Spaying & Neutering

Spay and neuter surgery is offered at our clinic for small companion mammals including guinea pigs, rabbits, chinchillas, ferrets, and rodents.

While it is not typically recommended to perform reproductive surgeries on reptiles, amphibians, and birds, it can be done if issues relating to their reproductive system are present. We refer to these types of surgeries as 'desexing' as they are different from a standard spay or neuter.

Your veterinarian will provide you with detailed instructions for post-operative care. Be sure to follow your vet's instructions closely. Below are a few common post-operative guidelines that may apply to your pet.

Cats & Dogs

After spay surgery, some clinics prefer to keep cats and dogs overnight, while others allow pets to go home on the same day. Generally, once your pet is allowed to go home you will need to restrict their activity for seven to 10 days. Restricted activity allows the incision time to heal and helps to prevent it from reopening.

Following neutering If there are no complications or other health issues, your dog or cat can usually go home on the same day of the procedure, with activity restricted for a few days while the incision heals.

We may send your pet home with a protective collar to keep them from licking the incision. A follow-up visit may be scheduled to check how well your pet has healed and to remove stitches if necessary.

Exotic Pets

It may be necessary to restrict your pet's activity for about seven to 10 days as they heal. Your veterinarian will provide you with instructions on how to limit your pet's activity following surgery. Ensure that your pet is kept clean and dry as the incision heals. Do not bathe your pet until the healing process is complete.

Population Control

Millions of cats enter US animal shelters every year. (Yes! Millions!)

The absolute best way to help reduce the number of unwanted cats in Modesto area shelters is by spaying or neutering your feline friend.

Protect Wildlife

It is estimated that cats in the USA kill between 1.4 billion and 3.7 billion birds every year. By helping to keep the number of homeless cats to a minimum, you help to save the lives of countless birds and other wildlife.

Cat Neutering Benefits

Male cat neutering can help to curb many undesirable behaviors such as spraying indoors and around your house to mark territory, roaming, howling, and fighting with other undoctored male cats. Reducing your cat's temptation to fight may also reduce their risk of injury, and of contracting Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and Feline leukemia virus (FeLV).

Cat Spaying Benefits

Female cat spaying - before their first heat cycle - can help reduce your kitty's risk of developing pyometra (infection of the womb) and mammary tumors.

It's also important to note that if cats infected with FIV or FeLV become pregnant, they can pass these serious conditions on to their kittens, who may then go on to spread the disease even further.

A final thing to recognize is the cost associated with having a pregnant cat (and newborn kittens). The pregnancy and the birth process can be risky for young cats, and be costly for their owners. 

Population Control

It is estimated that over three million dogs enter rescue shelters across the USA every year.

Spaying or neutering your dog is the best way for you to help reduce the overall number of unplanned puppies each year while improving your pet's behavior and reducing their risk of some serious health conditions.

Dog Spaying Benefits

Female dog spaying can help to prevent serious health problems such as pyometra, (a potentially life-threatening uterine infection), and mammary cancer.

Dog Neutering Benefits

Male dog neutering helps to prevent your pet from developing testicular cancer and can also help reduce unwanted behaviors such as dog aggression, straying and humping. 

Left undoctored, these pets can experience a range of reproductive health problems including reproductive tract tumors, the inability to pass eggs, extended heat cycles, and even injuries to the reproductive tract. To address these issues, medically necessary spay and neuter operations or desexing procedures may be required.

At Veterinary Medical Associates, we take pain management very seriously. Your pet will be under general anesthesia and will not feel anything during the procedure.

Your pet will continue to grow to their full adult weight after the spay or neuter procedure, and this naturally includes some weight gain.

However, your animal companion will not gain weight as a result of being spayed or neutered.