The ARL provides spay/neuter surgery services for owned pets whose owners qualify due to financial need or financial hardship.
Spay/neuter surgeries are performed by ARL and partner veterinarians and there are a limited number of spay/neuter surgery services each week. See the chart below for our different programs.
| Program |
Criteria to Qualify |
Cost per Cat |
Services Covered |
Extra Services |
| Spay Des Moines |
- Des Moines resident
- Receives financial assistance or is low income
- Inside cat
|
Pay what you can, minimum of $10 |
- Spay/Neuter surgery
- FVRCP vaccinations
- Rabies
|
- Nail Trim, $5
- Microchip, $15 (must pay at least $15 towards spay/neuter surgery to receive microchip)
|
| Low Cost |
- Lives outside city of Des Moines, but in Polk County
- Receives financial assistance or is low income
|
$50 |
- Spay/Neuter surgery
- FVRCP vaccinations
- Rabies
|
- Nail Trim, $5
- Microchip, $15
|
Operation CatSnip (TNR)
What is TNR? |
- Des Moines resident
- Outside cat
|
Free will donation |
- Spay/Neuter surgery
- FVRCP vaccinations
- Rabies
- Eartipping required*
- Microchip
|
|
| Purr Project |
- Lives outside city of Des Moines, but in Polk County
- Outside cat
|
$45 |
- Spay/Neuter surgery
- FVRCP vaccinations
- Rabies
- Eartipping required*
|
- Nail Trim, $5
- Microchip, $15
- Earmite treatment, $15
- Flea Medication, $15
|
**Eartipping is required for Operation Catsnip and Purr Project spay/neuter programs. Eartipping is an effective and universally accepted method to identify a spayed or neutered and vaccinated community cat. Eartipping is the removal of the top quarter of one of the cat’s ear. This procedure is performed under sterile conditions while the cat is already anesthetized for the spay/neuter surgery. There is little or no bleeding, it is relatively painless to the cat, and the eartip does not significantly alter the appearance or beauty of the cat. Eartipping protocol from Alley Cat Allies: https://www.alleycat.org/resources/feral-cat-protocol-eartipping/