What does spay or neuter surgery entail?

A spay surgery is performed on female cats and dogs and involves removal of the uterus and both ovaries (i.e. ovariohysterectomy). In males, neutering involves the removal of both testicles from the scrotum (i.e. orchidectomy). Both procedures require your pet to be put under general anesthesia, and your pet will need a few days to recover from the procedure. Generally, your pet will be feeling better after the first 24 hours, but females will need to be rested for a few more days while they heal.

Why should I spay or neuter my pet?

Spaying and neutering are very important to the overall health and well-being of your pet. Females, if left unspayed, are prone to developing uterine infections (pyometra) and mammary tumors (breast cancer), and males, if unneutered, can develop testicular or prostate cancers, or prostate enlargement. Spaying and neutering also help manage the pet population by avoiding unwanted litters. Even pets that are kept mostly indoors can occasionally escape, and it takes only a single “interaction” with another unaltered animal to create an unplanned pregnancy.

Will my pet’s behavior change after the surgery?

Spaying and neutering do not normally change your pet’s fundamental personality. It does, however, may decrease unwanted characteristic behaviors such as mounting, marking/spraying, and aggression in males. In females, behaviors associated with her heat cycle will diminish, such as yowling, pacing, restlessness, and urine marking. Your pet will be less likely to wander from home looking for a mate which decreases the chances of injury from traffic or fights with other animals.

What is the cost of spaying and neutering?

At Edmonton West Animal Hospital, we provide this surgery at a very competitive rate to our pet owners. We believe that this surgery is a very important part of your pet’s overall health, and it is our goal to make this surgery accessible to as many owners as possible. The cost of NOT spaying or neutering your pet is much higher; conditions like pyometra, mammary tumors, prostate enlargement, and cancer are complex, and often result in emergencies that require extensive veterinary care and/or surgery.

Please give us a call or text us today for a quote, or to book your pet in! We are open 365 days a year for your convenience.

Greetings humans! I saw my doggy friends Simon and Clover have been barking up the right tree about their wonderful care at Edmonton West Animal Hospital, so I wanted to share my tale as well. So, here I go- My name is Frankie, and I’m a 10 year old long haired tabby, descended from a long line of royal kitties in Alberta. Everyone knows dogs have owners, and cats have support staff, and recently my head caretaker informed me it was time for my annual visit to my kitty physician at Edmonton West Animal Hospital. When I arrived, I was happy to see that they had been notified of my upcoming trip, and the red carpet was laid out accordingly. As requested, the receptionist, wearing her nicest scrubs for the occasion, ushered me into my favourite exam room, the special one they have just for kitties. Although I am forced to cohabitate with a dog at home, I’d rather do that behind closed doors, away from the scrutinizing eyes of my peers. When in public, I have a reputation to uphold of never mingling with lower class species such as dogs. Besides, there’s lots of happy kitty pheromones in that room, and the staff do their best to ensure I am always surrounded by comfort.

My caretaker informed me that morning that one of the veterinarians would be checking my teeth that day, and that I should attempt to be as good-natured and tolerant as possible. This is a tall request for a kitty such as myself but I obliged to the best of my ability. I assume that word of my skills as a hunter had gotten out, and the vet was looking to gather evidence to explain this phenomenon of speed and precision. I was quite dismayed to hear that my weapons of skin destruction were perhaps not quite as immaculate as I thought, and that I would require some maintenance work to get them back up to peak performance. I worried I would be out of commission for some time before I could get this work done, but my head caretaker appeared pleased, as she was able to schedule my dental procedure for later that week. They determined that due to the degree of dental disease present in my mouth, I may be in some degree of discomfort. Although I would never admit to this claim, just between you and me, I was. And I was secretly glad that my vet had been able to determine this, even though I had tried to hide it from my mommy, uh, I mean, my caretaker. My vet friend sent my caretaker home with some medication to keep me comfortable in the meantime until my dental procedure. It didn’t taste the best, but it sure did the trick! Since I am now of distinguished age, my veterinarian also recommended bloodwork, which I again tolerated with immense dignity. Royal kitties such as myself deserve royal treatment, and although my caretaker would have paid any price to get me back up and running, she was happy to note that the cost of my upgrade was going to be much lower than anywhere else. Sometimes things are too good to be true, but not in this case. I demand top quality at a reasonable price, and this is why I insist my caretaker bring me to Edmonton West Animal Hospital. We departed from the clinic with the promise that my vet would be in touch with the bloodwork results, which I anticipated to be stellar. And they were – my vet called promptly with the good news.

