Our Services

Veterinary Services

MCAS offers a variety of veterinary services to the public at discounted rates. We want to ensure a long and healthy relationship between you and your pet. We offer the following Veterinary Services:

We accept cash, check or money orders. All fees collected by the shelter helps to support the shelter, which is its main source of income.

Spay Neuter Services

Spaying or neutering your pet means that your animal and its potential offspring won't contribute to the population of unwanted pets.

You can also enjoy your spayed or neutered pet more. Female pets that have been spayed do not go into heat. You won't have the mess that comes with the female reproductive cycle or the boisterous, noisy male suitors. Spaying and neutering may also reduce the risk of certain health problems (such as testicular or prostrate cancer in male dogs) offering you more years with your beloved dog or cat.

Clinic Schedule

Our schedule changes monthly as we perform services both on weekdays and on weekends. Registration is required in advance by calling (936) 442-7738. Please leave a message and your call will be returned promptly. Pets are dropped off at MCAS in the morning by 8am and are usually discharged on the same day. We ask owners/caretakers to fill out a brief form with contact information, information on your pet and to sign a medical release form. Our Office Assistant will call you and and give a time to pick up your pet after they have fully recovered. Special arrangements can be made if needed. Post-op instructions are provided at the time of pick-up and any questions will be answered by our Office Assistant.

About the Procedures

• Male Neutering: Neutering is the surgical procedure performed on male cats and dogs. General anesthesia is used and no sutures (stitches) are used on male cats.
• Female Spaying: Spaying is also known as an ovarian hysterectomy. It is the procedure performed on female cats and dogs. General anesthesia is used. We use sutures which dissolve, so no return visit is required for removal of the stitches. However, owners and caretakers are instructed to monitor the incision sites daily for at least a week post surgery.

Dogs and cats are anesthetized for both of these procedures. Pain medication is provided as part of our standard anesthetic protocol. The surgeries are performed by a skilled veterinarian and assisted by a licensed veterinary technician. Animals are closely monitored after surgery by our trained staff.

Microchip with lifetime registration

Each year millions of lost and abandoned animals are taken in by animal welfare organizations across North America.  Of these animals only 14% of the dogs and 4% of the cats (estimated figures) are ever returned home. The major reason for failing to re-unite a lost pet with its owner is because the pets are unidentifiable. Microchipping offers pet owners the only truly permanent method of identifying your pet and linking the animal back to you, the owner. If you want to improve your pet's chances of getting home in a lost pet emergency - microchipping is your best option.

Animal microchips are about the size of a grain of rice and are typically implanted just beneath the skin between the shoulder blades by a veterinarian or trained member of MCAS. The process is similar to a vaccination and most animals do not react when the microchip is implanted. Once implanted the microchip remains just beneath the skin for the rest of the animal's lifetime, a permanent form of identification. For $20, you can have the assurance that if you pet gets lost, he/she has a greater chance of being reunited with you. Microchip today at MCAS!

For more information about microchipping, please go to http://www.24petwatch.com/index.asp.
 

Rabies Vaccination

Rabies is one of the most well known of all the animal viruses. Fortunately, through active vaccination and eradication programs, there were only 3 reported cases of human rabies in the United States in 2006, although 45,000 people were exposed and required post-exposure vaccination and antibody injections. In other parts of the world, however, human cases and deaths from rabies are much higher. Around the world 1 person dies from rabies every 10 minutes.

Vaccination is the best way to prevent infection and properly vaccinated animals stand very little chance of contracting the disease. While rabies vaccination for dogs is mandatory for all states, it is estimated that up to half of all dogs are not vaccinated. The standard vaccination protocol is to vaccinate cats and dogs at three or four months and then again at one year of age. A year later, a three-year rabies vaccination is recommended. The three-year vaccine has been tested and shown to be very effective. For $10, MCAS provides a three year Rabies Vaccine. Rabies is a deadly but preventable virus.

Dog Parvovirus & Distemper Vaccination

Canine distemper is a paramyxovirus, which appears very similar to the paramyxovirus causing human measles. Canine distemper virus in the dog can affect a wide range of organs including the skin, brain, eyes, intestinal and respiratory tracts. The virus is transmitted through the air through coughing by infected animals and also through body secretions such as urine. Dogs of any age can be affected, however, most are puppies less than 6 months of age.

Distemper is serious and can spread rapidly through a kennel, especially if unvaccinated individuals are present. Not all patients will die.  However, a significant number may. Dogs of every age are susceptible, but, the very young and old have the highest death rate. Death rates may be as high as 75%.

