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How Many HRM Vets Charge Hundreds of Dollars for Simple Cat Neutering? |
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Written by D.L. McCracken
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Monday, 15 October 2007 |
 One of the hot topics among many Haligonians this past summer and fall was the "problem" of large and ever-growing feral cat populations and the damage they can do to one's gardens and lawns. Not only were the ferals being debated in council meetings but also on the agenda were cats that have homes but with owners who allow their felines to run freely outside. And cats being cats whether they have a warm home to go back to or not will ultimately discover their next door neighbour's pristine flower garden and....methodically deflower it leaving little packages in their wake.
It was debated in council meetings that one solution to the growing problem of roaming cats was to force their owners to purchase permits in the same way that dog owners are legally required to register their canine companions.
Another solution of course has always been spay and neuter programs. Any knowing person will tell you that rendering cats sterile will drastically decrease the feral populations as well as the astronomically large numbers of unwanted and throw-away kitties. It's that simple. Have your cat spayed or neutered. Problem solved.
Unfortunately, the problem is far from being solved and that problem can be traced directly to some local veterinary hospitals and their prohibitive fees for this simple solution. Fees so outlandish that many cat owners cannot for one minute consider doing the right thing. Just ask Tracey M.
Tracey is a single young woman living in Halifax who for a couple of unfortunate and specific reasons has been forced to enter the system as a social assistance recipient. She is a quiet rather shy woman and because of her current circumstance decided to adopt a kitten for company and companionship. A tenant in the same apartment building had a cat who had just delivered several kittens and Tracey happily adopted the runt of the litter and called him Dewey.
As happens sometimes with the "runts", Dewey grew into a handsome young cat and early on showed signs that he was part Maine Coon. He is now a little over one year old and totally devoted to Tracey.
Tracey had every intention of having Dewey neutered but she found it difficult to save the required amount of money that would be charged. She did however maintain a "Dewey Fund" in which she would throw extra quarters and loonies when she could.
Tracey was delighted to receive a letter from the Department of Community Services in September announcing that all social assistance recipients would be receiving a raise in their personal allowances because she thought that maybe with this raise she would finally be able to afford to have Dewey neutered. Of course we all know what the raise amounted to - four dollars per month, not even enough to keep Dewey in cat litter. But that's another article altogether.
Tracey's family decided to step in and help her finance Dewey's procedure and Tracey immediately contacted an animal hospital nearby and was informed that the cost of neutering a male cat would be two hundred dollars. But that's not all. Because Dewey had never had his first needles, they would not perform the procedure unless he was first inoculated. He would require two needles at eighty dollar per shot.
The cost of a simple neutering for an inside cat would be $360.00 plus tax. Absolutely outrageous and for too many cat owners completely prohibitive. What is the alternative for cat owners who receive social assistance, the working poor, and even individuals living within moderate income brackets? Tracey outlined some of the more popular "alternatives" she has witnessed in her neighbourhood:
-tossing cats and kittens out 2 - 3 story apartment windows to the pavement below; if the animals survive the fall, they then are forced to survive the harsh world of homelessness.
-stuffing newborn kittens into sealed sacks which are then carried to the nearest pond or water-filled ditch and drowned.
As a result of the first "alternative" the region of the HRM in which Tracey lives has a large population of feral cats who are subject to not only the harsh elements but are too frequently used as target practice for kids with BB guns as well as a plethora of other cruelties and abuses perpetrated by humans.
Tracey, being a devoted cat owner began contacting other animal hospitals throughout the HRM and was relieved to discover that she would be able to have Dewey neutered for $85. The inoculations that were required in the first hospital were not required in other establishments. With assistance from her family Tracey has an appointment to have her cat neutered.
Tracey and Dewey are the lucky ones and Dewey will live on to be the pampered and adored inside cat that he was born to be. But for every Dewey there are countless throw-aways in large part because the very organizations who constantly preach about the benefits of spay & neuter campaigns continue to charge prohibitive and exorbitant fees for these very necessary procedures.
We have heard the call loud and clear for responsible pet ownership and many are responding. It's time now to begin the call for responsible Veterinary practices which should include standardized and reasonable fees for spay & neuter programs. To charge $360 plus tax to neuter one male cat is nothing less than chicanery and is downright shameful.
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