The day of the procedure was a bit of a blur and did not begin in a manner that is suitable for royalty. I have read Simon’s and Clover’s blog, and saw that they got the same treatment the night before their procedures; it appears as though it is not just cats that are subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. I remember very clearly at midnight my caretaker removed my food dish and all food items from my surroundings. My life flashed before my eyes; I figured I would surely starve. This picturesque round figure is not easy maintain, and I work hard at achieving the perfect dinner to nap ratio every day. I tried to fire her, but she paid me no heed. Instead, she packed me up in my carriage, and drove me back to my friends at Edmonton West. At least the staff there were prepared for the occasion; the technician had arranged a suitable kennel complete with the comforts of home – a soft bed, my own private toilet, and a shiny dish of water awaited me. When my turn came, the technician gave me a shot of some wonderful stuff that calmed me right down. I stopped trying to explain that I was a prisoner being held against my will, and instead, drifted off into a warm land filled with gold dishes of chunks and gravy, and more catnip toys than you could shake a paw at. When I came to, my face felt numb, and I had a funny bubble gum taste in my mouth, but I was too sleepy and cozy to try and figure it out. For the rest of the afternoon, I lounged in my penthouse suite and watched the other patients in their care. I saw another sophisticated feline undergoing some sort of strange procedure, and wondered if that’s what happened to me. They were using some noisy machine in her mouth that sprayed water and had the same bubble gum smell. Occasionally the person would use some metal tools in her mouth, and then spray some more water. I’m sure glad I was asleep like she was when they did that to me! I come from a long line of fearless creatures, but every kitty has a limit, even this one!

When my mom, oops, I mean caretaker came to pick me up she first spent some time in the exam room with my vet friend. Luckily I have really good hearing and I was able to eavesdrop on their conversation. He seemed to be showing her some pictures of my teeth and talking about something called FORLs. I think this may be some sort of code or acronym for a top secret mission, but he said it stands for Feline Odontoclastic Resorptive Lesions. In any case, it appears as though these elusive menaces were responsible for the malfunction of my WMDs. I will be forever grateful to my friends at Edmonton West for realizing this deficiency and correcting it! I will be back to peak hunting performance in no time!

I wish to share this experience with my followers, as I believe that every kitty (and admittedly, every dog) should have their defence mechanisms in top working condition. From what I’ve heard, dental disease is an enemy that needs to be eliminated. It can affect other parts of your well-oiled machine such as your liver, kidneys, and even your heart! How are you going to catch mice if your heart isn’t up to snuff? That’s like taking a Maserati out on the Autobahn with a faulty engine! If your caretakers are looking for a place to go for top quality, experienced dental treatment, look no further than Edmonton West Animal Hospital. This kitty accepts nothing but the best; if it’s approved by me, it’s good enough for anyone!

Hello everyone! WOOF WOOF!!! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Simon, and I’m an 8 year old mixed breed. I’m a big guy and a little rambunctious, but I love life and everyone in it! I’m here to talk a bit about my adventures with my veterinarian friends at Edmonton West Animal Hospital. They’re great people there, and I wanted to share some of my experiences with my readers in case they want to come and visit this clinic too!

