This is a YouTube video titled "¿Existe riesgo al castrar a GATOS 🐱 y PERROS 🐶 MAYORES? | ¿Cuánto cuesta? 💸" created in June 2020. It features a clinical veterinarian named Carlos discussing the risks, benefits, and costs associated with castrating older cats and dogs. The video provides detailed information on pre-surgical examinations, anesthesia risks, and surgical techniques, aiming to educate pet owners about responsible veterinary care for senior animals. The content is a monologue without multiple speakers.
I already told you at what age you can castrate your animal companion. But is there a maximum age? Hello, I'm Carlos, a clinical veterinarian at Small Animals. Welcome to the Happy Pets and Families Channel. If you've just rescued an animal companion from the street, you may be wondering whether they're too old to be castrated. Let me tell you, they probably aren't. Even after a certain age, there are many good reasons for our animal companions, those who will be in contact with us, to be properly castrated to prevent health problems. But when do we say that a dog or cat is old? Generally, everyone knows that after one year of age, they enter their adult stage, their adult age. This adult stage lasts until they are seven or eight years old. From. From that moment on, what we consider the geriatric stage begins. Obviously, it will not be the same for a cat that is eight years old as for a cat that lives to be 20. As they age, the risks of undergoing surgery also increase. Therefore, the most important thing is to make sure that the surgery is indicated and to know whether or not the surgery is indicated. We must always stop and think about the type of risk that this surgery may pose, especially in the matter of castration, because it is a surgery on which their life will not depend. It is not a life or death surgery, but it is a planned surgery that we simply do to improve their living conditions. And also, for your peace of mind, I must also tell you that this type of surgery usually has very little risk, is usually performed quite simply, and is usually quite quick. They are surgeries that we do not consider to be complicated. That is why they can be recommended for puppies and cats that may be quite old. So with these types of animals that are a little older, we always have to make sure that they will behave well under anesthesia and that there will be no problems after surgery to do that. What are we going to do? Well, what we veterinarians usually tell you, a good physical examination and probably some tests. I'm making this video precisely because there are people who come to the office and I tell them, well, I recommend that you castrate your animal companion. Those people, suddenly, when I start to tell them, look, since he's already so old, or Maybe he's over 7 years old, we need to do a blood test, find out a little bit about his body condition and see if there are any problems. Sometimes people start to skimp and tell me, oh, well, what if we didn't do this? How much does it cost? And what if we didn't do that how would it be? And that is precisely a fairly significant risk in these cases, because we have to make sure before we put your dog or cat under anesthesia that they are fine and that there will be no risk to their life. For example, in these cases, if you ask me for my opinion, I will always recommend that you have a blood test, because with a blood test we will see how their body is working internally. We will also see how their blood cells are, and that will also give us much more security with the anesthesia. But also in these cases, I recommend that you have a good physical examination and an electrocardiogram, for example, because that way we will see how their heart is working, how their electrical activity is, which gives us a lot of information, of course. And all these tests have a price. In our practice, we usually have the tests grouped into what we call a pre surgical package or a pre surgical study. We have a basic one, which is, which is the one we do on animals that are low risk, and another one that we usually do on larger animals. This package includes the tests that are necessary to face the surgery with greater safety. And of course, logically, this package is a little more expensive than the basic one. When I usually offer the geriatric pre surgical package, people ask me, well, how much does the basic one cost? That's not the point. I'm offering you the geriatric one because I think that these are the tests that your animal companion needs to face the surgery with less risk. And that's why we make two types of packages and we wouldn't just offer one. In fact, there are people who even go there foolishly and say, okay, well, without any type of pre surgical study, we're going to have surgery. Let me tell you something. Tomorrow I have to undergo surgery in a hospital and they tell me that they are going to take me to the operating room without any pre surgical tests. I say, are you crazy or what? You are going to have to do tests on me. Because if something happens in there, what do we do? We are already in the thick of it. We can't stop it. That's why you have to be responsible and considerate. It is good to have tests done beforehand to prevent any type of complication that may arise later when the surgery is underway. And how much does it usually cost? Well, it will depend a bit on the clinic and the area where you are. Here it can be around €150 and so on. So of course, if they tell you that castrating a male can cost you €150, and that just the tests for castrating a male will cost you the same as the surgery. There are people who tell you, well, look, I'd rather not do it, or how is it possible that the tests cost that much? These are expensive tests, probably more expensive in terms of materials and everything than the surgery itself. But with this video I want you to understand that it is very, very important. And that is why I am explaining it to you in this way, so that we learn to give things the importance they deserve. And that if your veterinarian is recommending it, it is to reduce the risk of surgery. But also if your animal companion is already a little older, there are also some techniques that are more recommended than others. For example, in female castrations, it may be more interesting to do them by laparoscopic surgery, by minimally invasive surgery, because these types of techniques are much safer and the surgery lasts much less. Therefore the anesthesia is also shorter and will have less impact on your health. And I am telling you about these techniques so that you that they exist and that when your veterinarian recommends them, at least they do not usually give you any crap. And that's it. Well, this video was simply so that you knew all these considerations that we have when we face to castrate an older dog or cat, and we only go under the knife when we know the benefits outweigh the risks. There really is no upper age limit that says, okay, starting this year, animals can no longer be castrated. But it will tell us if your dog or cat has any pre existing conditions and has some type of problem. And we can only see that if we do tests and examinations before surgery. If you have any questions when you're in the consultation and talking to your vet, don't be afraid to ask them or even suggest. Look, I want my dog to have an electrocardiogram where I want my cat to have a blood test so we can all feel much more at ease. Your vet will probably be happy to answer your questions and do all the necessary tests so that when we go into surgery the risk is as low as possible. And that's it. I hope I've cleared up any questions you may have at this point. But hey, since I know that these types of videos end up raising more questions, what you can do is write them to me in the comments. All I have left to say is that that's it for today's video. If you liked it, give it a like and share it with everyone. Remember to subscribe to this channel if you haven't already done and also hit the bell so that YouTube, if it sees fit, will notify you every time we upload new content. Oh, Judith Escudero has introduced us to Isis and Neptis. Hey, look at those Egyptian names. And how appropriate for two ridden kittens. And Emina is introducing us to Philippa, who she says has only had for a little over a week, but she can say that she is the most outrageously good cat she has ever had. And Alba tells us that thank you for accepting her into the group. And introduces us to her cat, Aristotle. I looked at his name, but his friends call him Aris. Thank you very much for following the channel, happy pets and families. And I'll see you in the next video. And as always, well, we have reached the end of our video. Or. Well, yes, but how do I start? I didn't like it either. I love white cats. How I like it. How are we going to. Ah, Ah. Okay, okay, okay, now. And also. Ah. Okay. Yes, yes, I'll do it. I'm going to make it up. No, no. If he's already too old to be treated. If it's already too much. Okay, but even after a certain age, there are also some. But prevention is better than cure. Well, what else? Yeah, and we. And you also want. I mean, and the. No, because many times I clear my mind when I tell you. Hey, keep that in mind. Think about it. I know. I don't know. And no. And you. And we also want everything to work out. Just that you're a little more. Yes, yes, that's true. Foreign. I'm sorry. Really. I love cats. There are people who. I don't know why they give me little things, but they really are super adorable. And they're soft and warm.
