Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, patients are seen by appointment.

Cash, Debit, Mastercard, Visa, e-transfer, and American Express.

Payment is required at the time of service. We also work with iFinance, which offers payment options.

No, there is no advantage to letting your pet have one litter. However, having your pet spayed or neutered has plenty of advantages. These advantages include decreasing the chances of mammary tumors later in life, decreasing the chance of cystic ovaries and uterine infections later in life, decreasing the desire to roam the neighborhood, decreasing the incidence of prostate issues later in life, helping prevent spraying and marking and also decreases the surplus of unwanted puppies and kittens.

Today’s modern anesthetic monitors have made surgery much safer than in the past. Here at Uptown Pet Clinic, it is recommended that every pet have blood testing done before surgery to ensure that a fever or other illness won’t be a problem. We also adjust the amount and type of anesthetic used depending on your pet’s health. The handout on anesthesia explains this in greater detail.

Pre-anesthetic blood testing is important in reducing the risk of anesthesia. Every pet needs blood testing before surgery to ensure the liver and kidneys can handle the anesthetic. Even apparently healthy animals can have serious organ system problems that cannot be detected without blood testing. Animals with minor dysfunction will handle the anesthetic better if they receive IV fluids during surgery. Surgery can be postponed if serious problems are detected until the problem is corrected.

It is important that surgery be done on an empty stomach to reduce the risk of vomiting during and after anesthesia. You will need to withhold food for at least 12 hours before surgery. Water can be left down for the pet until the morning of surgery.

For many surgeries, we use absorbable sutures underneath the skin. These will dissolve on their own and do not need to be removed later. Some surgeries, especially tumor removals, do require skin stitches. We recommend an E-collar to prevent your pet from licking or chewing their incision. Most dogs and cats do not lick excessively or chew at the incision, but this is an occasional problem you will also need to watch for. If there are skin sutures, these will usually be removed 10 to 14 days after surgery. You will also need to limit your pet’s activity level for 7 to 10 days, and no baths are allowed for the first ten days after surgery.

Anything that causes pain in people can be expected to cause pain in animals. Pets may not show the same symptoms of pain as people do; they usually don’t whine or cry, but you can be sure they feel it. Pain medications needed will depend on the surgery performed. Major procedures require more pain relief than things like minor lacerations.

For dogs, we may recommend an oral anti-inflammatory the day after surgery and several days after to lessen the risk of discomfort and swelling. We use newer medications, which are less likely to cause stomach upset and can be given even on the morning of surgery.

Because cats do not tolerate standard pain medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or Tylenol, we are limited in what we can give them. Recent advances in pain medications have allowed for better pain control in cats than ever before. We administer a pain injection 10 minutes prior to surgery. After surgery, pain medication is given on a case-by-case basis. Any animal that appears painful will receive additional pain medication.

Injectable pain medications may also be used after surgery on both dogs and cats. Providing whatever pain relief is appropriate is a humane and caring thing to do for your pet.

While your pet is under anesthesia, it is the ideal time to perform other minor procedures, such as ear cleaning or implanting an identification microchip. If you would like an estimate for these extra services, please call ahead of time. This is especially important if the person dropping the pet off for surgery is not the primary decision-maker for the pet’s care.

When you bring your pet in for surgery, we will need 5 to 10 minutes of time to fill out paperwork and make decisions on the blood testing and other options available. When you pick up your pet after surgery, you can also plan to spend about 10 minutes going over your pet’s home care needs.

We will call you before your scheduled surgery appointment to confirm the time you will be dropping your pet off and to answer any questions you might have. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions about your pet’s health or surgery.

The cost of all of our elective surgeries includes sedation, anesthesia, full anesthetic monitoring, intravenous/subcutaneous (male cats) fluids, tattoo (if so desired), a long-acting anti-inflammatory, three days post-op pain meds to go home, and the surgery itself.

Other procedures, such as hernia repair, baby teeth removal, dewclaw removal, etc, may be done at the same time as elective surgeries but at an added cost. Pre-surgical blood testing, vaccinations, microchipping, dewormers, tick and flea meds are also additional costs.

Spaying or neutering can be done at approximately 6 months of age. Your pet is given an exam prior to surgery to help determine whether your pet is healthy enough to undergo the surgical procedure. Current vaccinations are required at the time of surgery. Also, a pre-anesthetic blood screen is recommended prior to undergoing anesthesia and surgery.