The "distemper shot" is the basic immunization for dogs. It is generally combined with vaccine for canine parvovirus as well for parainfluenza, adenovirus 2, leptospirosis, and sometimes coronavirus. Puppies are vaccinated beginning at age 6-8 weeks and then every 2-4 weeks thereafter until age 16 weeks. The next vaccine is one year later. After that subsequent vaccination boosters are given every 1-3 years or based on antibody levels depending on the policy of the supervising animal hospital. Distemper and Parvo are deadly but preventable viruses. For $15, MCAS provides 1 year Distemper/Parvovirus Vaccine.

Cat FIV/FVRCP Vaccination

This common combination shot consists of the following:

• FVR: Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis is a highly contagious upper respiratory tract infection that causes fever, coughing, sneezing and eye discharge.
• C: Calicivirus is another highly infectious respiratory infection that is contracted through direct contact with infected cats and their feeding bowls and bedding.
• P: Panleukopenia is a potentially deadly feline virus that is comparable to Parvo in dogs. Common symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, and extreme lethargy.

The FVRCP is a standard combination vaccine which protects against distemper as well as airborne viruses that cause upper respiratory infections, as well as eye infections. This is like the feline counterpart to the "flu shot." For $15, MCAS can protect your cat against feline viruses!

Feline Leukemia Vaccinations

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is a retrovirus, so named because of the way it behaves within infected cells. All retroviruses, including feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), produce an enzyme, reverse transcriptase, which permits them to insert copies of their own genetic material into that of the cells they have infected.

Feline leukemia virus adversely affects the cat's body in many ways. It is the most common cause of cancer in cats, it may cause various blood disorders, and it may lead to a state of immune deficiency that hinders the cat's ability to protect itself against other infections. The same bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi that may be found in the everyday environment-where they usually do not affect healthy animals-can cause severe illness in those with weakened immune systems. These secondary infections are responsible for many of the diseases associated with FeLV. For $15, MCAS can protect your cat against Feline Leukemia.

Leukemia Test

The feline leukemia (FeLV) and FIV test is a blood test used to detect exposure to or infection of one of these viruses. The feline leukemia test is often called the "Feleuk" test or abbreviated as "FeLV" test. The feline immunodeficiency virus test is also referred to as the FIV test or feline "AIDS" test. These tests can be run individually but are most commonly run together.

FeLV and FIV should be run on all cats with any concurrent illness or if a recent FeLV/FIV status has not been established. This test is also recommended on any new cat that is coming into the household.

For $30, MCAS offers a Feline Leukemia/FIV combination test.

Heartworm Test

Heartworm disease is a mosquito borne illness. The good thing about heartworms, if there really is a good thing about heartworms, is that it can be prevented.

A heartworm test is a test to check for the evidence of the parasite Dirofilaria immitis, more commonly known as heartworm, in your dog's bloodstream. The test should be performed on any dog showing signs of heartworm disease, e.g. exercise intolerance, coughing, loss of appetite, weight loss, labored breathing, or heart disease.

Antigens for the heartworm cannot be detected until 6 months after initial infection. For this reason, testing animals less than 6 months of age is not indicated. Annual re-testing is recommended for dogs not receiving heartworm preventative year round. Testing every year is recommended for dogs on year-round preventative medication. Testing is also recommended when a pet owner switches between preventative medications. For $25, MCAS offers a heartworm test to see if you pet has heartworms. Heartworm disease is easily prevented with heartworm prevention medications that are now available through your veterinarian or online. Heartworm pills range from $5-$9 per month.

 Who's Your Mama?

Once the puppies or kittens stop nursing, usually when their baby teeth are all in, anywhere from 5-8 weeks, depending upon the litter, the little ones can move onto soft foods, such as Purina dry food for kittens or pups moistened with water.

If your pet has had an unplanned litter, we ask that you carefully consider your responsibility in this situation.  Puppies or kittens need food and warmth, time to nurse with their mother, and time to be with mother and play with each other for 6-8 weeks.  Once they are weaned (by eight weeks), we do offer a program at MCAS to provide free spay services to the mother through our "Who's Your Mama?" program.  Our veterinarian will exam the mother to determine that she recently gave birth and has been nursing a litter.  We will then place her on our schedule for a complimentary spay, based upon our examination.
 
We highly recommend that you try to re-home the littermates yourself with family and friends, rather than expose the little ones to the shelter environment, where they are much more likely to be exposed to disease.  As hard as we work to keep our shelter clean and safe, there are more risks of contracting upper respiratory infection and other viruses in places where many animals of varying backgrounds are brought together.

 

Owner Requested Euthanasia

We reserve the right, once an animal has been signed over to MCAS, to give a thorough evaluation and exam of the animal to determine if we should euthanize.  We do not euthanize healthy, adoptable pets.  Anyone bringing in a pet to be euthanized will be asked to show identification and proof of ownership of the animal. In addition, we will require the owner to complete a "bio" (behaviors, house-training, habits) on the animal in the event we deem the animal adoptable. 

Please note that we will not euthanize healthy pets.