The first place to call is your local/county animal shelter, to ask if they know of any spay/neuter programs in your area. My county just recently had a program (during Christmas) that offered free spay/neuter certificates to the vet of your choice. They were given out on a lottery basis, so everyone in the county that filled out the application had a chance. My county also has a spay/neuter program for feral cats, and they will even loan out cages. From what I understand, the resident catches the feral cat in the borrowed cage, brings it in, gets it neutered for free, then takes it back and releases it to where it lives. That way, the feral cats won't reproduce, but they also don't end up being put to sleep at the pound.
Where I live, almost everyone is an expert at neutering. You don't live on a farm and not know some of these basic 'routine' jobs. Now, spaying is a lot different since it may demand a more delicate procedure. In that case, I would visit a local vet to do that.
Shelters are indeed great places to either spay/neuter for an affordable price, or get information on where to do it somewhere else. I have worked as a volunteer at an animal shelter in California and they do such a great job at that for a bargain. Also, if you think about, shelters are specialized in doing those procedures, since they do it so many times a day. So even if it's affordable you are getting a high quality work done by people that have a lot of experience. It's a really good option!
The spay neuter program at your local pet shelter is really awesome. It's good to see a place be so serious about spaying and neutering. I never got my cat spayed (which was a big mistake) but I will definately do it with any other cats that come into my care.
I have had my cats, dogs and rabbits spayed/neutered at a low cost program. It's so much cheaper than a regular vet practice and I feel like the vets are more experienced since they fix about a thousand pets per month. I also go there for vaccinations and some medical care. I also have a feral male cat that hangs out in my yard most of the time that I really need to trap and bring there to get neutered. I feel kind of bad about it since he trusts us to some extent (we can't pet him but we can walk right by him without him moving) but I don't want him impregnating unspayed cats. Plus, if he were neutered he would be happier without that drive to mate, and less aggressive towards other cats as well.
I love the idea of getting stray animals neutered or spayed then released back to where they have come from, I think living a stray life is a lot better than spending their lives in cages waiting to be adopted or to be put down. How can everyone be an expert at neutering? It doesn't seem like something everyone should do.
Yeah, looking out for those free spaying services can save you money, over here PAWS offers them as well, but only for the poor and indigent people who are registered with them due to lack of funds. As for me, I have never had any of my pets spayed or neutered.
