
• Do you want pre-anaesthetic blood tests for your pet? This can detect problems that our examination can’t such as liver and kidney disease or blood disorders. It is particularly important in older animals. For young animals, there is much less risk, but it is still a worthwhile precaution. If in doubt, ask us for advice.
• Is there anything else to be done at the same time? This may be the ideal opportunity to catch up on other things such as nail clipping, microchip implantation, heartworm tests, teeth cleaning or vaccinations. All of these can be done whilst your pet is asleep and blissfully unaware! Some of them are even cheaper if we do them while your pet is being desexed!

Before the surgery

• Book in at least a few days in advance.
  We usually do desexing operations Monday-Friday.
• Make sure your pet gets nothing at all to eat after 7pm the night before, and no water after 7am on the day of surgery.
• Bring your pet in at the appointed time on the surgery day (usually between 8:30 & 9am, but later in the morning, or the night before is OK if you prefer).
• Leave a telephone number where you can be contacted.
• Make sure you tell us about any health problems your pet may have, including any recent minor illnesses.

During and after surgery

Read Getting Your Pet Desexed for more information about anaesthesia and pain relief, the surgical procedure itself and caring for your pet after surgery.

After 10 days, you will need to make another appointment to get the stitches out.

What Does It Cost?

As you can see, there is a lot involved in performing a desexing operation – and making sure it’s done properly! Still, we keep our prices competitive. The actual costs vary according to the species, sex, size and age of the pet. Males (especially cats) are cheaper than females. For females, the procedure is similar for cats and dogs, but the difficulty and the time taken varies with the animal’s size – so does the cost. It also costs a bit more if she is already pregnant, in-season or very overweight.

Confused? Please phone us for a quote! If we know your pet’s weight, we can tell you exactly how much it will cost. The cost includes the examination, anaesthesia, pain relief, surgery, hospitalisation, IV fluids (for speys and canine castrates) and suture removal. It does not include the blood tests or other optional things mentioned earlier. Remember that the costs of desexing are partly offset by the discounts given on registration fees for desexed pets.

Need More Information?

If you would like more information about desexing, or about any other issues discussed above, please phone us, or come in and discuss it in person.

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