2 weeks ago, I learned a lot about a surgery called TPLO. One weekend I went out to the lake with my mom. She brought my ball with her; she knows how much I love to play fetch! One time I ran and jumped in the air to catch it, and when I landed, I felt pain in one of my back legs. I wasn’t sure what happened, but I didn’t want to play fetch anymore, so we went home. My mom was worried because I was limping; I couldn’t put much weight on that leg, so she brought me to see my friend Dr. Gosal at Edmonton West Animal Hospital. He’s a really nice guy; he’s very gentle, and he feeds me treats when I come and visit (please don’t tell anyone – I LOVE treats, maybe too much!) He checked my knee and told my mom that I ruptured my cranial cruciate ligament or CCL. That sounded scary to me, but he said that he can fix it, and that I don’t need to worry. He took a special picture of my knee called an x-ray, and I could see the bones in my leg! It was really cool! Dr. Gosal said that I would need a surgery called TPLO. This stands for tibial plateau leveling osteotomy. Sounds complicated? I thought so too, but Dr. Gosal is very experienced and knowledgeable. He explained it all to my mom and answered all her questions. I worried that my mom couldn’t afford the surgery since it sounded so intricate, but luckily my vet is very reasonable, and she said that it wouldn’t be a problem. Before we left that day, the lovely receptionist had already booked me in for surgery later that week! I don’t remember her name because she was feeding me more treats; I told her I was starving and I think she believed me!

When the day of surgery came, we went to the clinic early in the morning. My mom said I wasn’t allowed to have breakfast that morning, but I think she just forgot to feed me. The nice ladies at reception put us in a room when we got there, and a nurse came in to explain all the papers to my mom. Then the nurse took me into the back. I got a nice kennel with a really comfy blanket, and since I had gotten up so early that morning, I promptly had a nap. When my turn for surgery came, the nurses took me out and put a weird plastic thing in my arm. There was a little poke, but I’m a brave boy and I didn’t really feel it. After that, I don’t remember anything at all because a nurse put something into the line and I fell asleep. I didn’t have a choice! I tried to stay awake, but my eyelids were just so heavy…..

When I woke up, I felt a little weird. My leg had a bandage on it so I couldn’t really move it very well, and I had a funny plastic hat on that looked like a lampshade. I guess they were worried I wouldn’t like the colour of the bandage and might try to take it off. Luckily I can’t see colours very well. I felt a little fuzzy, but there was a nurse with me and she told me what a good boy I was. I noticed I had a funny haircut, but I didn’t remember going to the groomer that day. I didn’t feel any pain at all; the nurse would adjust my medications when she thought I might be uncomfortable. She also told me that she talked to my mom on the phone and told her that I was doing well so that I didn’t need to worry about her. I don’t remember much else after that, because I fell asleep again. I only woke up when they brought me supper.

In the morning my nurse checked me all over; she checked my leg, listened to my heart, and took my temperature. The assistants took me out to pee, and they were very helpful. They supported my hind end nicely with a sling so that I didn’t have to put much weight on my newly fixed leg. After that, I got breakfast in bed! What a great way to start the day! I was excited because I knew my mom was coming to pick me up that day, so I went back to my kennel to wait. When she came, the doctor and nurse explained everything to her, and showed her the medications that I would be taking. I don’t mind taking pills because my mom hides them in my favourite treats. Cheese slices are the best! Well, she thinks she’s hiding them, but I watch her very closely and I know they’re in there. She also got some instructions about exercises that we’re going to do together to help my knee recover. She got it all printed out so that she can put it on the fridge at home and I can read it. I know I’m supposed to stay nice and quiet at home for the first little while so that my knee can heal properly. This might be hard for me because I sure love running and jumping around. I heard Dr. Gosal mention something called “sedatives”, but I’m not sure what that means.

Two weeks later I got to go back to Edmonton West to see my friends again. They took out the stitches in my leg and gave me lots of belly rubs. I love those girls! Dr. Gosal said everything was looking really good; I can already put some weight on that leg and walk slowly around the house. No jumping or running yet though! In a few more weeks I go back again to have some more of those cool pictures taken of my leg. Dr. Gosal wants to make sure that the bones are healing properly.

If any of my doggy friends need TPLO surgery, I would definitely recommend coming to see my friends at Edmonton West Animal Hospital. My mom says they are caring and I felt well taken care of while I was there, and I know that my mom wasn’t worried about me. I was never in any pain, and my recovery has been great so far! I can’t wait to get back to fetching my ball! Thank you Edmonton West team, you guys are the best vets ever, WOOF WOOF!!