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Having your cat spayed or neutered is beneficial in many ways. It cuts down on unwanted pregnancies that add to the overpopulation of cats. It can reduce the risk of certain health issues, like testicular and mammary gland cancer. It can stop a male cat’s desire to roam, preventing him from potentially getting lost or injured. It can also reduce marking, or spraying urine, from male cats. Finally, it can help end aggressive or territorial behaviors and help cats feel calmer. They can live healthier, happier, and sometimes longer lives.
PetSmart realizes this through its in-store Banfield Hospitals. With more than 1,650 stores in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, PetSmart does more than just sell pet supplies. In 1994, PetSmart founders Jim and Janice Dougherty formed PetSmart Charities. These programs include PetSmart’s in-store adoption centers, disaster relief, grants for animal welfare agencies, and low-cost spay and neuter services. The cost of a spay/neuter surgery for adult cats is roughly $40–$300 at PetSmart.
Let’s look at how cats can be spayed or neutered through PetSmart and what the estimated cost will be.
Banfield Pet Hospitals
Banfield Pet Hospitals are located in select PetSmart stores and other individual hospital locations. When you bring your cat to PetSmart for veterinary care, any treatment, surgeries, and examinations take place inside these hospitals. They are full-service veterinary clinics with the option to purchase wellness plans for your pet.
Optimum Wellness Plans
Banfield in PetSmart offers Optimum Wellness Plans for your kitten or cat. A spay or neuter surgery can be factored into this plan to have your feline buddy altered when they reach the appropriate age.
Optimum Wellness Plans work by dividing the cost of the entire year into smaller, easier-to-manage monthly payments. This way, you can bring your cat in for their routine preventative care without running into any large costs.
Banfield Kitten Plan
For kittens younger than 6 months old, Early Care plans are available. They include the following:
- Unlimited office visits
- Unlimited 24/7 VetChat
- Two virtual visits per year
- Comprehensive physical exams
- Age-appropriate vaccinations
- One diagnostic test per year
- Fecal exams
- Deworming
- 5% discount on Banfield products
The Early Care Plus includes everything listed here, with the addition of one spay or neuter surgery and a 10% discount on Banfield products.
The cost of these plans varies from state to state. On average, they start around $30 per month.
If you opt to have your kitten spayed or neutered only, the price will also vary by state and depend on your kitten’s age.
Banfield Cat Plan
Cats over 6 months old can also receive Optimum Wellness Plans. These include everything in the Early Care Plan, including a spay or neuter surgery if necessary. Additionally, the plans include a dental cleaning, urine testing, further diagnostic testing, and preventative X-rays.
Compared to private practice veterinarians, where the cost of the spay or neuter by itself can cost over $500, these Optimum Wellness Plans have been a financially friendly way to help people provide their animals with the veterinary care that they need.
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Why Does It Cost More to Spay Than Neuter?
Spaying is a major surgical procedure that involves entering the abdomen and removing the ovaries and uterus of a female cat. Before the surgery takes place, your vet will want to run blood tests to make sure your cat is healthy enough for the surgery. Diagnostic testing, anesthesia, pain medicine, and time in the operating room using resources all cost money. These things are factored into the price of the surgery.
There is more involved in the operation for spaying than neutering. Neutering is the removal of the testicles of a male cat. Removing them requires less work than removing a cat’s uterus. The operation does not take the same amount of time or resources. The recovery time can also vary greatly.
Low-Cost Spay and Neuter Clinics
Low-cost spay and neuter surgeries are subsidized by donations. While the cost is typically much lower at these places than at a vet’s office, there is usually no bloodwork done beforehand. The cost is significantly lower because the clinics performing the operations are high-volume facilities. They spay and neuter all day, every day, intending to reduce the number of homeless and unwanted pets. Many of these facilities offer no other veterinary services besides spaying or neutering. Have your cat examined by your regular veterinarian to make sure they are healthy before bringing them to a low-cost clinic for their surgery.
PetSmart Charities
For 26 years, PetSmart Charities has been partnering with nearly 4,000 nonprofits and governmental entities across the United States and Canada to transform the lives of people and pets. It’s helped over 9 million pets get adopted and has provided low-cost spay and neuter services to prevent millions more from adding to the overpopulation crisis.
You can likely find a PetSmart Charities low-cost spay and neuter clinic in your area. Prices at these clinics will vary depending on your location and the type of surgery that your cat needs. Average prices at low-cost facilities start at $20 and can go up to $200 in some areas.
Some clinics offer blood tests for your cat to check for FIV and feline leukemia. They may also offer vaccinations and microchipping. These services can be added for an additional cost.
How Old Should My Cat Be Before Spaying or Neutering?
Some people don’t know when their cats should be surgically sterilized. This confusion has led to more unintended cat pregnancies. Female cats can go into heat as young as 4 months old, but the average age is 6 months. This means that your female cat can get pregnant as early as 4 months of age.
Male cats reach sexual maturity between 4 and 8 months of age. As young as 4 months old, your male cat could start to reproduce.
Early spaying and neutering are promoted by many shelters and rescue groups to guarantee that adopted pets won’t reproduce. This surgery can safely be performed on pets as young as 6–8 weeks old, as long as they weigh at least 2 pounds.
A standard spay or neuter surgery for your pet should be performed when they are 5–6 months old. Waiting until after the cat’s first heat cycle, when they are 8–12 months old, is a belief that has been a cause of many unintended pregnancies and unwanted kittens. The surgery can be performed at this age and older, but the risks for health problems and reproduction increase the longer a cat goes unsterilized.
Conclusion
Having your cat spayed or neutered is one of the most beneficial things that you can do for them as a pet owner. It will help keep your cat healthier, happier, and safer. In addition to reducing pet overpopulation numbers, spayed and neutered cats are at a reduced risk for certain health complications and behavioral issues.
PetSmart offers reduced and low-cost spaying and neutering at its Banfield clinics or through any of the clinics that it partners with throughout the United States and Canada. The goal of these facilities is to reduce the number of homeless pets. The price of the surgery at these clinics can range from $40 to $300, depending on your location. If your cat is ready to be spayed or neutered, contact your local PetSmart for more information or search the website for low-cost clinics in your area.
See also:
- How Much Do Cat Shots Cost at PetSmart?
- How Much Is A Vet Visit At PetSmart (Banfield Pet Hospitals)?
Featured Image Credit: Lilia Solonari, Shutterstock
