Spay/Neuter FAQs

How can I support Madison Cat Project and the work that you do?
Is surgery risky?
What do I need to do in preparation for the surgery?
What about recovery and care after the surgery?
Does my cat need pain medication at home?
Should I get an e-collar?
If my cat is sick or has another medical problem, can you still do the surgery?
If my cat has a minor medical issue, can you take care of it on surgery day?
How old do cats need to be before they can have surgery?
How soon after she has kittens can I have my cat spayed?
How long do the vaccines last?
Where are the vaccines given?
What is ear tipping for outdoor cats?
Does my cat really need to be microchipped?
Why do you tattoo the cats?
How are you able to do these procedures so inexpensively? Do you cut corners?
Do you do spay/neuter differently than a full-service clinic?
Can I bring more than one cat in a carrier?
I have a large group of cats that is more than I can manage. Can you help trap and/or transport them?
I have more cats than I can provide care for. Can you take them or help me find homes for them?
Can I make an afternoon appointment?
I’d like to adopt; do you have cats that need a home?
Do I have to live in Dane County to bring a cat in for surgery?
I have a question that’s not answered here or I can’t seem to get the Appointment Request Form to work.

We are a non-profit organization and donations are always appreciated. Monetary donations can be made here. Our supplies wish list can be found here.

Every surgical and anesthetic procedure carries some level of risk. Our procedures minimize that risk and complications are very rare.

• Our drug protocols are similar to those used by nationally recognized high quality, high volume spay/neuter clinics.

• Every cat receives a pre-surgical exam by a veterinarian to identify any health issues that might increase the risk of complications.

• We monitor breathing, heart rate, and blood oxygen levels for every cat during surgery, and if needed can also monitor blood pressure and expired carbon dioxide.

• Before, during, and after the procedure, cats are watched over by a Certified Veterinary Technician.

• Our staff has a collective 20+ years of high quality, high volume spay/neuter work.

Once your appointment is confirmed, you’ll receive an email with the specifics of how to get ready. Read this carefully as soon as you get it and contact us at clinic@madisoncatproject.org with any questions.

Once your appointment is confirmed, you’ll receive an email with information about caring for your cat after surgery, what complications might look like, and what to do if you have a question or concern. Read this carefully as soon as you get it and contact us at clinic@madisoncatproject.org with any questions.

Each cat receives an injection of long-acting pain medication, and in the vast majority of cases, this is enough to keep them comfortable during their recovery. If you’re worried that your cat is in pain once you’re home, feel free to reach out for guidance. You’ll find details in the Recovery and Aftercare document that comes with your appointment confirmation.

Most cats don’t bother the surgery area, but if yours does, you’ll want to prevent that with an Elizabethan collar. There are various styles available online and at pet supply stores. You can buy a flexible e-collar from us for $10 on surgery day.

Contact us right away if you see signs of injury or sickness so that we can discuss whether to proceed. If anything significant is found during the pre-surgical exam, we’ll call you to discuss the situation before we proceed. If the issue is beyond the scope of what we can address in our clinic, we’ll document it so you can follow-up with your regular veterinarian. Examples of this include dental disease, ear infections, or large wounds. 

We can treat minor issues such as small wounds, tapeworms, and mild dehydration. There may be an additional charge for the medication or treatment procedure. We’ll contact you to discuss whether you’d like us to provide such medication or treatment, or simply make recommendations for follow-up care with your regular veterinarian.

The surgery can safely be performed on healthy kittens as young as 8 weeks of age, though they need to be at least 12 weeks old to receive the rabies vaccine. Being an old cat doesn’t rule out surgery, though cats older than about 7-9 years are more likely to have health problems that may increase the risk of complications. Our veterinarian will discuss these concerns with you before surgery if needed.

It’s ideal to wait until the kittens are at least 5-6 weeks old and eating on their own before spaying the mother cat. If that’s not practical, the procedure can be done as early as a few days after giving birth, but neonatal kittens should ideally not be separated from their mother for more than a few hours. 

