How much does it cost to neuter a cat?
Between $50 and $100 for a male cat at the three clinics below. Spay and Neuter Kansas charges the least and will only treat you if your household is low income. Sacramento SPCA and Humane Society of Sonoma County both charge $100 and ask nothing about your income, though Sacramento SPCA takes 20 or 50 percent off for named groups, and Humane Society of Sonoma County includes a physical exam, a microchip, a nail trim and a cone collar in its price. A female cat costs more than a male only at Humane Society of Sonoma County; the other two charge the same for either.
$50 or $70
cat neuter, banded by income, low income households only
$100
cat neuter or spay, no income test, discounts for named groups
$100
cat neuter, including exam, microchip, nail trim and cone collar
Cost breakdown
Each table below comes from one source, named underneath it, with the date that source last revised the figures. Everything is a United States figure in USD.
Neutering a cat, and the rest of the surgery list, on the published fee schedule of Sacramento SPCA
| Procedure | Regular price | 20% discount program | 50% discount program |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cat neuter, male | $100 | $80 | $50 |
| Cat spay, female | $100 | $80 | $50 |
| Dog spay or neuter, under 20 lbs. | $200 | $160 | $100 |
| Dog spay or neuter, 21 to 39 lbs. | $250 | $200 | $125 |
| Dog spay or neuter, 40 to 59 lbs. | $300 | $240 | $150 |
| Dog spay or neuter, 60 to 79 lbs. | $350 | $280 | $175 |
| Dog spay or neuter, 80 to 99 lbs. | $400 | $320 | $200 |
| Dog spay or neuter, 100 to 119 lbs. | $450 | $360 | $225 |
| Dog spay or neuter, 120 to 139 lbs. | $500 | $400 | $250 |
| Microchipping | $25 | ||
| E-collar, any size | $10 |
The same cat operation at three clinics
| Clinic | Cat neuter | Cat spay | Who can book |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spay and Neuter Kansas | $50 or $70 | $50 or $70 | Low income households only, price banded by income |
| Sacramento SPCA | $100 | $100 | No income test; 20 or 50 percent off for named groups |
| Humane Society of Sonoma County | $100 | $150 | No income test stated |
A bar for each row of the table above, 11 of them, drawn to the same scale so the spread is visible at a glance. The figure beside each bar is the one the table prints.
What changes the price
- Whether you have to qualify
- The cheapest figure on this page is the one with a condition attached. Spay and Neuter Kansas publishes its lowest price for low income households and says a household must be low income to qualify for its services at all. A clinic with no income test has to cover more of its own costs from the fee.
- Male or female
- Spaying a female is the larger operation, but only one clinic here prices it higher. Humane Society of Sonoma County publishes $100 to neuter a cat and $150 to spay one; Sacramento SPCA publishes $100 for either, and Spay and Neuter Kansas also charges the same for both.
- What is bundled into the price
- Two quotes are not the same quote until you know what each one buys. Humane Society of Sonoma County includes a physical exam, post-operative pain medication, a microchip, a nail trim and a cone collar. Sacramento SPCA prices the cone collar and the microchip separately, at $10 and $25.
- Weight, for a dog rather than a cat
- Cat prices are flat at all three clinics. Dog prices are not: Sacramento SPCA bands them from under 20 pounds up to 139 pounds, at $200 in the lightest band and $500 in the heaviest.
- Whether the practice publishes at all
- Most private veterinary practices do not put surgical prices on their website, which is why the clinics that do are the ones you find when you search. If a practice does not publish, the only way to get the figure is to ring and ask what is included as well as what it costs.
How to pay less
- Check whether you qualify for an income-banded clinic
- Where a clinic bands by income, the saving is large and it is published. Spay and Neuter Kansas sets its lowest band at $50 for a cat, against $100 at Humane Society of Sonoma County, for the same operation.
- Ask what is in the price before comparing two
- A higher price that includes a microchip, an exam and a cone collar may cost less in total than a lower one that does not. Humane Society of Sonoma County lists its inclusions, which makes that comparison possible rather than guesswork.
- Book the extras at the same time
- Vaccines and a microchip are cheaper alongside surgery than as a separate visit. Spay and Neuter Kansas publishes a rabies vaccination at $5 and a microchip at $15 at the time of surgery.
- Weigh the dog before you ring
- Where dog prices are banded, knowing the weight tells you the price before anyone quotes you. Sacramento SPCA publishes seven bands for a dog, from $200 to $500.
Questions
Why is one clinic half the price of another for the same operation?
Usually because of who is allowed to book and what is included. The cheapest figure here, from Spay and Neuter Kansas, is available only to low income households, and the most expensive, from Humane Society of Sonoma County, includes an exam, a microchip, a nail trim and a cone collar.
Does it cost more for a female cat?
At one of the three. Humane Society of Sonoma County publishes $100 for a male and $150 for a female. Sacramento SPCA publishes $100 for either, and Spay and Neuter Kansas charges the same for both.
Is a microchip included?
It depends on the clinic, which is exactly why the inclusion list matters. Humane Society of Sonoma County includes one in the surgery price. Sacramento SPCA charges $25 for microchipping.
Is there a minimum age or weight?
Often. Sacramento SPCA treats dogs and cats only between 3 months and 7 years old, and its dog bands stop at 139 pounds.
Why does my own vet not list a price?
Most private practices do not publish surgical prices, so the figure comes from ringing them. The clinics on this page do publish, which is why their numbers can be quoted here and checked by following the link.
Are these the prices I will pay?
Only if you go to one of these three clinics. They are real published prices rather than a national average, which is the point, and it also means they belong to those three organisations and to nowhere else.
Where these figures come from
Every figure here is a price published by the clinic named beside it. Two of the three print an effective date and the third prints none on the page, which is said here rather than left out; its page metadata records a change on 21 August 2025. The Sonoma and Kansas pages were last read on 25 September 2026 and the Sacramento SPCA schedule, pricing effective 1 March 2026, on 9 October 2026, when it replaced a Houston list whose prices dated from December 2024. A clinic can change its list without the page looking any different, so follow the link before relying on a number. A published price is also not a quote: these clinics set their own conditions on age, weight and eligibility, and those are on their pages too.