Desexing Your Pet

WellPet Vets offer high quality desexing services to most small domestic animals. All procedures are performed at all of our WellPet locations by a team of qualified Vets and Anaesthetic Nurses. We not only perform this procedure on Dogs and Cats but also cater for Rabbits, Ferrets, Rats and Guinea Pigs.

Is desexing my pet safe?

At WellPet Vets we take the safety of Anaesthesia and your pet very seriously. However, with every anaesthetic there is a mild risk. We compensate for this by using the latest and safest anaesthetic protocols and drugs. We also have a qualified Veterinary Nurse monitoring your pet’s anaesthetic throughout the procedure.

Why should I desex my pet?

Desexing your pet prior to them reaching puberty (this is approximately 4-6months of age) greatly reduces the incidence of;

  • unwanted pregnancies,
  • hormone related, unfavourable behaviour traits, (e.g. urine marking)
  • serious health issues such as testicular or mammary cancers later on in life.

How long is my pet in hospital?

Generally Desexing is considered a “Day Procedure”. We perform all routine procedures from Monday to Friday. Your pet will need to be fasted for the procedure. This means for most pets (Note, pockets pets will be different) food should be withheld from 9pm the evening prior to their surgery, until their admission, however the water bowl can remain available.

Your pet will have a 15min admission appointment booked for the morning of the procedure. At this appointment you will meet the surgery nurse on duty that day and they will take you through the procedure your pet will be having and discuss any concerns you might have. They will also ask you to sign a consent form and a receptionist will organise your deposit before you leave your pet with us.

We can lower the risk of anaesthetics further by doing two things:

  1. The first is pre-anaesthetic blood work. This is a series of blood tests done in the hospital to screen your pet for any abnormalities prior to giving your pet any medications. This blood test specifically looks at liver and kidney function to ensure your pet can adequately metabolize the anaesthetic drugs we give. This helps avoid complications. Furthermore, we will then have your pets test results on file for future reference, and you will also receive a copy for yours. So if they ever get sick we will know exactly what has changed.
  2. The second thing we can do is use IV fluids prior/during and after the procedure. This keeps your pets internal organs supported by helping maintain an adequate blood pressure and flushing out the anaesthetic drugs in their system. This helps them recover faster.

Unfortunately, although we feel that pre-anaesthetic blood work and IV fluids are very important for every procedure, they are not industry standard. Therefore to remain competitive we do not automatically include them in your desexing costs. Please speak to your surgical nurse upon admission to elect for Pre-anaesthetic testing and IV fluids to be performed for your pet.

What happens when my pet is desexed?

Would you like to see the steps involved in desexing you pet? Click below to see a step by step guide to how this procedure is done at WellPet.