The rabies vaccine is good for 1 year. The distemper vaccine is good for 1 year if the cat is at least 6 months old, but should be repeated in 2-4 weeks for kittens under 6 months of age. We encourage you to follow up with your regular veterinarian to determine when the next vaccines are needed.

The distemper is given under the skin at the right elbow, and the rabies vaccine is given under the skin at the right ankle. These are the recommendations of the American Association of Feline Practitioners and the American Animal Hospital Association. 

We strongly recommend ear tipping for cats that live outside. While under anesthesia, approximately 1cm is removed from the tip of the left ear. This creates a visible indicator that the cat has already been spayed or neutered. For groups of outdoor cats, it’s a good way to easily tell which cats still need to be sterilized. This is the national standard, used by many shelters and spay/neuter clinics. For more information, including a picture, click here.

We strongly recommend microchipping as one of the most important things you can do to help a missing cat get back home.  Collars can come off, but microchips are permanent. The chip, which is about the size of a grain of rice, is implanted under the skin at the scruff of the neck. This is done while the cat is under anesthesia, so they don’t feel the poke of the needle. Lost cats that are brought to a shelter or veterinary clinic are routinely scanned for a microchip, which provides your contact information so you can be reunited.

All cats have a ~1cm green tattoo placed on their abdomen after the surgery to indicate that they are spayed or neutered. It is not always possible to find a scar on the abdomen of a spayed female cat, and even if we do find one, it’s not a guarantee that it’s from being spayed. Several other abdominal surgeries could cause a similar scar. Male cats are tattooed because it’s not always possible to tell whether they are neutered just by looking at or feeling the cat’s back end. Tattooing is the industry standard and there is no other reason why a cat would have this tattoo.

Because we focus almost exclusively on spaying and neutering, our clinic is very efficient. Our team is highly trained in these procedures and our veterinarian has sterilized over 10,000 cats. We regularly review our operations to make them better and faster, while making sure that everything is as safe as possible. 

The main things that most full-service clinics offer that we don’t are pre-anesthetic bloodwork and IV fluids. In a perfect world, every cat would have bloodwork done before any anesthetic procedure. However, this is a costly and time-consuming step, and the large majority of young, healthy cats don’t have any health concerns that would be found by bloodwork. If this is a concern for you, we encourage you to work with your regular veterinarian to discuss pre-anesthetic testing before scheduling your cat for surgery. The main reason to give IV fluids is to help stabilize the cat’s blood pressure if needed during surgery. Our efficient surgeries are nearly always completed quickly enough that changes in blood pressure don’t become an issue.

Kittens under about 6 months can share a carrier. Each adult cat should have their own carrier. We may be able to lend you extra carriers if needed, just let us know when you make the appointment request.

We’re happy to offer guidance, and we can lend you live traps, carriers, and recovery cages if needed. Depending on your situation, we could help with developing a trapping strategy. There may be extra costs for assistance beyond phone or email consultation. Please contact us at clinic@madisoncatproject.org to discuss how we can help.

We get many, many requests to take in cats, and while we help as many people and cats as possible, we simply don’t have the resources to help everyone. If you need to find a new home for your cats, please contact us at intake@madisoncatproject.org to discuss whether we’re able to help. We often have a long waiting list, so while you’re waiting, please consider bringing the cats in for spay/neuter surgery. We often are able to provide surgery much more quickly than we can take the cats in, and cats that have already been spayed or neutered tend to get adopted more quickly than those who haven’t.

To efficiently complete all surgeries, all cats must arrive between 7:30am and 8:00am. Let us know if you can’t arrive by then, and we’ll discuss possible solutions.

Yes! You can see all of our cats available for adoption here. Please note that we frequently get new cats, so check back often if you don’t see a good match.

Yes! We offer our services to everyone, regardless of where you live.

Please email us directly at clinic@madisoncatproject.org and we will follow up as soon as we are available.