Desexing

Desexing or neutering your pet is one of the most important decisions you will make for their overall health and well-being. It is a surgical procedure which requires a high level of training, care and skill. Here at Rural Veterinary Services our team provides a high level of standard when performing all surgical procedures.

During your pets desexing procedure the Vet will remove part of your pet’s reproductive system which will stop them from being able to reproduce. In male pets it is commonly referred to as “castration”, and in female pets as “speying”. Depending on your pets breed their ideal age of desexing may vary between six months of age to one and a half years of age. If you are unsure when to desex you pet you can call our friendly reception team or book in a consultation with a vet prior to the surgery day.

The benefits of desexing your pet;

• Reduces unwanted litters of cats and dogs in the community.  
• Reduce their likelihood of cancers such as testicular, prostate, mammary tumours and infection of the uterus (pyometra).
• For males desexing may also reduce unwanted behaviour such as wandering off and aggression towards humans and other animals.
• Stops the “on heat” cycle for females and stops spotting.
• A requirement in South Australia

Before surgery-Most importantly we ask you to fast your pet. You may feed your pet their dinner the night before their surgery but we ask you not to feed them the day of surgery. Fasting from 9pm the night prior reduces complications such as regurgitation during recovery. Water can be provided throughout the night before their surgery. If your pet is on medication prior to surgery please speak with our Veterinary team prior to the scheduled surgery. 

Admission-Our nursing team will admit them between 7:am and 8:30am. During this admit time the nurse will go through important information, for example flea and worm products. The nursing team will also do a health check to ensure it is safe to continue with the surgery that day. At this time we will also confirm with you if you would like us to perform inhouse blood test and fluid therpy for your pet.

Health checks- Once you have signed the surgery consent forms, said goodbye to your furry loved one for the day the nurse will take your pet to the Surgical Vet for a second health check. The second health check allows our vets to check your pets heart and confirm we can go ahead with the surgery being performed,. If your is being speyed and is your pet is in season (on heat), we often advise to wait two weeks until her season has finished as to avoid increased blood loss and complications. If your female dog or cat has accidently been joined/is pregnant we can still go ahead with their desexing up until a certain date, in this instance it is best to let our veterinary team know who can then advise what the best option may be.

After care for you pets desexing

Your role- It is vital that you keep your pet as quiet as possible following their desexing. After your pets surgery we monitor their vitals closely to ensure they are fit to go home. It is routine practice for our nurses to discharge your pet between 3 and 4:00pm, at this point the nursing team will go over specific home care instructions for the next 10-14 days of recovery.

After any anaesthetic animals, similar to humans, are often sleepier and need close supervision, feed a small amount of food and kept somewhere warm. You may be given post-surgical medication which will need to be given as per the label instructions.

It is important you check the surgical site once per day to ensure it is free of signs of infection such as swelling, redness or discharge. If they are showing signs of infection, it is vital you call a veterinary clinic as soon as possible.

Most importantly we need to prevent your pet from licking or chewing at the surgical site for at least 10 days while it heals. Special collars can be used BUT here at Rural Vets we also offer surgical suits to cover the area and reduce the occurrence of infection. For some extra energetic dogs we also recommend to be sent home with 5 days of sedation for the initial healing period. Sedation can help keep your pet rested and avoid jumping and running around which would increase the risk of infection.

Lastly your pet may have had non-dissolvable sutures placed surgically on the site to allow the area to heal. These may need to be removed 10-14days post-surgery. The nursing team will inform you during the discharge if they need to be removed.

If you have any questions regarding any desexing surgery please don’t hesitate to call.