Desexing your Pet

The decision to desex your pet is an important one, and while it is considered to be a routine procedure, and involves general anaesthesia and a surgical procedure. We would like to make sure that you are well informed about the procedure, and the recovery process. 

While desexing your dog or cat ensures that there are no unwanted puppies or kittens, there are also significant health benefits for your dog or cat.

 For females, desexing prevents:

• Mammary Cancer
• Pyometron (life threatening uterine infection)
• Ovarian Cancer

For males, desexing prevents:

• Prostatitis
• Prostatic hyperplasia
• Testicular cancer
• Peri-anal cancer
• Perineal hernias

We recommend that both dogs and cats be desexed at 4-5 months of age. It is ideal to desex female dogs and cats before they come into season for the first time.

For some large breed dogs there is the option to delay desexing until they are fully grown. We are happy to discuss the options with you and make the best decision for your puppy and your family.

 Desexing surgery is day surgery, with your pet admitted at the start of the day, and discharged during the afternoon. All pets coming in to the clinic for surgery must be fasted at home from 10pm the night before surgery, and have access to water removed at 6am on the day of surgery.

Female dogs can’t be desexed if they are in season, because of significantly increased surgical risks. Female dogs are checked prior to surgery to make sure they are not in season. If they are found to be in season the surgery will be rescheduled.

Male dogs and cats are checked prior to surgery to make sure both their testicles have descended into the scrotum. If there is only one testicle in the scrotum this necessitates a longer surgery and extra cost to find the missing testicle.

We offer a Pre-Operative Health Check for all desexing patients. This is included in the cost of the desexing, and allows one of our practice nurses to perform a basic health check and check that females are not in season and males have both testicles. Cats are welcome to stay in hospital overnight ready for surgery the next day.

It is also an opportunity to discuss with the nurse any other procedure's you would like performed at the time of desexing, and check that your pet’s routine health care is up to date.

We also offer a Post-Operative Health Check 2-3 days after the surgery. It is important that your dog or cat is kept quiet and confined for 10-14 days until the sutures are removed

At St Bernard’s Road Veterinary Clinic, our desexing surgery fee includes the following:

• Pre-Operative Health Check—Nurse
• Intra-operative IV fluid therapy (supports kidney function)
• Inhalant/gaseous anaesthesia ( except cat castrations)
• Pain relief injection – lasts for 24 hours after surgery
• Take home pain relief—for 3 days.
• Post-Operative Health Check (10-14 days) - Nurse

You also have the option of the following at the time of surgery:

• Microchip – permanent identification with lifetime registration
• Pre-anaesthetic blood tests
• Buster collar – to prevent your pet licking or chewing the sutures
• Preventative Health Care – vaccinations, parasite prevention