Spaying Cat Surgery Extras?

Question

Hello. I was wondering if any of you opted for the extra services offered when you spay/neutered your cat. My vet recommend inside stutures, the collar thing, and pain medication. Well all these cost extra on top of the regular fee for spaying. I know I'm doing the right thing by spaying my cat (plus she was driving crazy going into heat) but I didn't think it was this expensive! Are all these things necessary? Did anyone else pay for this extras?

Answer 1

This is how vets keep the basic cost of their spays down. You'll find that the more expensive quotes for spaying include all these things. Your vet should have talked you through the pros and cons of each option to help you decide.

Inside sutures - advantage to you because they dissolve so you won't have to take the cat back for stitches out. We like to see our spays back in two weeks for a check regardless of whether there are stitches to come out, so we do one outside stitch so the owner has to bring the cat back.

E-collar - not always necessary, cat's don't always bother their wound. We offer people the collar to take in case the cat does start bothering the wound, we don't issue it as standard. It's only a few extra quid.

Pain medication - we recommend this for all neuters. It's an extra £10 on top of the spay fee. We could include this option in the basic price, but it would bring the basic price up by ten pounds. It's sort of annoying to have to explain this to everyone when we're quoting prices, but it's business decision. The pain relief option we offer is an injection that lasts 2 days. If owners are mean enough not to choose this option, we still give pain relief, as an injection that lasts 6 hours. Don't tell my boss this tho!

Like I said, these optional extras are a business decision to keep the quoted price of a spay down. They're all recommended, but vets can't do them without your consent because it costs you more.

Chalice

EDIT: I've just read the other answers and my God! Some of them really are examples of why you can't rely on people on here to have a clue what they're talking about.
Pain relief - this will not be a tranquiliser, you can get pain meds that are safe for cats!! We use an injection of meloxicam, an inflammatory that is safe for one-off use in cats.
Inside (intra-dermal) sutures are used ANYWAY in an operation - the muscle layer needs to be stiched up before the skin is. The skin can be stitched up using intra or extradermal sutures, often both. You can get stitches that dissolve for both kinds - intradermal stitches always dissolve. It doesn't mean the cat can't bust the wound open, the advantge is that you don't have to go back to get them removed.
Geez! This is why it's best to ask your vet for the specific details of how THEY do the spay.

Answer 2

Well, the only thing I can think of is a cat I had spayed recently, one of her nipples was swollen (not the entire breast), and it dripped a bit of thick milk. That went away and the vet told me not to worry. But I don't know what goes on if it is all her breasts that are like this and how exactly they look. Maybe take a second opinion form another vet, I think it is strange that this one doesn't know what is going on.

Answer 3

Pain medications should have been part of the spaying package and shouldn't be considered an "extra". We usually give 3 tablets for pain - one to be taken that night, two for the next day given every 12 hours at our clinic.

I've never had to have a collar for any of my spayed cats - ever - over the course of 30 years. That would be strictly a personal decision for you. And have always had outside sutures. Suture removal should be done at no charge, also part of the spaying package.

Answer 4

I would say that the first two are optional. Pain medication seems like something you should definitely go ahead and pay for though. It is a more serious, in-depth surgery for the female cats. So, I am sure that there is pain after the procedure. I can't imagine undergoing a surgical procedure without having any access to pain meds after the fact. Will it cost a little bit more? Yes, but it is well worth it and your kitty would thank you.:)

Answer 5

The extras I asked for were: pre-surgical bloodwork (to make sure she could tolerate anesthesia), and teeth cleaning. They never offered me pain meds for cats. They said it can cause liver problems. Internal sutures and skin glue were part of the regular spay fee. She didn't need an e-collar.

Answer 6

I would check for a Spay & Neuter clinic usually in phone books or an animal shelter would know where too...much cheaper & have never heard of the "Extras" being needed unless there is a problem...like they tear the stitches..sorry but am not in agreement with your vet & I would find another vet, many Spay & Neuter Clinics do everything & are very good vets, very caring, etc ..Peace & TC :)

Answer 7

I don't understand the inside suture thing. What is that? Seems to me he is leaving things out that should be standard or are unnecessary. The only extras on my list (I just had 2 kitties spayed on Monday and another spayed a month ago) was whether or not to have fluids (turned down--don't need it on young cat) or blood work (again, turned down). Our mother cat cost extra because she had had kittens. Try contacting a few other vets and compare prices and what is included or not included. At the very least, it tells you how much confidence to have in your vet as to the pricing.

I agree with pain medication however. Our kitties did much better with it than my earlier kitties without it. I think it was an extra $20 and, in fact, my vet requires it. I can see why.

Most kitties do not need the e. collar, so it's an unnecessary expense. We had one sent home with us for the Mom cat because she has a behavioral problem with licking all her fur on her tummy off, but she never even touched the area where her surgery was, so it was a $10 waste.

Answer 8

I've never really seen animals need the collar thing after spaying/neutering, guess it depends on the animal. If you'll be around to check on her after the surgery, I'd wait to see if she's trying to clean excessively or do anything that might disrupt her regular healing before I went to the extra expense. I've never had the vet send me with any pain medication, either. Again, as long as you can check on her regularly for a day or so after you bring her home, and she doesn't need these things, it just sounds like an upsell.

Answer 9

they never have offered the collar or inside sutures to us and I have had many animals spayed. the pain medication i believe is worth it though. I paid for it!

Answer 10

Your cat is getting a complete hysterectomy. The inside sutures make it stronger, so that it isn't as easy to split open (which would require another vet visit). The E-collar makes it harder for the cat to chew the sutures out (which would require another vet visit). As for the pain meds, would you like to have someone cut you open, take out organs, and then send you home with nothing to take the edge off the pain? It will be really painful. I paid for all of them when my dog was spayed, and I paid for the pre-surgery blood work as well.

Answer 11

Wow I am really surprised that they charge you extra for all that. It should be included in the price, not optional. Don't consider them "extras." If need be, find another vet that can perform the surgery, but keep in mind that females are more expensive. My vet charges one price for the surgery and whatever the pet needs for recovery is free. You will at the very least need the e-collar though, otherwise she might lick her stitches open.