For anyone dropping their cats off for surgery: Carriers must be able to fit inside recovery room cubbies. Please make sure your carrier will fit in a space that is 25″ deep and 16″ wide. Thank you!

Spay/Neuter FAQ

• We will admit pets 16 weeks of age and up
• Pets over 7 years of age will incur an additional fee to cover the cost of necessary pre-op blood work and extra medical equipment used.
• Dog surgery price includes surgery, e-collar, post-op pain meds & 4 days of post-op medication to go home
• We accept most forms of payment: Cash, Credit Cards, CareCredit and Checks.
• Proof of current rabies vaccinations is required at intake. If no proof of rabies is provided, a vaccine must be given at the time of surgery for an additional $40 per vaccine.

The Importance of Spaying/Neutering Your Pet

There is a health care option that has proven cost-effective for years. Have your pet spayed or neutered. It is a wise investment in your pet’s health. You pay for this surgery only once, and it is available at low cost. When you have your pet altered, you treat them to a healthier, more comfortable life. As a result, you may save on veterinary costs as your pet grows older.

The Facts

You may wonder what the spay/neuter procedure involves and how it will affect your pet. When you know the facts, it is easy to see why spaying female pets and neutering male pets is a good idea.

Spaying and neutering are surgical procedures that prevent your pet from having puppies or kittens. The surgery is irreversible, safe and painless. Your pet is under an anesthetic throughout the operation. Your pet is monitored post-operatively and sent one the same day.

Age and health also play an important role in your pet’s recovery. Your pet will come home quickly and comfortably if he or she is healthy at the time of the operation. Physically mature pets can be spayed or neutered at almost any age, but younger pets heal more quickly. In fact, the best time to alter your pet is between six and eight months of age. Your veterinarian can help you decide when your pet is ready for surgery.

A common concern of some pet owners is that pets should be allowed to experience parenthood at least once. However, there is no evidence showing that house pets crave a “family of their own.” If you do choose to allow your pet to have a litter, consider whether you are prepared to pay the added expense of keeping the puppies or kittens. Spaying your pet before she has a litter saves you the trouble of finding homes for the litter mates and prevents many health problems for your pet.

High-Quality Care at an Affordable Cost

The Vogel Veterinary Care Center provides affordable spaying and neutering for your pets. We can offer this high quality care for your pet because our staff specializes in spay/neuter surgery.

Since 1989 our licensed veterinarians have preformed spay/neuter surgery. In 1996, we opened a brand new facility, with two fully equipped operating rooms. Your pet receives a thorough examination to ensure that he/she is ready for surgery. If any aspects of your pet’s health would increase surgical risks, you will be consulted. After your pet awakens from surgery, he will spend time recovering while sleeping under a warm blanket.

The Benefits

Having your pet spayed or neutered is good for your pet, for you, and your community:

• You fight the animal overpopulation problem. Did you know that one stray cat can give birth to as many as 12 kittens in one year? Multiply that figure by just 10 strays in your community, and you will quickly see the problem increases.
• You give your pet a longer and healthier life. Most altered animals avoid contracting breast or prostate cancer and serious infections to the reproductive system. They are happier too, because spaying and neutering reduce the stress related to heat periods twice a year.
• If you own an unaltered pet, he is likely to receive injuries from fights or accidents that can occur when he searches for a mate. And you are likely to receive complaints from the neighbors if your unaltered pet prowls through their yards, attacks their pets or bites their children.
• You can save money. When you have your pet spayed or neutered, you are spared the emotional costs and the veterinary fees resulting from unwanted behaviors, such as fighting, spraying and roaming. You can save on tax dollars too. Your taxes and pet license fees are used to pay for animal control to rescue, shelter and feed stray animals. Spaying and neutering pets can reduce the number of unwanted pets in your community and can lower animal control expenses. And many towns offer reduced fees for pets who are altered.

TNR Information

See our TNR Partner Municipalities Here

The MCSPCA has taken a leadership role in implementing a program proven to succeed in saving lives – Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). TNR specifically addresses the burgeoning feral cat population in a humane way. Feral cats are trapped, spayed or neutered, and returned to the community to live in managed colonies. Kittens and “friendly” stray cats are put up for adoption at the MCSPCA, immediately reducing the population of ferals in the community. Grant funding and donations support the program and significantly reduces the cost to the municipality. 

1. Trap-Kill is more expensive for the municipality than TNR.  Currently, in order to cover our costs, the MCSPCA must charge a municipality $250 per feral cat brought in. Since TNR is funded by grants and donations, the cost to the municipality is at least cut in half.

 2. There are not enough animal control resources to trap all cats in a municipality. A female cat can start having litters at 4 months old and can have four litters in one year. One mating pair can regenerate the population very quickly. With the animal control resources available it is impossible to trap every feral cat in a short enough time span to keep up with reproduction. 

 3. There is a “vacuum effect” where new cats fill the void due to migration from other colonies to take advantage of available food sources. With TNR, the cats are released into managed colonies with registered caregivers who are the only people allowed to feed feral cats. This stops late night “drive by” feeding by well-meaning people. The caregivers keep careful statistics on the population and most importantly, track the success of TNR.

4. Without community education, the source of the problem – people – will not change. Our TNR program includes comprehensive humane education programs to educate the community about feral cats, the importance of keeping owned cats inside, and the vital importance of spay/neuter. Education is backed up by ordinances that include steep fines for the abandonment of cats into the community.

There are many myths out there about feral cats. Feral cats cannot be “rehabilitated.” Feral cats cannot be “fenced in.” There is no farm or sanctuary that can take all the feral cats in Monmouth County.

Advantages of TNR:

1. Population is immediately reduced via adoption of kittens and “friendlies”

2. Spayed/Neutered cats roam less, don’t yowl or fight (typical mating behaviors)

3. Neutered male cats mark less often and with significantly less odor

4. Disease is reduced since the cats get vaccinated (rabies etc)

5. Fewer nuisance calls about feral cats

6. Most importantly, lives are saved!

TNR is an effective and humane way to control feral cats. TNR works because it is a multi-tiered approach. TNR humanely stops the reproductive cycle, adoptable kittens and cats are brought into the MCSPCA and not released back out, feral colonies are actually managed, and most importantly, comprehensive community education is provided to change human behavior.

The fact is these cats are out there. TNR means they are not reproducing, are disease-free, are fed and cared for and cause less trouble in the municipality. Our plan is to stabilize the population, so the colonies reduce in population through natural attrition.  Together we can reach our goal to significantly decrease the feral cat population in Monmouth County over the next five years with our Community Cats Campaign.  Help us save lives, support our TNR initiatives.

More information:

Best Friends Focus on Felines home page

HSUS Feral cat FAQs