Spay and Neuter Clinic

Spaying is the common name for a procedure called an “ovariohysterectomy”. This is an abdominal surgery in which the uterus and ovaries are removed from the female’s body. This procedure will make her incapable of reproduction and is the common practice to sterilize females.

Neutering is the common name for a procedure called “an orchiectomy”. This is an externeral surgery and does not commonly enter the abdominal cavity although is the case of some cryptorchids with an abdominally retained testicle it might. In this procedure both testicles are removed from the male’s body making him sterile and removing him from the gene pool.

It is a surgical procedure so some pain and inflammation is common. The surgery itself is done with the pet asleep under general anesthesia where they cannot feel a thing. Pain medicines are given prior to and after surgery that can give the pet pain relief for up to 36hrs after surgery.

It is common for a pet’s metabolism to slow down a bit after surgery. It is possible, however, to maintain your pet at a healthy body weight by adjusting the pet’s food intake. It is possible to keep your pet healthy regardless of their reproductive status.

Surgery should not alter your pet’s friendly or exuberant behavior. At most you should see a decrease in undesirable behaviors like house marking, aggression, escape/roaming and courting behaviors especially in male dogs.

Animals are remarkable in their ability to recover from major surgery. This same set of surgeries, when done in humans, can put someone out of work for 6wks or more. For our pets, recovery sees them back to eating and acting almost normally within 48-72hrs and totally back to their normal self in 5 days. Full healing for the incision and surgical sites can take one week for the superficial layers to several months for the deeper tissue. Complications can postpone healing, of course.

Our prices depends on the size of your pet and if it’s a dog or cat. See above (check-in form) for our pricing and services offered at the time of the spay/neuter.  Please note that there is an extra fee for obese pets, if c-section is needed, crypt procedures etc.

Schedule online, see all schedule options above on this page. If no appointments show, it means that we are fully booked. Please note that we only open up appointments one month at a time. You find the release dates at the top of this page.

If you require assistance with scheduling or if you do not have access to a computer, please call 210-424-7595.

If you scheduled your appointment online, you can cancel/reschedule through your confirmation/reminder emails. There’s a link to reschedule in the email. Appointments must be canceled or rescheduled 48 hours before surgery. No-shows or cancellations later than the 48 hours are nonrefundable and nontransferable. Calls or emails to reschedule will take longer.

Check-in: Please be aware that everyone’s appointment is scheduled at 7.30am due to us being a high-volume spay/neuter clinic. If you are late to check in and show up past 8.30am, you will be charged a late fee of $45 per pet. We will not check in animals past 9am. Also, please keep in mind that admission paperwork, and a physcial examination, of every patient must be completed before leaving your pet for surgery. Please be advised that the drop-off process may take several hours to complete. Appointments must be canceled or rescheduled 48 hours before surgery. No-shows or cancellations later than the 48 hours are nonrefundable and nontransferable. All post-operative care instructions will be explained before the pet is released.

Pick-up time is typically between the hours of 3.30pm-4.30pm unless otherwise stated (a surgery technician will give the client the pick-up time during check-in, the exact pick-up time depends on the number of surgeries performed on any given day). Please arrive before 5pm to avoid a late fee. Expected wait time could be a few hours, this depends on the number of surgeries performed that day. 

Payment for additional services (see check-in form) will be taken at pick-up/check-out.

RECHECK HOURS
San Antonio Humane Society, 4804 Fredericksburg Rd.
9 am to 1 pm Monday – Friday
8am to 12 pm Saturday

For all post-operational instructions click here!

This is an old wives tale. It was once believed that allowing a female animal to have a litter before being spayed was good for her body. Studies have since been done that indicate that the greater the number of litters and heat cycles that a female dog goes through before she is spayed substantially increases her risk of severe health problems like mammary cancer and pyometra. Having a female dog spayed prior to her first birthday can substantially increase her lifespan.

