Spaying your cat is part of responsible pet ownership.
Part of being a responsible pet owner is spaying or neutering. You may need help with spaying a cat on a low income. Fortunately, a number of organizations provide such help. Researching your options will get the ball rolling, as well as help you sleep a little better a night knowing that you won't have to break the bank.
Reasons For Spaying
The shelters are full of animals with no home. The Humane Society of the United States estimates that four million cats and dogs are put down every year at a rate of about one every eight seconds. Spaying your cat can also improve her health in the short term as well as helping to avoid long-term problems in the future. Once you remove the economic difficulties associated with spaying a cat, there are many reasons to spay and almost no reasons to not.
Types of Organizations
Different organizations serve different populations of cats. Some will only spay feral cats -- those who are not tame. You may wish to alert such organizations to feral cat populations in your area to cut down on the number of feral cats. Other organizations will help anyone spay a cat, regardless of income. Finally, some groups work only with pet cats for low-income families. These are the organizations you will want to seek out if you cannot afford to spay your cat.
How It Works
Different organizations handle low-income assistance for spaying cats differently. For example, the Brazos Animal Shelter in Texas offers vouchers to low-income families that are redeemable at participating veterinarians. Other organizations, such as the Humane Society for Seattle/King County offer spaying at a discounted rate of $15 as of 2011. You may need to wait until such organizations hold special events to get your cat the surgery she requires. Other discounted rates run year round.
Additional Charges
Some cats are harder to spay than others. Pregnancy and the heat cycle can act as complications in the spaying procedure. Other medical conditions can also require more complicated procedures. In this case, you may be subject to additional charges. Before bringing your cat in for an operation, discuss any potential complications with a representative of the organization. As payment is generally required the day of the surgery, you should be financially prepared for such contingencies.
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