just got my cat spayed

misty21

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I just got my cat Misty spayed on Friday and have been checking the incision for problems daily and everything. I know she isnt suppost to lick her incision but she grooms herself a lot even when I try to get her to stop. I would get her an elizabethan collar thing but I know she would just freak out and rip it off. She doesnt even tolerate a regular collar id tag. My question is should I really worry about it? Is there anything else I can do to keep her from licking the incision? So far it looks fine just the incision itself is red and there is a little clear crusty stuff around it which I assume is the glue they put on it.
Also, I have been keeping her in my room since the surgery to keep activity to a minimum. My roomate has a neutered male cat and I was told to keep her away from males because she may try to breed and this can be dangerous. Should I keep her in my room for a while or is it ok to let her out in a few more days?
 

jbfromwp

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I can't really help you. We are having our two "girls" spayed tomorrow. One of them is already used to the collar. The other one is gonna freak out for sure. Hopefully the vet knows what he's talking about, but in the wild when an animal gets a cut it usually licks it's wounds. As long as there is no infection I don't see why it would be a problem.
 

brigitte

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This may be a dumb question, but did the vet use any stitches or is it just glue? My kitten had a few stitches but no glue. We tried to keep her from licking her incision (it was hard to do), she ended up undoing a stitch. Even though she didn't lick it that often it did end up looking red and ended up being infected. We had to give her pennicilan and she had to wear one of those cones for ten days. She freaked out at first but got used to it. The interesting thing was, whenever she was wearing her cone her brother (he is also a six month old kitten) would be gentle with her. If you are going to be around I don't see it being a problem if you let your kitten out. I might put her back in the room if you arent going to be around though. I've never heard that a kitten that just got spayed might try to breed with a neutered male, that didn't happen with my kittens. Sorry this email is all over the place, good luck!

P.S. Keep an eye on the incision, if it looks red it may be infected.
 
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misty21

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Well the post-op instruction sheet that the vet gave me said that she has buried suchers and glue. If it does get a little infected, is there anything I can rub on it to clean the area? She is a really hyper cat and shes getting a little restless being stuck in my room. Im worried shes going to damage the wound. What exactly would an infected incision look like?
 

brigitte

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To be honest, I just thought the incision looked redder than when she first came back from the vet. If it is infected I don't think rubbing anything on it would help, she probably needs antibiotics. If your cat is really hyper I don't know if I would let her of the bedroom. Running and jumping probably wouldn't be too good for her incision. You know her best though. Let me know how it goes!
 

delilah_blue

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If it was infected it should look somewhat inflamed - red, maybe swollen or puffy. It's possible there could be drainage, but I've heard that with glue that drainage isn't always apparent from the outside - not sure if that's accurate or not.

Our newest kitten was spayed the day before we brought her home. She had dissolvable sutures both inside and in the skin incision. I was a little worried the first few days, but it's now been a little over a week and the skin incision is completely healed.

Good luck, hope this helped you somewhat.
 

scamperfarms

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keep an eye on her but normal grooming *should* be ok. Just make sure its not swollen, inflamed or red, that means an infection is present. I have done the spay thing many times. And we just had two more spayed, they have been doing regular grooming and havent shown any signs of ill towards it. And we also have the inside incision with outside glue.
 
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misty21

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ok well I took a picture of the incision. It is red but Im not sure if its just scar tissue forming or what because I know it was a little red when I first got her back from the vet. The area around it is normal color so I guess that is good. I really hope it doesnt get infected Im worried it will end up costing a lot to fix it!
 

gayef

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It looks good from the picture ... clean around the edges and knitting together well. From past experience (and just for future reference because I don't think you need to worry about your girl, this looks fine), I find that where there is infection, there is also heat. So if you suspect something, put the back of your hand to it and feel ... if it seems warmer than normal (keep in mind that a cat's normal body temperature is between 101F and 103F degrees) put a call in to your vet.
 

deni

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It looks fine, a little hair growth is a healthy sign, and the scar site is a healthy dark colour. THere is a lot to be said for dissolvable sutures and suture glue. Remember that even when you cut yourself and it heals there is an element of itching, a sign of healing, an old saying but very true. Are there any toys that may take her mind off it, she's probably a bit bored as well.
 

pombina

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Your girl looks fine to me!

When Nismo got spayed, she didn't have a collar, and also liked to lick her wound a little. I just tried to distract her from it whenever I saw her doing it. You're never going to stop her licking, just distract her whenever you can.
The wound looks like it's healing nicely

Get well soon vibes to your girl
 

devlyn

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Maybe you could put a baby sweater on her with the buttons on her back or a large sock with the toes cut off?
Congrats on getting her spayed!!
 
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misty21

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Oh shes definately bored. This morning she woke me up at 6 am like usual running around my room and making a lot of noise. She is a really hyper cat. I kinda wish she would calm down so I could get some sleep! She has some toys in the room and she seems very occupied with trying to get into my gecko's cage. She likes to sit on the screen lid and bat around. I thought the spay surgery was supposed to make them calmer!! Anyway thank you all for your help!
 

purrpaws

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Originally Posted by Misty21

Oh shes definately bored. This morning she woke me up at 6 am like usual running around my room and making a lot of noise. She is a really hyper cat. I kinda wish she would calm down so I could get some sleep! She has some toys in the room and she seems very occupied with trying to get into my gecko's cage. She likes to sit on the screen lid and bat around. I thought the spay surgery was supposed to make them calmer!! Anyway thank you all for your help!
How old is she. If she's still a kitten, she'll calm down when she gets older.
 
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misty21

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yea she is 6 months old. I hope she gets to be like my roomates cat...he is so sweet and affectionate. He is so lazy too. He will just lay in our arms and want us to pet him. Hes about 12 years old though!
 

purrpaws

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Polly calmed down a lot as she grew up. She's still very playful, (she's about 18 months old) but she has her affectionate moments (mostly first thing in the morning) when she wants to get petted and she'll lick my face.
 

stephanietx

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When I got Hannah spayed and she started licking her incision spot, I'd get out Da Bird and distract her until all she wanted to do was sleep!


Putting a sock on the kitty (with the toes cut off) works VERY well!!

Stephanie
 
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