At Green Cove Animal Hospital, we love helping our animal clients live healthy, happy, and long lives. That’s why we strongly encourage local pet owners to get their pets spayed or neutered.
Why Spay and Neuter?
Spay and neuter procedures prevent animals from being able to reproduce. This reduces the community burden of unwanted pet pregnancy and pet overpopulation. But there are many other beneficial reasons to spay and neuter your pets:
- Spaying or neutering reduces the number of reproductive hormones that drive problematic behaviors like aggression, roaming, and territorial marking—helping your pet avoid unwanted accidents or fights
- A spayed female dog or cat will not menstruate nor go into heat (animals in heat tend to excessively lick or urinate)
- Spaying and neutering can reduce the risk of certain types of cancer
- Spayed and neutered pets tend to live longer than intact pets
Spaying and neutering are cost-effective, too! This one-time procedure is far less expensive than caring for a litter of puppies or kittens, or for a pregnant animal.
Spay and Neuter: What to Expect
We take your pet’s health and safety very seriously. At Green Cove Animal Hospital, we take all the time necessary to ensure you know what to expect and how to care for your animal before and after the procedure.
Before the Procedure
You can bring your pet in for spay or neuter when they are as young as 8 weeks old, as long as they’re healthy. Since your pet will be put under general anesthesia during the procedure, we ask that you do not feed your animal for 12 hours before the appointment.
The procedure itself is generally quick—as little as two minutes for a male cat, and up to twenty to ninety minutes for a female dog.
After the Procedure
When it’s time to take your pet home, you’ll need to keep them comfortable and calm for a couple of weeks as their incision heals. We’ll tell you how to keep the incisions clean and dry and alert you to any problems to look out for, like infection, bleeding, or anesthesia complications.
Looking for Spay and Neuter Services in Green Cove Springs, FL?
Contact Green Cove Animal Hospital today at 904-284-5624 to talk to our experienced vet staff about spay and neuter services.
