Dog vs. cat neutering

[Carrie12345]

My pets currently go to different vet practices. The dog had some issues when we first got him and we wound up at the 24/7 animal hospital, and just kept him with them since they have a much more comfortable building and I hate transferring records, lol.

So, we’re finally planning to get our 3 and a half pound dog neutered. His vet gave us an estimate of $520-580.

My cats’ neutering at the other practice were done about a dozen years ago for $60/each. (Each cat, not each testicle, lol.) I still have the bill in my files. I checked! The dogs I had at that practice were already neutered when we got them.

I’ll be calling the other practice tomorrow, but can anyone tell me why in the world the dog would be SO much more expensive??? None of the animals have/had any medical issues to take into consideration.

[Pawz4me]

A lot has changed in a dozen years!

Inflation is a thing in vet expenses, just like everything else.

Newer anesthesia drugs are more expensive, but also much safer.

In recent years vet medicine has incorporated many things that were once reserved for human medicine, like mechanisms to help a pet maintain his body temperature during surgery. That can be a huge safety thing, but it's not w/o cost. Ditto better equipment for monitoring BP, heart rate, etc., during surgery.

Many vets' thinking on pain relief for pets undergoing surgeries has changed in the last decade. IMO that's all for the good, but again -- more cost.

Is this vet doing pre-anesthesia blood work? Many places consider that optional, but I always, always, always have it done. I wouldn't have surgery requiring general anesthesia w/o making sure everything was okay, so why would I risk it with my pets? See if that's included in the price quoted.

There are probably other things I'm not thinking about, but personally I wouldn't shop around for the cheapest spay/neuter vet unless I absolutely couldn't afford to do it any other way. Especially with such a tiny dog. Or I'd at least want to make sure I was comparing apples to apples -- i.e., is the same anesthesia being used, is pain medicine being administered by each vet, does the price quoted included pre-anesthesia blood work or not, etc.

[RootAnn]

We had a female cat "fixed" 15 years ago for maybe $100. We had a male "fixed" within the last couple years at the same place (new owners though) and it cost a LOT more - and we didn't do the optional procedures they recommended. And the male procedure is cheaper overall, I believe.

So, get another quote, but know it is more expensive now.

[AbcdeDooDah]

We're getting our 45lb dog female fixed for $120. That quote is crazy!

[Tanaqui]

This is why I got my pets done through the ASPCA van - $15 flat rate if you have a benefits card, and they don't actually care whose card you use.

Edited March 12, 2019 by Tanaqui

[strawberries]

Just checked my regular veterinarian's website and currently for dogs under 50 lbs, neutering is $85. Spaying for a dog under 40 lbs is $110.  The prices go up for larger dogs.

[ktgrok]

Part of it is that when going to a 24/7 vet that has an ER service the overhead is much higher. Think of what it would cost to get your normal cold or well visit done at the human emergency room! So that's part of it.

That said, your estimate for the cat sounds high. Are you having them give you itemized quotes, so you can compare apples to apples? A cat neuter is a VERY short surgery and for a young, healthy cat is one of the only times I'd ever okay a surgery without bloodwork and an IV catheter/fluids, just because it is so freaking fast. Those are probably driving the cost up. But do call around, but again, get itemized quotes so you are comparing proper. A place with untrained staff, no pain meds, etc will of course be cheaper than a place with certified techs, best practices, heated OR tables, iv fluids, pre-op bloodwork, etc. Somewhere in the middle is probably what you are looking for. 

 

[ktgrok]

Also, keep in mind that some places do subsidized neuter/spay that is partly funded by charities, or out of the practices proceeds, or even animal care and control dollars. So that hides the true cost. People here always ask why a spay is so much cheaper at "spay and save" versus the vet. Well, the doctors are volunteering their time, as are all the staff and they get tons of donations and have fundraisers. So yeah...of course it is cheaper!

Edited March 12, 2019 by Ktgrok

[Carrie12345]

Well, the estimate isn’t exactly easy to decipher (for me.) It gives $352.28 for canine castration elective surgery, $82.19- - $107.85 for idexx CBC, and $84.01 - $110.26 for idexx Chem 10.  There are 31 other coded line items, but all entered as $0.

For whatever it’s worth, our other vet is also an emergency location with full ER, they just aren’t staffed 24/7 and are always jam packed, so even emergency appointments are hard to get. They referred us to the other place because they couldn’t fit us in when we had an off-hours emergency.

[ktgrok]

Ok, so the CBC and the Chem 10 are the bloodwork. I'm happy to decipher the rest if you want. You can also ask if you can decline stuff, etc. 

[ktgrok]

Remember, everyone, that prices will vary WILDLY because of cost of living. We have people who are in areas where a 3 bedroom house is less than 100K and people who live where a 3 bedroom house is no less than 900K. When property values vary that much so will the cost of owning a vet hospital, and those costs are passed on to the client. So what someone charges in a small town in Kansas will not look like what is charged in Silicon Valley. 

That said, in my area that would be very high for a cat neuter. 