Different vets recommend different ages for spay and neuter. Here at the San Antonio Humane Society we have successfully practiced “pediatric alters” meaning that we routinely neuter and spay animals at 8wks. Our guidelines are that your pet must be 8wks and 2lbs or more to be fixed here. We believe that the surgery is easier on the pet at this time when they are still small and resilient both mentally and physically. We also believe that it helps to create a pet who is never distracted by reproduction hormones and can have a stronger lasting bond with their owners. Lastly, it prevents accidental unwanted litters by dogs/cats who reach maturity before the norm and before their owners realize it they have a puppy having puppies!

A pregnant animal can be spayed at the discretion of the veterinarian performing the surgery. There are greater anesthetic risks as well as risk of incision complications, however, this surgery has been performed regularly here at the San Antonio Humane Society with great success and is often better for the female in the long run. Rarely, a dog may have a “pseudocyesis” experience after surgery meaning that, due to the hormones involved, they actually feel they have had a litter and might experience lactation, nesting, and mothering (which can include children, other family pets, or inanimate objects.)

A female can be “in heat” or estrus during the surgical procedure. This is done routinely, especially in cats, and while the procedure can be more tedious for the veterinarian there is often no additional risk to the patient. Extra blood loss or possible vaginal/uterine infection can be a complication.

This is a commonly debated question in veterinary medicine. While some veterinarians do believe that a single heat cycle releases hormones into the blood stream that are important for maturation of the body, there has been little scientific evidence to suggest that animals neutered before a heat cycle are negatively impacted. We feel that the risks of waiting for sexual maturity far outweigh the benefits.

Veterinarians all have different scientific logic behind their protocols. Some veterinarians have selected 6 months for the above listed rationale. Others believe that an older puppy is stronger and has had a chance to develop immunity to the viruses. These bits of logic are reasonable for most pets but we feel strongly that since pediatric surgeries are not harmful to the pet at all, they should be recommended in most cases.

There is ALWAYS a licensed veterinarian performing the surgery. On rare occasion a fourth year veterinary student who is months from becoming a veterinarian will be supervised directly by a licensed vet in accordance with state law. Only exemplary veterinary students are allowed to perform surgery under the watchful eye of an experienced veterinarian.

All surgical procedures are performed with high quality veterinary care including surgical plane anesthesia. This means all pets are completely “asleep” for the duration of the procedure.

Most pets are not sent home with pain meds for the owner to administer. HOWEVER, ALL pets are given both presurgical pain medication and a post surgical long term pain medicine injection.

Please never give your pet over the counter medication without consulting a veterinarian. Common medicines like Tylenol can be bad for dogs and deadly for cats.

Payment:
– SAFCC grant: $25, included: spay/neuter surgery, rabies & fvrcp vaccine, and ear-tip. Only people who have attended the in-person or online SAFCC TNR class can use this.
– Zipcode grant: FREE, includes: spay/neuter surgery, rabies vaccine, and ear-tip. Depending on your zipcode/location, you can use up to 5 zipcode grant uses PER RESIDENCE

Traps
– Trucatch trap is the only accepted trap we take for TNR.
– Rentals.
– Securing with pipe cleaners & labeling.

Procedure
– Normally, we accept up to 15 feral cats for surgery intake (10 public, 5 ACS appointments) from Monday – Friday starting at 7:00 AM.

– It is recommended to come prior to 7:00 AM since there is no way to predict how many people with feral cats will show up.

– The cat must be in a trucatch trap with pipe cleaners or carabiners securing the ends, the temporary name for the cat (or A number if ACS) written on tape placed on top of the trap and on top of the towel that is recommended to cover the trap. No bedsheets or obscenely long/large pieces of fabric that can get tangled or stuck.

– Once inside the building, please place your cat on the appropriate spot marked on the floor. Our staff will check your paperwork, cat, trap, and take payment before giving a pick-up time (normally 4:30, no later than 5:00 PM or there will be a late fee.

– Please be aware that feral cat surgeries are normally the last surgeries done by our staff. If you arrive at 4:30 and your cat is not ready yet, please alert staff so we can check to see if your cat is still recovering from surgery. If paperwork hasn’t been given to you yet, please ask staff their progress on it. If you have to leave, we can always send it to an email before leaving at the end of the day. We can also look at surgery paperwork and let you know if your cat was pregnant or had any additional notes to look out for.