Dog and cat sterilisation cost in India: spay, neuter and free ABC options
Checked against 20 sources
At government and vet-college hospitals in India, the published fee for a spay, or for the major surgery it is billed as, runs from ₹80 to ₹2,000: ₹80–150 at Pimpri-Chinchwad's municipal clinics and Maharashtra's state clinics, ₹500–750 at most vet colleges, and ₹2,000 at PVNRTVU Hyderabad1235810. Neutering a male (castration) is ₹300–500 at the vet colleges that list it separately178, and some clinics, such as Pimpri-Chinchwad's, charge medicines and surgical material on top3. Street dogs are sterilised under the city's Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme, which the ABC Rules make the local body responsible for, and pay for12.
- Spay at a vet college
- ₹500 at IVRI Bareilly (June 2024); ₹750 at TANUVAS Namakkal; ₹2,000 major-surgery fee at PVNRTVU Hyderabad (proposed rates)1810
- Major surgery at state and city clinics
- ₹80 at Pimpri-Chinchwad's clinics, medicines extra; ₹100 in Chandigarh; ₹150 at Maharashtra's state clinics (2024)342
- Neuter (castration)
- ₹300 at Hebbal, Bengaluru (2021); ₹400 at IVRI (2024); ₹500 at Namakkal. Chandigarh lists ₹20 without saying for which animals7184
- Street dogs
- The local body is responsible for sterilising and vaccinating them, and pays the organisation it engages to do it (ABC Rules, 2023)12
- Street dog age limit
- Not under six months; a mother waits until her pups are two months old12
On this page
Dog sterilization cost in government hospitals
| Hospital (place) | Date of list | Spay, or major surgery | Castration | Also charged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation vet clinics | Undated3 | Major surgery ₹80 3 | Not listed separately3 | ₹10 case paper; the owner pays for medicines and surgical material3 |
| Chandigarh government vet institutions | Undated4 | Major operation ₹100; the list doesn't say for which animals4 | ₹20; animals not stated4 | ₹30 outdoor ticket for pets4 |
| Maharashtra state and Zilla Parishad vet clinics | Citizen charter, 2024 2 | Major surgery ₹150 for dogs and cats2 | Not listed separately; minor surgery ₹100 for dogs and cats2 | ₹10 case paper2 |
| ICAR-IVRI Referral Veterinary Polyclinic (Bareilly, UP) | June 2024 1 | Spay (ovariohysterectomy) ₹500 1 | ₹400 1 | Plus tax; registration ₹30, or ₹200 after 12:30 pm and ₹400 after 5 pm or on holidays1 |
| Madras Veterinary College hospital (Chennai, TANUVAS) | Undated; listed 9 Oct 2026 5 | Major operation ₹500 5 | Not listed separately; minor operation ₹200 5 | ₹20 registration; if admitted, ₹20 a day for a dog or ₹10 for a cat, plus ₹30 a day for food5 |
| TANUVAS Madhavaram (Chennai) | Undated; listed 9 Oct 2026 6 | Major surgery ₹500 for dogs and cats6 | Not listed separately; minor surgery ₹200 6 | ₹50 registration for a week6 |
| Veterinary College Hospital, Hebbal (Bengaluru, KVAFSU) | 26 Aug 2021 7 | Major surgery ₹500 with injected anaesthesia, ₹750 with gas anaesthesia7 | ₹300 7 | Not stated7 |
| Veterinary Clinical Complex, Namakkal (TANUVAS) | Undated; listed 9 Oct 2026 8 | Major surgery including spaying ₹750 8 | ₹500 8 | ₹100 registration for 7 days8 |
| Veterinary Clinical Complex, Tirunelveli (TANUVAS) | Undated; listed 9 Oct 2026 9 | Major soft-tissue surgery ₹1,500; spaying not named9 | Not listed separately; minor surgery ₹500 9 | ₹100 registration for 7 days9 |
| PVNRTVU Veterinary Clinical Complexes (Hyderabad and Warangal) | Undated; headed 'Univ. Proposal Charges'1011 | Major surgery ₹2,000; the Warangal page names spaying among its major surgeries1011 | Not listed separately1011 | ₹100 registration for 3 days10 |
Dog neutering and castration cost
A spay removes the womb and the ovaries; castration, the usual way a male is neutered, removes the testicles. Both are done under general anaesthetic20.
