Desexing

Why?
Desexing is recommended for 3 main reasons.

Firstly it helps with animal population control by preventing unwanted pregnancies. Thousands of unwanted puppies and kittens are put to sleep at the RSPCA each year,which is extremely sad. Desexing animals before they are sexually mature helps to reduce this number and is a responsible part of pet ownership.

Secondly, desexing reduces unwanted sexual behaviours by removing the influence of the sex hormones. The behaviours that can be suppressed range from male dogs roaming when females are in season to the yowling and caterwauling associated with cats in season. Desexing can also help to reduce the potential for aggression and fighting that often leads to injuries and a trip to the vet.

Finally there are medical benefits of desexing, especially at an earlier age. Desexing males completely removes the potential for testicular cancer and greatly reduces the incidence of prostate problems and several other problems in later life. Studies have shown that desexing pups before their first heat significantly reduces the potential for mammary cancer. Desexing of females also completely removes the possibility of ovarian or uterine cancers as well as uterine infections.

When?
We recommend that animals are desexed at around 6 months of age to maximise the medical and behavioural benefits. It does not matter if your animal is older than this, we can desex at any age (within reason) and most of the benefits of desexing apply to animals on any age.

Preparation?
Desexing operations are performed every weekday, but need to be scheduled at least a few days beforehand so that we can manage our workload. Animals should be fasted from 8PM the night before their operation such that they are dropped off at the hospital with an empty stomach. It is OK for them to have access to a small amount of water overnight, just definitely no food. We ask that they are dropped off at the clinic between 8:30AM and 9AM on the morning of their surgery. The surgery is routine and many hundreds of these operations are performed by us each year. In the vast majority of cases your animal is ready to go home at about 5PM on the day of their surgery and recovers quickly without any complications, given a little care and common sense at home.

Procedure?
Some practices may provide cheaper desexing, but we believe that we provide a superior service at a reasonable and competitive price that gives the best care for your animal. We have up to date facilities and equipment so your animal's stay will be comfortable and safe. We use the best available veterinary anaesthetics and all animals are monitored during the procedure by both electronic equipment, the operating veterinarian and a qualified veterinary nurse. The operating surgeon is fully qualified and will have performed hundreds of the operations in their career. Surgical kits are autoclaved (sterilised) before every operation and the best available veterinary suture material is used for the ligatures and stitches. Every animal is given antibiotics to prevent infection and a pain killing injection to control any pain following the procedure. After their surgery they are kept warm in their clean kennel and regularly checked by our nurses. On discharge a veterinary nurse will speak to you about the aftercare and provide you with a written discharge sheet that contains all the information in a typed format. You should also think about microchipping or vaccinating your pet at the time of their operation if these are required.

Price?
At present the RSPCA has made available to us a fund that is to be used to promote desexing. We are passing this on to our clients in the form of a $25 discount for desexing male cats and dogs and a $30 discount for desexing female animals. This is a substantial saving.

The actual cost will be determined by your animal's size and age. Please contact us for an accurate quote.