- Is this a low income clinic or a low cost clinic?
- Age and weight requirements
- What is included for Surgery
- Other Health Concerns
- Wellness Exams
- Payment/deposit
- Is this a mobile service?
- Important pick up and drop off information
- Cancellation or Rescheduling
- Other requirements
- Payment Methods / Cash Payment
- Community or Feral Cats
If you want to learn more about high volume spay and neuter clinics and what this means for you and your cat, please read the following article High quality, high volume spay/neuter: an important and safe community service by Dr. EMILIA WONG GORDON, DVM, DABVP (SHELTER MEDICINE PRACTICE)
Is this a low income clinic or a low cost clinic?
This is a low cost clinic. This means that we are trying to keep costs as low as possible, but the service is available to anyone who wishes to book. There is no requirement to provide proof of income. Any person can book for a cat or dog spay or neuter at the prices listed.
If you need additional help affording spay or neuter services click here.
Age and weight requirements
In order to have your cat or dog spayed or neutered at our clinic they must be:
- Over 1.2 kilograms.
- Generally healthy (we will conduct a free wellness exam the morning of their appointment to ensure that they are fit for surgery).
- We will only spay and or neuter cats or dogs between the ages of 12 weeks and 6 years. Past 6 years old they will need to come in for an exam prior to surgery and we can run pre-operative bloodwork.
What is included in the surgery cost
All surgeries include:
* Pre-operative examination and assessment
* Premedication and sedation
* Anesthetic induction and maintenance
* Anesthetic monitoring
* Intraoperative IV fluids as required
* Multimodal pain control in hospital
* Post-operative pain control to give at home
* Incisional tattoo (standard indication that your cat has been spayed or neutered)
* Post-operative snack
Other Health Concerns
We have a few issues that arise during a routine spay or neuter.
- Some boy cats/dogs retain their testicles inside their abdomen. This is called Cryptorchidism. Depending on far the testicle is inside their abdomen we may or may not be able to continue with the surgery. There is an additional charge to complete these types of surgeries. We will contact you prior to proceeding in these situations.
- Often, mature female cats/dogs will come in heat. We will still continue with the surgery as planned if they are in heat.
- Fever or generally unwell. Or vet will conduct a wellness exam prior to surgery and if the cat/dog has a significant fever or is otherwise unwell they use their clinical best judgement to decide if they will proceed with surgery. If we must postpone surgery we will contact you to discuss a plan of action.
Wellness exam prior to Surgery
Every pet receives a pre-surgical wellness exam at no additional cost before their procedure. However, this exam is specifically focused on ensuring your pet is healthy enough to undergo anesthesia and surgery. It is not a full wellness exam to address other medical concerns or ongoing issues.
If you would like to discuss additional health concerns, have your pet checked for other issues, or get general medical advice, please book a full veterinary exam with our doctor. The standard veterinary exam fee will apply for that appointment.
Payment/deposit
Our clinic is run by a charity and is entirely revenue neutral. As a result, we require a deposit equal to $100 for each surgery booked and $50 for each wellness exam booked. We also rely on being fully booked each day to keep our prices at the current rates. Your deposit is applied to your final bill, you will need to pay the balance on the day of your surgery or appointment.
The deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable. Please ensure that you are able to attend your scheduled appointment. If you call us with 48 hours notice we will move your appointment to another date at no charge.
If you request additional services (flea treatment/vaccines/microchip, etc.) you can pay for those services on your appointment day. We accept cash, debit or credit card.
Is this a mobile service?
No. We are not mobile. We operate out of our commercial location at 811 Bay Street, Victoria BC.
Important pick up and drop off information
In order to be efficient and high volume (and therefore save you money) we intake all the animals in the morning (dogs and cats). We have a separate space to keep the cats so they are not stressed by the dogs arriving for surgery. Drop off is between 8:00-8:30 am. We will text you when your cat/dog is recovered and ready for pick up in the afternoon. Pickup should be no later than 4pm.
We cannot keep your cat later than the pick up time or overnight.
Cancellation or Rescheduling
In order to book an appointment you are required to pay a $100 deposit for surgery or $50 for a wellness appointment. However, if you change your mind and wish to cancel you can call or email the clinic for a cancellation and full refund with a minimum of 48 hours notice. The same policy applies to rescheduling. We are happy to move your appointment to another day within 48 hours notice.
Other requirements
In addition to the above, please remember the following:
- We accept appointments for both cats and dogs.
- Every cat that comes to the clinic must come in a properly contained cat or dog carrier.
- If you are bringing a feral cat for surgery, they must come in either a live animal trap OR a transfer cage. We will not accept a feral cat in a regular carrier. If you don’t have any of this equipment, email us to inquire about renting our equipment to use.
- Our initial exam is done by physically evaluating the health of the cat. We do not perform ultrasounds to determine if your cat/dog is pregnant. As a result, once surgery starts and we have made the initial incision, it would be at that time we would realize if a pregnancy exists or not. At this point, we will continue with the surgery and complete a spay abort. If this is a concern, we urge you to take your cat/dog to a alternate clinic prior to surgery and have an ultrasound completed.
Payment Methods / Cash Payment
In order to book an appointment we require a deposit equal to the cost plus tax of your surgery. Most people prefer to book and pay this deposit online. However, if you would prefer to pay in cash you can come to clinic in person.
Community or Feral Cats
Feral and community cats are a community problem that require community involvement. We do not trap, pay for the surgery or house feral cats for community members. But we do offer a trap rental and we will sterilize them at our clinic (you must have the funds to pay for the surgery and the rental). To find out more, click here.