Commonly Asked Questions
Scheduling
1. When are you open? Monday through Friday
2. How soon can I get an appointment? Let me see what our next available appt. is.
3. How can I make an appointment for a feral cat? You can bring in a * feral cat whenever you * trap it,
Monday through Thursday.
We will hold it overnight, fast it ourselves, and do surgery the next day.
4. How long do they stay? If you drop them off Monday through Thursday, they will stay overnight and go home the next morning.
If you drop them off on Friday, they go home at 4:00pm (NO female dogs on Fridays).
5. Why do you release the same day on Fridays? We do a lot fewer animals on Fridays, so we can be sure that every surgery is completed
in the morning.
The animals then have plenty of time to recover before we release them.
Medical Questions
1. Can they drink water all night before surgery? Yes
2. How long does the surgery take? It depends on the animal; anywhere from 30 seconds for a male cat to 20 minutes for a large female dog.
3. Is it safe? There is a risk with any surgery? Humane Alliance, our mentor clinic's, mortality rate last year was 0.07%.
Out of over 25,000 animals, we lost 19.
4. Do you send them home with pain medication? They receive pain medication before surgery.
In addition to that, you can purchase an extra pain med that will last about 24 hrs after surgery - it's an anti-inflammatory, like Ibuprofen.
5. Do you give vaccinations? Yes, but only at the time of surgery.
We are required to administer a rabies vaccination if your pet does not have a current one.
We will administer additional vaccinations at the time of surgery at your request.
6. Can I come in for just a rabies shot? No, we can only give vaccinations at the time of surgery.
7. Do you microchip? yes
8. When do they start coming in heat? They usually reach sexual maturity at about four to six months.
9. How long are they in heat? It really depends on the animal.
10. How long are they pregnant? 63 days.
11. Can you fix them while they're pregnant? Yes.
12. Is it dangerous if they're in heat/pregnant? There is a higher risk if they are in heat or pregnant.
If you can wait until they are no longer in heat to bring them in, that's the best.
If they are pregnant, the sooner you can bring them in, the better.
13. How soon after they have a litter can they be fixed? You need to wait about two weeks after the babies are completely done nursing
- the mother has to stop lactating before we can do surgery.
14. What is the recovery period like? The recovery period is 7-10 days.
You need to restrict their activity and keep them indoors.
You also need to watch their incision closely. We will give you a complete list of post-op instructions when you pick your pet up.
15. What is that extra green incision? That is a tattoo, to identify that your pet has been spayed/neutered.
16. Should I be worried that my dog/cat is licking his/her incision? Yes. Can you bring them in for us to take a look at them?
We are available for rechecks Monday through Friday from 10am - 2pm.
Please call if you need to come at another time.
17. What should I do to keep my dog/cat from licking his/her incision? You can purchase Bitter Apple or Bitter Orange (from Walmart or PetSmart)
- rub the ointment around the incision, not directly on it (it stings!).
If that doesn't work, you need to get them an E-collar (lampshade).
Please do not try to answer any medical questions, or assess whether a person needs to come in for a recheck.
These calls should be referred to Yuko, or to the technician if Yuko is not available.
If you get stuck and don't know the answer to a question, please put the person on hold and find someone to help you.
It's okay to ask any of the staff members for help!