And although I'm a former vet tech, for financial reasons I skipped the bloodwork and IV on my own cat when he was neutered, just because I trusted the staff and knew it would be literally a 10 minute or less procedure, and because we were going to neuter him no matter what..wasn't like blood work would effect that in the end. An intact male cat wasn't going to live in my house, or any house. 

[elegantlion]

They're charging $100 for a CBC? Eons ago when I worked in the vet, those were done in house, while a chem panel would be sent out. They're probably sending them both out. 

Also, agree with Katie, cats are easy to neuter - seriously easy. 

Depending upon the breed of the dog, they might have known issues with anesthesia. Smaller dogs can be more delicate during surgery than big dogs. 

The estimate is still way high imo. But yes, a dog castration is going to be more than a cat in most cases. 

 

 

[ktgrok]

31 minutes ago, elegantlion said:

They're charging $100 for a CBC? Eons ago when I worked in the vet, those were done in house, while a chem panel would be sent out. They're probably sending them both out. 

Also, agree with Katie, cats are easy to neuter - seriously easy. 

Depending upon the breed of the dog, they might have known issues with anesthesia. Smaller dogs can be more delicate during surgery than big dogs. 

The estimate is still way high imo. But yes, a dog castration is going to be more than a cat in most cases. 

 

 

Yeah, 100 for a CBC is crazy pants for my area. But again, maybe this is a high cost of living area?

[Pawz4me]

9 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

 

That said, in my area that would be very high for a cat neuter. 

 

8 hours ago, elegantlion said:

 

Also, agree with Katie, cats are easy to neuter - seriously easy. 

Depending upon the breed of the dog, they might have known issues with anesthesia. Smaller dogs can be more delicate during surgery than big dogs. 

 

 

It's Carrie's dog who is being neutered. A very tiny dog. And yes, I would worry about the size presenting extra complications (although in general the smaller the dog the less a s/n costs). 

Vet prices can vary HUGELY depending on geographic area/cost of living. That's one reason I rarely chime in on costs. What I pay for a certain service or procedure would only be relevant to people in my general area. No doubt those in HCOL areas would think I'm getting an absolute steal, and those in LCOL areas would think what I pay is outrageous. To compare low cost s/n clinics to what a private vet costs is really kind of irrelevant, since the clinics depend on vets donating their time and on lots and lots of fundraising. Plus those clinics are generally not doing blood work, nothing for pain management, etc. It's a very apples-to-oranges comparison. 

Edited March 13, 2019 by Pawz4me

[Carrie12345]

The cost of living index in my county is 96.8, so under the average. 

[Carrie12345]

Was hoping to update, but I’ve called 3 times and my phone has disconnected each time! The universe does not want this question answered, lol.

[Mom0012]

My dad just got an older dog from a breeder that was no longer being used to breed, but hadn’t been spayed.  It was absolutely ridiculous what the vet charged to fix her.  It was well over $1000.

I keep looking at dogs but feel like I can’t get one largely because of the expense.  That seems a bit crazy.

[Carrie12345]

9 minutes ago, Mom0012 said:

My dad just got an older dog from a breeder that was no longer being used to breed, but hadn’t been spayed.  It was absolutely ridiculous what the vet charged to fix her.  It was well over $1000.

I keep looking at dogs but feel like I can’t get one largely because of the expense.  That seems a bit crazy.

Yikes!

One big advantage to having adopted our previous dogs from rescues (also a previous cat) was that they were UTD on shots and spaying and neutering with adoption fees that were way lower than handling it ourselves.

My “free” animals have been a heck of a lot more expensive.

[Innisfree]

31 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

Yikes!

One big advantage to having adopted our previous dogs from rescues (also a previous cat) was that they were UTD on shots and spaying and neutering with adoption fees that were way lower than handling it ourselves.

My “free” animals have been a heck of a lot more expensive.

Yes. Costs to adopt from some rescue groups can look high, but they're generally a bargain compared to getting all the medical work done independently.

[ktgrok]

7 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

 

It's Carrie's dog who is being neutered. A very tiny dog. And yes, I would worry about the size presenting extra complications (although in general the smaller the dog the less a s/n costs). 

Vet prices can vary HUGELY depending on geographic area/cost of living. That's one reason I rarely chime in on costs. What I pay for a certain service or procedure would only be relevant to people in my general area. No doubt those in HCOL areas would think I'm getting an absolute steal, and those in LCOL areas would think what I pay is outrageous. To compare low cost s/n clinics to what a private vet costs is really kind of irrelevant, since the clinics depend on vets donating their time and on lots and lots of fundraising. Plus those clinics are generally not doing blood work, nothing for pain management, etc. It's a very apples-to-oranges comparison. 

Oops! Not sure how I got that mixed up!

Yes, dog surgery is more expensive, and if it is a breed like a yorkie or other small breed prone to liver shunts you definitely want the lab work done. I've had one pet that I postponed the spay surgery on because she was anemic (adopted from the shelter with hookworms). And I've seen as a tech several that had liver abnormalities caught on bloodwork that would have made surgery dangerous. (I think one was a yorkie and one was a chihuahua.)