Where government fee lists price castration on its own, it costs less than a spay: ₹300 at Hebbal in Bengaluru (2021), ₹400 at IVRI Bareilly (2024) and ₹500 at TANUVAS Namakkal718. Hebbal lists castration with its minor surgeries7, while Namakkal puts spaying under major surgery8. At IVRI the spay is ₹500 against ₹400 for castration1.
Cat spay cost in India
Most government lists charge a cat the same surgery fee as a dog. Maharashtra's state clinics list major surgery at ₹150 and TANUVAS Madhavaram at ₹500, both for dogs and cats26, and IVRI's ₹500 spay and ₹400 castration fees sit in its pet-animal column1. If a cat is admitted at Madras Veterinary College, the room is ₹10 a day against ₹20 for a dog5.
For street cats, Blue Cross Society of Pune lists sterilisation at ₹1,000 a cat, male or female, with seven days of care after surgery18.
How to get street dogs neutered
- Check the right ear first. Under the ABC Rules, every dog sterilised in the programme gets a V-shaped notch on its right ear, so a notched dog has already been done12.
- Ask your municipal body. The ABC Rules make the local body responsible for sterilising and vaccinating street dogs, and for paying the animal welfare organisation it engages12. Chennai's corporation catches dogs for its five ABC centres based on public complaints and known hotspots, and releases them where they were caught14; Mumbai's Veterinary Health Department portal takes requests for dog and cat sterilisation15, and BMC's 2025 guidelines make residents responsible for getting their area's street dogs sterilised through a local ABC organisation16.
- Puppies and nursing mothers wait. Street dogs under six months aren't caught for sterilisation, and a mother isn't caught until her litter is two months old12. Chennai's teams also leave visibly pregnant dogs alone14.
- After surgery the dog stays at least four days for care, gets its rabies vaccination, and goes back to the same place1213.
- If you feed the dogs, help. The ABC Rules let designated feeders volunteer to help catch and release dogs, and AWBI's ABC module asks cities to encourage RWAs and feeders to bring street dogs to the ABC centre1213. See the rules on feeding street dogs for the rest.
- Outside city programmes, some NGOs do it. CUPA sterilises community dogs from outside BBMP limits on Bengaluru's outskirts for ₹2,500 a dog, including catching, four days' care, vaccinations and drop-off; dogs must be six months old and weigh at least 8 kg17. Blue Cross Society of Pune lists sterilisation of stray dogs as free18.
NGO sterilisation fees we found
| NGO (place) | Date of list | Dogs | Cats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Cross Society of Pune | Undated; listed 9 Oct 2026 18 | Free for stray dogs, with care after surgery18 | ₹1,000 a stray cat, with 7 days' care18 |
| Jeev Ashram (Delhi) | Rates as on 2022 19 | Male ₹1,200, or ₹1,500 with a 3-day stay; female ₹1,700, or ₹2,000 with a 3-day stay; blood tests ₹1,500 extra if needed19 | Not listed19 |
| CUPA Spay & Neuter Centre (Bengaluru outskirts) | Undated; listed 9 Oct 2026 17 | ₹2,500 a community dog from outside BBMP limits, paid by the guardian; includes catching, 4 days' stay, vaccinations and drop-off17 | Runs a separate cat centre; fee not on this page17 |
What a low fee may leave out
- Medicines and surgical material: Pimpri-Chinchwad's clinics say the owner pays for these3.
- Tax and timing: IVRI adds tax, and its registration fee rises after 12:30 pm and again after 5 pm1.
- Days in hospital: Madras Veterinary College charges a daily room and food fee if your pet is admitted, and asks for an advance of ₹500 for a dog or ₹200 for a cat5.
- Tests before surgery: Jeev Ashram charges ₹1,500 for pre-operative blood tests when they're needed19.
