Two quick cat questions

waraf

Hi all,

I have two female kittens that are about 4 months old. My vet says they can be neutered (is it spayed for females?) in about 6 weeks. My questions are:

1. what should it cost me?

2. if I take out insurance on the two of them now will I be able to claim for the surgeries?

Thanks

mymo

1. Depends on where in the country you are based. My local country vet charges about €60 or €20 with voucher if unemployed.
2. So far as i know neuter/spay is not covered by insurance.

Sigma Force

You can't claim for spaying (females)/neutering(males) or vaccinations or worming de fleaing or any kind of stuff like that.

It may cost anything from €70 to €100 but that's very general charges can vary hugely depending where you go. If you have two done at the same time sometimes you get a little discount if your lucky.

However you do get a small discount for microchipping your pets.

waraf

mymo wrote: »

1. Depends on where in the country you are based. My local country vet charges about €60 or €20 with voucher if unemployed.
2. So far as i know neuter/spay is not covered by insurance.

Wow I thought it was gonna be about 200 per kitten. I'm in Dublin so it'll probably be a bit more expensive than 60 euro but still.

What's the story with the voucher if you're unemployed? How would I go about getting one?

Thanks

waraf

Guineapigrescue wrote: »

You can't claim for spaying (females)/neutering(males) or vaccinations or worming de fleaing or any kind of stuff like that.

It may cost anything from €70 to €100 but that's very general charges can vary hugely depending where you go. If you have two done at the same time sometimes you get a little discount if your lucky.

However you do get a small discount for microchipping your pets.

Thanks for the reply. I had them chipped already. I probably should have waited and negotiated a deal for spaying and chipping together. Hindsight is a b**ch

mymo

Give the vet a call and ask about the voucher, you have to be unemployed. My local vet gets so many per year and they are running low already so best ring around, think they're from one of the charities to subsidise costs.
And some vets will give a discount for 2 kitties at same time, so worth asking.

waraf

mymo wrote: »

Give the vet a call and ask about the voucher, you have to be unemployed. My local vet gets so many per year and they are running low already so best ring around, think they're from one of the charities to subsidise costs.
And some vets will give a discount for 2 kitties at same time, so worth asking.

Great. Thanks

The Sweeper

Keep 'em inside until they are spayed. They may go into heat before your vet spays them.

Vets here in Oz desex from eight weeks onwards (microsurgery!). My cats were all done anywhere between eight and 12 weeks. Recovery time is less than 24 hours for the boys, and while the stitches still stay in for 10 days for the girls, the incision is on their tummy, not their side, and there's less hair, so it's less itchy when it grows back; plus the incision can be closed with just two stitches so it becomes very minor surgery indeed. Their recovery is very quick indeed because they're so young, plus there's zero risk of an unwanted litter with such early spaying.

(It's not for love of cats that they spay so early down here - Australia hates the cat, because of the damage its done to the wildlife - early spaying ensures no accidental first litter.)

A well-fed, well cared for female cat of a good weight can come into season the first time as young as 16 weeks. The gestation period in a cat is anything from 60 - 70 days (about 65 days on average) which is why people see their cat having a first litter between six and seven months. For some reason though, the logic of counting 65 days backwards doesn't seem to apply so they neuter at six months instead of at four months.

None of my cats exhibit stunted growth for such early neutering.

A cat's metabolism will drop when neutered, so it's important to adjust their food intake accordingly. (Desexing does not make cats fat and lazy. Cats do not have opposable thumbs, and therefore cannot open the cat food can, or the kibble packet. Overfeeding and lack of stimulation results in a fat, bored, non-interactive cat. Feed them properly and play with them and you won't see any difference in personality before or after desexing.)

PinkTulips

Wheras a litter at such a young age does stunt the cat for life...

That said although i agree with MMAJD about neutering at 16 weeks i also know trying to argue with and irish vet is about as useful as banging your head on a brick wall so chances are he won't do them sooner

The spca's give out vouchers... i got one for Blue from the mayo spca which would have reduced it to 40 euros if i could have bothered driving her to castlebar to the specific vet they wanted me to use... might use it for your cat's sister now. Other spca's have differant schemes, ring dspca and find out if they do vouchers, otherwise ask your vet if he has any recession deals on