CSNIP offers a reduced-cost rate of $125/Dogs and $55/Cats. Your surgical fee covers: the spay/neuter procedure, intake exam, high-quality pain medications, anesthesia, and a nail trim (feral cats excluded).
No, CSNIP is by appointment ONLY for all animals.
CSNIP's services are in high demand and spaces are limited. We schedule 4-5 weeks in advance and spaces fill quickly. Appointments are available on our website four weeks out on a rolling basis, which means new appointments become available every day. If you are requesting an appointment for multiple pets, you will need to fill out a separate request for each pet. You can use our website to request an appointment at any time, or you can call us at 616-455-8220 option 1 and leave a message if you don't catch us live. Live-trapped feral and community cat appointments cannot be scheduled online. You can find more information about our TNR program here. When calling for any reason, make sure to leave a message if you don't reach us, as we return all calls in the order that we receive them. Depending on demand and availability, it could take up to 2-4 weeks to hear back from us. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Check-in
GRAND RAPIDS: If your last name begins with A-M, arrive between 8:00 am-8:15 am. If your last name begins with N-Z, arrive between 8:30 am-8:45 am.
LAKESHORE: If you are dropping off a dog, arrive between 8:00 am-8:15 am. If you are dropping off a cat, arrive between 8:30 am-8:45 am.
Pick-up
Our pick up times allow for the animals to recover from anesthesia and for our vet staff to perform final physical checks before they go home, so we are unable to release animals early. You will receive an email the day before your appointment with detailed aftercare instructions.
Dogs
Please pick your dog up promptly at 4:00 PM the day of surgery. Please remain in your vehicle and text HERE to the number provided to you in your pre-surgical instructions email.
Cats
Please pick your cat up promptly at 7:30 AM the morning after surgery. Please remain in your vehicle and text HERE to the number provided to you in your pre-surgical instructions email.
CSNIP does not declaw cats. If your cat must be declawed, we strongly recommend having the declaw procedure and the spay/neuter surgery performed at the same time at your private veterinarian.
Yes, but there is a slight, added risk with the procedure. Enlargement of the abdomen or mammary glands can interfere with the surgery and may cause some excessive bleeding. The pregnancy will be terminated at the time of surgery.
Most dogs experience a heat cycle every 6 months. The cycle lasts about 3 weeks. Cats experience the heat cycle an average of 3 times a year, although it can occur more frequently, particularly in the spring and summer. The cycle lasts 3 weeks. If cats are bred, they are almost assured of becoming pregnant
Dogs
It's possible to spay a dog in heat, but because there is increased risk of complications during surgery, we prefer to wait until she is out of heat. This usually takes 2-3 weeks. Please talk to us if your dog is in heat and at risk of pregnancy.
Cats
Yes. There is a high risk that she will become pregnant if we wait until she is not in heat.
The longer the spraying behavior goes on, the less likely that spay/neuter alone will completely stop it. Additional behavior training and medications are sometimes necessary. However, eliminating the sex hormones through spay/neuter is the first step to eliminating undesirable behavior.
Spaying and neutering eliminates the drive to find a mate, which helps make your pet more trainable and relaxed. However, training is always an essential part of addressing behavior issues.
CSNIP's primary focus is to proactively prevent and alleviate overpopulation by spaying and neutering dogs and cats, and by offering affordable, accessible veterinary care. We do not offer rescue, adoption, or sheltering service.
Every time one more cat or dog is neutered, the problem of over-population is eased. The over 200,000 spay/neuter surgeries performed by CSNIP have prevented the birth of puppies and kittens with little chance of survival, much less placement, in a safe and caring home. It is difficult to measure CSNIP's specific regional impact since our service is used by caretakers from all over Michigan.
CSNIP’s mission is to prevent pet overpopulation and improve the quality of life for dogs, cats, and their caregivers with accessible, high-quality, reduced-cost veterinary care.
We ask that your pet be at least 2 months and 2 healthy pounds.
No, vaccinations are not required to perform spay/neuter surgery. However, if your pet is current on its vaccinations, it is the best protection against infectious disease. CSNIP encourages regular veterinary care for every pet so they have the best chance for a long and healthful life
If inclement weather forces CSNIP to close, a "Clinic Closed" message will be on our phone system by 6:30am. The message will indicate which of the three clinics are closed, as the closing may not be across the board. We will also do our best to send individualized text messages and emails to all clients scheduled for that day to alert them of the closure. Rescheduling will begin as soon as we return to the office and priority will be given to those whose appointments were cancelled. If the clinic is closed on the day you are scheduled to pick up your cat from surgery, cat release is delayed until 10:00am that morning.
To limit the amount of contact required with CSNIP staff on the day of your appointment, we ask that you pay ahead of time. After you schedule your appointment, you will receive an email containing a link to prepay if you are able to do so. If you are not able to pay online using this link, you can call us at 616-455-8220 option 1 to pre-pay with a credit/debit card over the phone. We understand that not all of our clients will be able to pay ahead of time. In that case, we ask that you bring a credit/debit card to pay on the day of your appointment. If you are not able to use a credit/debit card on the day of your appointment, we ask that you bring cash in the exact amount. We do not accept Care Credit
WHAT IS HEARTWORM?
Heartworm is a serious and potentially deadly disease in pets. It is caused by worms that grow up to a foot long and live in your dog’s heart and lungs. Over time, the worms may damage the heart and lungs and can lead to early heart failure. The disease is spread when mosquitoes bite an infected dog and then bite your dog. Living indoors does not protect your dog from heartworm infection, because mosquitoes carrying heartworm infection can easily come indoors.
Prevention is easy.
- Heartworm prevention is safe, simple, and effective.
- It is a pill that is given to your dog once per month.
- Monthly Heartworm prevention costs $10 a month (Sold in 6 or 12 month supply only).
Treatment is hard.
Although dogs can be treated for heartworm infection, it is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive.
- The treatment takes 3-4 months.
- Dogs need to be kept quiet to avoid complications. This means cage rest with short trips on a leash outside when dogs need to relieve themselves.
- Some dogs will also need to be hospitalized.
- Heartworm treatment can cost $1000 or more in medications and veterinary services.
CSNIP recommends testing your dog for heartworm disease every year. It is a simple blood test that only takes 10 minutes. After your dog tests negative, you should start heartworm prevention. Giving your dog one pill once a month will prevent heartworm disease. The chewable pill costs $10 per month. The heartworm test costs $25 at the time of S/N surgery.
All pets receive a green line tattoo at their spay/neuter surgery. This green line is a visual indication that a pet has been spayed/neutered. This line is not a second incision and is just a small cut with pet-safe ink in it that will heal up and appear as a green line.