- Ask for a written estimate first, and keep every receipt. Our guide on reading a vet bill explains each line.
When to spay or neuter: your vet decides
For a pet, the right age and time is your vet's call. The RSPCA says you don't need to let a pet have one litter first, and that your vet will advise on the best time20. For street dogs, the ABC Rules set a floor: no sterilisation under six months, and none for a mother until her pups are two months old12. If your dog is in season now, see what to do while she's in heat and ask your vet about timing.
How we chose these numbers
We list only fees that a government body, vet university or NGO publishes itself, with the date of its list. Private clinics set their own prices, which vary by city and clinic, and don't publish lists we can compare, so ask for a written estimate. For visits, vaccines and X-rays, see all government vet hospital fees.
Not fully clear yet
Official sources disagree or leave gaps on these. Confirm before you rely on them.
- Only IVRI (ovariohysterectomy) and TANUVAS Namakkal (major surgery including spaying) name the spay on their fee lists18, and PVNRTVU's Warangal page names spaying and castration among its major surgeries11. For the others we show the major-surgery fee; ask which line a spay is billed under.
- The Pimpri-Chinchwad, Chandigarh, Madras Veterinary College, Madhavaram, Namakkal, Tirunelveli and PVNRTVU lists carry no date34568910. PVNRTVU's column is headed 'Univ. Proposal Charges', so these may be proposed rates10. Hebbal's list is from August 2021 7. Confirm at the counter.
- Most lists don't say whether the fee covers anaesthesia drugs, stitches or medicines to take home. Pimpri-Chinchwad says medicines and surgical material are extra3.
- The ABC Rules put the cost of sterilising street dogs on the local body12, and the Chennai and Mumbai pages we checked mention no charge to the person who reports a dog1415, but neither says 'free' in so many words. Ask your ward office.
- The ABC programme is for street dogs; the ABC Rules make a pet's owner responsible for its sterilisation12. Whether a city's ABC centre will operate on a pet isn't stated on the pages we checked.
Sources and how we check
Facts checked against the official sources below by Thapki. Written with AI help from the sources below, then checked line by line; the Thapki team reads and approves every page before it goes live. How we check
- 1Clinical services: Referral Veterinary Polyclinic registration fee and charges for surgical procedures (w.e.f. June 2024)
- 2Citizen charter (Marathi), Appendix 9: paid services of the Animal Husbandry Department (Word file dated 4 Apr 2024; PDF)
- 3Citizen charter, veterinary department: animal treatment centre fees (Marathi PDF)
- 4Fees prevailing in government veterinary institutions, U.T. Chandigarh
- 5MVC Chennai teaching hospital: hospital fee structure
- 6Peripheral Veterinary Hospital, Madhavaram: services and charges
- 7Rates charged for services at Veterinary College, Hebbal (letter No. VCH/R/2.1/2021/157, 26 Aug 2021; scanned PDF)
- 8Veterinary Clinical Complex, VCRI Namakkal: hospital fee structure
- 9Veterinary Clinical Complex, VCRI Tirunelveli: hospital charges
- 10Veterinary Clinical Complex Rajendranagar: user charges for companion animals
- 11Veterinary Clinical Complex Warangal: services and user charges for companion animals
- 12Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 (G.S.R. 193(E), 10 Mar 2023), Gazette copy: rules 8, 10, 11 and 20
- 13Revised Module cum SOP for implementation of the Animal Birth Control programme (27 Feb 2025)
- 14Veterinary public health activities: Animal Birth Control programme
- 15Veterinary Health Department portal: requests for dog sterilisation and cat sterilisation (Marathi)
- 16Guidelines with respect to pet and street dogs, community animal feeders, RWAs and AOAs, and public institutions (signed 13 Dec 2024 to 20 Mar 2025)
- 17CUPA Spay & Neuter Centre (dogs): sterilisation requests and costs
- 18Pet vaccination cost and information: sterilisation for stray dogs and stray cats
- 19Our services: Animal Birth Control rates (as on 2022)
- 20Neutering your pet