BetBet's Spay Experience From Preparation and Why It is Important to Have One

I will name you Beta-Test as you will be the 2nd cat in our home - (Tp dahil walang good naming sense)

Earlier this Sunday, Beta-Test aka Betbet underwent a spay operation to remove her reproductive organ. April and I had discussed this several months ago that we need to have her spayed soon so that we can let the girls go outside without worrying that she might get pregnant afterward.

I am too young to be a grandfather; these girls are still my other babies.

The problem is the fees of having your pet spayed/neutered are costly, which is around 1000PHP or above, depending on the clinic's location, etc. When I inquired to a local clinic back, then I received the amount of 5,000 PHP around 100 USD for the said operation, and then some additional cash for the vitamins and antibiotics.

We tried to save some money, but it is close to none as cat litter costs jumped astronomically high around 50% of the original price, plus their food allowance, etc.

Tita Nessie's husband is a worker in the city veterinary office here in San Pablo, and when we asked if there's some sort of program for free spay/neuter in the area he mentioned that there are plans we got our hopes up.

Proty had her operation two years ago when we were in Biñan. Back then, since the protocol is one pet per household, we did not include Betbet in the said batch.

We got the details that this Sunday there will be one and they advise us to go there earlier than the call time because, for sure, pet owners will swarm the area.

The night before, April prepared Betbet's cage with some floor mats and a cloth that will obstruct her surroundings.

Cats get easily stressed out in an open area and want to be in a dark place most of the time to hide. A perfect pet for introverts like us so we understand each other better.

We didn't let her eat or drink water since evening as there's a chance risk if she drank water or eat food hours before the operation some complications may arise which can lead to death.

Around six in the morning, we left our home together with April and Dyndyn. We waited for the doctors to come. When they signed the attendance, they marked me 100. Some people were in the place since three in the morning, so it does not surprise us I got that position.

At eight, they started calling the names of the owner and getting information about the pet. A commotion happened as the officers announced they will only accept 200 pets to be operated on that day dogs and cats combined.

A lot got disappointed with the said announcement as some people have brought more than one pet to be operated on. I am number 100, but there's a chance that we might secure a slot because of that. What happened was in the attendance. You will also list how many pets do you have right now for operation, some listed two or three, etc. One household brought 10 cats, thus people called out and said that it is unfair as it did not disperse some slots equally.

To appease the concern of the majority, they announced it is now one household, one pet only, which made everyone okay. The other party who brought more than one voiced out that it is not fair as they did not announce previously it but the officers mentioned it is for the common good as more households will avail of the service. They reminded those who opposed the idea that since it is FREE, they have the last call and if the naysayers have more issues, they can just bring their pets to a nearby veterinary clinic to be spayed/neutered.

Around 1:00 PM my number was called, Betbet got her tranquilizer and I waited for around 15 minutes for the medicine to kick in. After making sure that she cannot move anymore I gave her to the 2nd table wherein her tummy will be trimmed in preparation for the operation.

They advised us not to take pictures of the area of operation and not to take a peek at what was happening. I just waited for Betbet in the recovery area.

As cats and dogs were brought in the recovery area from time to time we are wondering on what is happening to Betbet. Some cats were operated ten minutes or so but hers is more than 30 minutes. April's asking if she was released already as her batchmates were already done and had their antibiotics shot, but it seems that our little lady's not yet.

Alas! Betbet's out already I was notified by the assistant to make sure to hold her tightly as he will inject the vitamins and antibiotics into her. After that, put her in the cage as she's already wide awake. I can sense that she was mad as she hiss every time that there are people holding her and I can understand that.

After getting the prescription and some tips from the doctor we left the area and thanked everyone for their service.

But why do we need to have our pets spayed/neutered?

In a blogpost by American Veterinary Medical Association it can help in avoiding serious health issues with the pets in the long run such as UTI and breast cancer. Aside from that, we can limit the increase of pets around the area.

When we walk around the vicinity, we can hear some screams from kittens along the roadside. These are often called as niligaw or kittens being thrown away because they are too many already in the household. Per year, a female cat can be pregnant thrice or even four times thus if not prevented more and more strays will be around.

Aside from that we are eliminating their mating instincts to further escalate. As an owner of two cats when they are not spayed, each time that they are in heat the sound that they create is too loud that it disrupts the peace of everyone resting. If we own the place then it is okay but since we are renting in an apartment complex, we might get expelled because of those sounds.

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Right now, Betbet's recovering compared to Proty that is quiet when she had the operation she was quite aggressive. Currently, we placed her in a cage as Proty's afraid of her and she receives constant glares and hisses from her sister. We were not able to have Betbet wear a dress because of the pain that she is experiencing as well and probably it will be an ongoing concern till next week.

_{This is the dress that they had before when Proty got spayed}

I think that is all for me right now, if you managed to read this blog post in full thank you for your time.

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