Low Cost Animal Care

• Please come to the Portage APL, in person, to pay (cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, American Express) and submit paperwork ahead of time to secure your appointment.
• We cannot accept walk-ins on surgery dates. These clinics fill up very fast. Please call to find out availability. (Please note that MASH dates may change or be cancelled at any time.)
• We can only spay/neuter cats 12 weeks and 3 pounds – 4 years of age.
• Pediatric spaying and neutering can be performed on kittens, but they must be at least three months of age and over 3.5 pounds and healthy to have the procedures performed.

1. Do not give your cat food, water or treats after 12:00 midnight the night before.
2. Bring your cat(s) to Portage APL. They must be in a plastic carrier where your cat is visible through the door. All cats must be in individual carriers.
3. Please lay a towel, newspaper or wee pad on the bottom of the carrier and make sure your cat is not wearing a collar.
4. Male cats should be dropped off from 8:00 – 8:30am at Portage APL
5. Female cats should be dropped off from 8:30 – 9:00am at Portage APL
6. Portage APL is located at 8122 Infirmary Road (behind the dog pound and alongside the Portage County Airport). You will be called when your cat is ready to be taken home.
7. If you are unable to make it that day, please call us by 8am (please leave a voicemail if your call isn’t picked up). If you do not show or do not call, you will lose your money and will have to pay again.

• Each cat is put under gas anesthesia for the procedure. All surgery takes place in the Mobile Unit and is done by the MASH veterinarian. All procedures are done using sterile equipment.
• A female surgery (similar to a hysterectomy in a person) involves removal of ovaries and uterus and takes about one-half hour to complete.
• Females may be spayed if they are in heat, and can be spayed while pregnant (at our MASH vet’s discretion).
• Neutering a male cat involves removing the testicles and takes about 15 minutes to complete.

• Nursing cats cannot be spayed until they have been separated from their kittens for at least two weeks and have no milk in their mammary glands.
• Male cats which have neither or only one testicle descended are not done at the MASH clinic and should be referred to their local veterinarian.
• Any cat younger than 12 weeks old and weighing less than 3 pounds or cats older than 4 years of age.
• Any cat known to be positive for Feline Leukemia, Feline Infectious Viremia, Feline Infectious Peritonitis, or any other serious illness will not be done by the MASH veterinarian and should be referred to their local vet.
• Cats cannot be on antibiotic treatment at time of surgery.
• Cats which have had anything to eat after midnight the night before will be refused surgery.
• Cats showing symptoms of current illness (nasal or eye discharge, emaciation, etc.) will be refused surgery and referred to their local vet.
• Cats having any serious heart or lung problems on auscultation (vet listening to organ functions) will be refused surgery and referred.
• Cats having any recent major surgery will be refused surgery and referred.
• Extremely obese female cats will be refused surgery and referred.
• Extremely short nosed or Persian cats will be refused surgery and referred.

The MASH veterinarian retains the right to refuse services to any animal perceived as unfit.

Spaying/Neutering your pets (at about 8-16 weeks) is good for you, good for your pets, and good for the neighborhood. Here’s why…

10. Your house will smell better!

Neutered pets have fewer tendencies to mark their territory or attract the opposite sex by spraying. That means no yellow stains on your white couch and a lot less air freshener. Generally the earlier you get pets spayed/neutered the better the result.

9. You will have lower vet bills!

“Fixed” pets are less prone to a variety of diseases. For example, spayed females have a lower risk of breast cancer.

8. Less fighting and friendlier relations among pets!

A fight between two unaltered pets can be serious. Deep wounds can transmit deadly diseases such as FIV in cats. Neutered males tend to be less aggressive to both animals and people, particularly if altered at an early age. (Redirected aggression may occur, however, if the animal is ill or agitated and the wrong stimulus occurs.)

7. You move up to the front of the love line!

Your pets will stay contented to be with you at home instead of trying to outsmart you to get out and find a “friend” in the neighborhood.

6. Your pets (and you) will have less stress!

If you have ever gone through the nearly monthly yowling of a cat in heat or the embarrassment of you dog “humping” a guest’s leg and if you have had to “shoo!” away the neighbor’s pets who have “come calling,” you will get your pet spayed/neutered. Trust us!

5. Your neighbors and the dog warden will appreciate it!

Number 6 also works the other way around. Altered pets have lower tendencies to roam and are therefore less likely to annoy your neighbors. Also, you will reduce the risk of your pet getting hit by cars or fall prey to wild animals … or the annoyed neighbor.

4. No “uh ohs!”

Female cats can breed as early as 4 months; dogs as early as 6 months! To avoid those “accidental” litters, talk with your veterinarian about pediatric spay/neuter (8 – 16 weeks of age).

3. No unwanted litters!

Unfixed female cats can breed three times a year and have an average of 4 kittens per litter. Dogs can breed twice a year with litters of 6 – 10 puppies. The numbers appear to be staggering, but in just seven years, one unspayed female cat and her offspring (if they all live) can produce 420,000 kittens; one unspayed female dog and her offspring can produce 97,000 puppies.

2. More homes for the homeless!

Nearly 35,000 dogs and cats are euthanized each day in dog pounds and animal control facilities across America in large part because people didn’t get their pet “fixed.” In addition, 6-8 million dogs and cats are left waiting in shelters across the country. Every home found for one of your pet’s offspring takes a home away from an animal waiting in a shelter.

1. You can help prevent the number one cause of death and suffering in cats and dogs!

For each human baby that is born today across the United States, 45 cats and 15 dogs will be born. About half of these animals will be euthanized because there simply aren’t enough homes. In addition, countless homeless animals, who never make it into shelters, will suffer their lives on the streets – often becoming threats to public health and safety. This makes pet overpopulation the major cause of death and suffering for companion animals.

The Solution is simple