Spay/Neuter FAQ
Healthy adult dogs and cats under 5 years of age.
Healthy kittens and puppies over 3 months of age and over 3lbs.
Pets with a reasonable body condition - not significantly underweight or overweight.
Animals under 3 months of age, and over 5 years of age.
Animals under 3lbs.
Unhealthy animals, or animals demonstrating any signs of contagious illness.
Very overweight (obese) or underweight (thin/emaciated).
Short (“smushed”) faced brachycephalic breeds ie: Persians, Himalayans, Pugs, Boston Terriers, French Bulldogs, Bulldogs. Pets with this facial structure are an increased risk under anesthesia due to their abnormal airway. They require care with a full service veterinary clinic for advanced monitoring and anesthesia.
Cat overpopulation continues to be a serious issue in southwestern Ontario. In addition, spaying or neutering your pet reduces health risks and improves behaviour in both cats and dogs, especially when done early. Some people feel that they should allow their pet to have one litter, but spaying a female cat or dog before she goes into heat even once will greatly reduce her risk of developing mammary, ovarian and uterine cancer.
The focus of the Community Veterinary Clinic is on providing services to owned pets. This helps to prevent future feral cats by preventing unwanted litters who end up abandoned and whose offspring become feral. The Clinic accepts appointments for feral cats, but these appointments are commitments, so only recommended if you know that you will be able to catch the cat for surgery (for example, if you have a cat who lives outside your home). All cats who are not able to be handled must arrive in a live trap for the safety of our staff (traps can be rented from the Humane Society). Caregivers who are seeking larger scale TNR services are encouraged to work with the Humane Society for their programs aimed at community cats.
Your pet will be provided with high quality care by a licensed and skilled veterinarian and registered veterinary technicians. Our supplies and medications are the same as those available at any other veterinary clinic. All animals are provided with pain medication following surgery, and have the same surgical procedure as they would at a regular clinic.
We are able to keep our prices low because we are a high volume clinic. While many clinics do only a few surgeries a day and spend much of their time on wellness visits, emergencies, and critical care, we primarily offer spay and neuter services. This high volume model is used by many spay/neuter clinics to achieve cost savings.
Our clinic is also non-profit, with a goal of operating on a break-even basis. The clinic’s model is self-sustaining, and is self-funding through fees charged for surgeries, supported as well by generous supporters who assist our efforts.
The Community Veterinary Clinic welcomes donations of supplies, including laundry soap, towels, paper towels, pee pads, and office supplies. Click here to visit our Amazon Wish List! While we are in the process of seeking charitable status, we are currently unable to offer tax receipts for monetary donations.