Your Pet is Safe With Us
Our team is committed to educating our clients on keeping your pets healthy year-round, with good nutrition and exercise. Small Animal Care Center stays on top of the latest advances in veterinarian technology. We understand that all animals and pets need to be treated with the utmost care while undergoing any type of medical treatment.
Wellness Plans
Our convenient payment plan and discount pricing makes it easy to give your new puppy or kitten a healthy start during their first year and make sure they are happy, healthy and protected.
Choose a wellness plan or plus plan to give your adult dog or cat all the care needed to prevent or minimize disease, improve quality of life, and enjoy a healthy life for as long as possible.
Dog & Cat Spay & Neuter
Spay & Neuter Pre-op Visit
To prepare for surgery, all pets start with a complete examination. We will verify all vaccinations are current, any overdue vaccines must be updated prior to scheduling surgery. To ensure the safety of all pets in our care, we require all vaccines be performed by a veterinarian. Cats must be current on rabies and HCP vaccines. Dogs must be current on rabies, DAPP and Bordetella vaccines.
An ECG heart function test is performed to determine the type of medications that can be used for surgery.
Preventive care lab profile is recommended for pets of all ages to confirm internal organ function is normal prior to undergoing surgery. Lab work is required on pets with health concerns and pets 2 years and older. Please bring a fresh stool sample collected within 4 hours of visit or refrigerate no longer than 12 hours prior to visit.
Additional testing or treatment may be needed based on your pet’s examination findings.
During your pre-op visit we will collect prepayment for surgery. This will ensure you can be scheduled in a timely manner once test results are in.
Spay & Neuter Surgical Visit
Fasting is required for anesthesia. We ask that you do not allow access to food or water after 8pm the night before surgery.
You will drop your pet off in the morning the day of surgery. We will keep in touch with you throughout the day with status updates on your pet.
An additional pre-operative examination is performed on surgery day to confirm there have been no changes to your pet’s health.
We will place an intravenous catheter* to administer injections. Your pet will receive medications for pain management, to control nausea/vomiting, antibiotic to prevent infection, local anesthesia at incision site as well as general anesthesia. We maintain your pet on inhalation gas anesthesia during the procedure. We monitor heart rate and blood oxygen levels while your pet is anesthetized.
*Male cats will not receive IV catheter
We utilize laser therapy to stimulate the cells and tissue, reduce inflammation and minimize pain after surgery. Laser therapy is highly recommended but not required.
Many pets receive internal dissolving sutures, although some require external sutures or staples that will need to be removed in 2 weeks. All pets are sent home with an E-collar to prevent licking and chewing at the incision site. The E-collar will remain in place until the recheck in 2 weeks, or longer if not completely healed at that time.
We often send home sedatives after a spay or neuter to facilitate restricted activity. There will be a charge for this prescription.
After arriving at home, you should keep your pet warm and comfortable by providing a soft, clean bed, ideally in a quiet and draft-free room at a comfortable room temperature (68-75°F). Your pet should remain indoors overnight, going outside only for short leash walks (for dogs) as needed to urinate and defecate. For most procedures, your pet's activity should be restricted for one full week after surgery. It is essential to avoid running, jumping, and other strenuous activity that could cause excessive strain on the wound.
A few hours after arriving at home, you may offer your pet approximately half of his normal dinner. If he eats this and still seems hungry, you may offer the rest of his meal approximately one hour later. Some pets experience nausea after general anesthesia, so dividing the meal into smaller portions may decrease the risk of nausea and vomiting. Unless otherwise instructed, your pet's access to water should not be restricted.
It is essential to avoid running, jumping, and other strenuous activity that could cause excessive strain on the wound.
Your pet was given a general anesthetic or a sedative. These drugs can take several hours to wear off and may cause some patients to appear drowsy for a day or so. Over the next 24-48 hours, your pet's behavior should gradually return to normal. However, if you are at all concerned, do not hesitate to contact the hospital.
If your pet has a shaved area on one of his front legs, this is typically where the anesthetic or sedative was administered. Additionally, many pets receive intravenous (IV) fluids through an IV catheter during surgery and the hair must be removed to allow the area to be disinfected properly before inserting the catheter. Sometimes this area will be bandaged; if so, you can remove the bandage the day after the surgery unless otherwise instructed.
Your pet may have had a tube placed in the trachea (windpipe) during anesthesia, to administer oxygen and anesthetic gas. This can occasionally cause mild irritation and a slight cough. A mild post-surgical cough will typically diminish over the next few days. If coughing persists or worsens, contact the hospital.
Your pet instinctively may try to clean his surgical site by licking. If you have been given an Elizabethan-type protective collar (often referred to as a "cone" or E-collar), please ensure it is used to prevent chewing. If you have not been given an E-collar and your pet begins licking or chewing the incision, please contact the hospital and request one. If your pet does succeed in removing any stitches, please call the hospital as soon as possible. Not surprisingly, many pets find these collars strange at first and will attempt to remove them. However, after a short period most pets will settle down and tolerate wearing the collar. It is better to keep the collar on all the time, rather than to take it on and off. It only takes a few seconds of chewing for a pet to remove his stitches or damage the surgery site. If your pet does succeed in removing any stitches, please call the hospital as soon as possible.
The incision should normally be clean, and the edges should be together. The skin surrounding the incision should be a normal or slightly reddish-pink color. In pale-skinned pets, bruising is often seen around the surgical site. This may not appear until a few days after the operation and in some cases can seem excessive in comparison to the size of the incision. This is due to seepage of blood under the skin edges and is a normal occurrence. In some cases, a small amount of blood may seep intermittently from a fresh incision for up to twenty-four hours, especially if the animal is active.
You should be concerned and should contact the hospital immediately if you see any of the following at the surgical site:
1. Continuous or excessive blood draining.
2. Intermittent blood seepage that continues for more than twenty-four hours.
3. Excessive swelling or redness of the skin.
4. Unpleasant smells or discharge.
In general, most skin stitches or sutures are removed 10-14 days after the operation; the actual time depends on the type of surgery performed. You will be instructed when your pet should return for suture removal. In some cases, your veterinarian may use sutures that do not require removal. These sutures are placed under your pet's skin and will dissolve in the coming weeks. If you have any questions regarding your pet's stiches, please contact your veterinarian.
In most cases, your pet's activity will need to be restricted for at least 2 weeks, or until the sutures are removed (if the sutures are to be removed). During this time, it is important to limit your pet's activity to prevent the incision from opening. It is also essential to avoid swimming or baths during this time, as moisture can help introduce bacteria into the wound and lead to infection.
After surgery, your pet may be sent home with pain medications or other oral medications. If you have been given any medication to give your pet, please READ THE LABEL CAREFULLY and ensure that you administer all medication as instructed. If you are having trouble treating your pet, please contact the hospital for advice.
