Shouldn't shelters have animals checked by a vet??

[DogLover9501]

I was wondering, do shelters usually have the animals checked over by a vet before putting them up for adoption??

The cat I am interested in, they told me that they don't know if she is spayed or not, and could even be pregnant for all they know :eek:

I just thought that they checked those things out first??

[Kona & Oreo's mom]

Both the county animal shelters and the Humane Society in San Diego have every animal checked by a vet. They don't adopt-out animals that are not altered.

[catnapper]

The one I have been fstering for definately does! That sounds a bit odd to me that they aren't sure.

[slick]

My local Humane Society does. When a kitty is acquired the first stop is the vet. If it's a lone female, she is tested, tattooed and given shots. If it's obvious that she's had kittens then she is spayed.

If it's a male, he is neutered (if not already), tattooed, given shots and tested.

Only then do they go the shelter.

[aly]

There are good shelters and bad shelters. There are city funded shelters and non-profit shelters. There are shelters with tons of money and shelters with absolutely no money.

Most shelters do have their animals checked by a vet or by shelter clinical staff before going up for adoption, but there are still some that don't. Financial reasons might play a factor in why they don't. Since I don't know the shelter though, it is hard to say.

[Logan]

I'm no expert, but sometimes, unless there is a visible scar, I think it is hard to tell whether a female has been spayed or not. Hopefully, someone will correct me if I am wrong. :o

I know that my friends adopted a female puppy from the pound about 6 years ago. At one point, she escaped their fence and was picked up by animal control. They tried to spay her again (new incision) only to realize that she had already been spayed. Luckily, my friends found her up for adoption in the shelter and went through the whole adoption process all over again! :eek:

Logan

[jazzcat]

The county shelter where my dad lives doesn't have enough funding for a vet to check the animals. Unfortunately they only have one who is willing to put down injured animals but nothing else. The other vets in town want to charge the shelter full price for anything else. It's sad and they are working to get a vet. Right now if they can tell the animal is spayed or neutered they charge $25 to adopt - state law. If the animal is unaltered they charge $65 and refund you the $40 once you show proof of the spay or neuter. Compared to the shelter they used to have years ago, a small concrete building with a hose to hook up a car's exhaust to euthanize the animals, I guess this is a major improvement.:(

[Tonya]

Our shelter has a vet that checks the animals. The one thing I don't like is that they adopt out unaltered pets. You pay a deposit and sign something saying that you will alter them. When you show proof, they give you the deposit back. I think it was $50 or so. I wish that they'd automatically alter the pets.

[DogLover9501]

Thanks guys.

My mom really didn't like that they had no idea, but another thing is the cat only arrived there today...

[NoahsMommy]

Logan's right. The only way to tell for sure if an animal has been spayed is to check for a scar. Also, finding out if an animal is pregnant or not, if she's not close to giving birth, requires xrays. That's expensive for most shelters.

Some shelters have vets that donate their time. Even then, most shelter vets just do a quick exam to make sure the animal is stable. Some get medications, some don't. :( Pretty sad, huh?

There have been animals that come into our clinic from the shelters with distemper! They vaccinate only with DA2PP, NOT RABIES and NOT for Bordatella. I always find that so strange. You'd think they'd want to protect them from the kennel cough the dogs ALWAYS go home with.

[prechrswife]

The shelter where we got Chloe was a very large county shelter. I think they tried to vet check the animals, but sometimes they missed something. They would adopt out unaltered animal, but you had to sign a contract to have them altered within 30 days of adoption. You had to bring in proof of the surgery signed by a vet. (They are very particular about this in the Atlanta area. If you don't have it done, they will send the authorities after you.) Anyway, after we adopted Chloe, we found out that she was pregnant and that she had a serious URI. She was not pregnant enough to show at that point, and the URI symptoms didn't manifest themselves until we got her home.

[DogLover9501]

I just found out that when you adopt an animal you get a free examination and vaccination at a vet of your choice.

[cruisetime]

The city shelter I just got my cat from doesn't check them over other than the staff look at them a little. They kill the owner releases within 24 hours if pregnant and 72 hours if they have the space to keep them. The strays are 72 hours too. They take an adult cat to the vet for you - the law - and you pay them a reduced fee for the spay/neuter. Only like they said they do not adopt out many adults because most want kittens. The kittens you have to sign saying you will spay/neuter as soon as they are old enough and supposedly they are strict about following up. I was taking a risk since she had not been checked over but this cat was deffinately meant to live - they kept her for 4 weeks! She caught and stole the hearts of the manager's daughter and the volunteer there and they begged and pleaded for her to be spared. She was sooo sweet! She saved herself and her kittens whom she had her second day there and they adopted all of them out. On an earlier post I noticed someone say that the vets were wanting to notch the ears of cats that have been spayed since it is so hard to tell. This may be a good idea. Debbie

[catmandu]

they should check each potential adoption,but with cut backs,maybe some cant! The AWA,does a Fantastic Job,as thier reputation,is excellent,and they want it,to stay,that way!