A little frustrated with the vet who did my spay/neuter

... And the pet rescue that organized it.

So first off, it took over 3.5 weeks for this rescue to finally do their job and set up an appointment for me. I paid an additional fee to the rescue to get a reduced rate spay/neuter and the woman in charge just kept brushing me off. I would set up appointments and just need her to call in and okay it and she would drop the ball.

That should have been a big red warning flag though. The vet's office really ticked me off. Now to be honest I was not worried about my male cat. My older male was fine and happy on the same day and since it is a fairly minor operation I wasn't too concerned about him being in pain. My female-yes most definitely! I couldn't stand watching how much my older female suffered so I requested pain medication. Their response was "Oh she won't need it. It's only an inch incision." And I'm thinking that's like at least 10" on me and a major operation. So I go to pick her up and I have no clue what the conditions were but my usually sweet and a bit hyper male is freaking out inside his carrier. He literally turns himself upside down climbing up the sides with his little paws, screeching like he is being tortured, and panting. I want to comfort him but the vet techs are like "ok you're done, go." I plainly ask about pain medication and instructions and they brush me off saying the cats are fine. I'm like "No they are not." and the techs just begin to ignore me.

So I come home and he is still freaking out and she is just in pain. I get them to the bedroom and he is so aggressive attacking his poor sister. I finally have to move him into another room. I get her to drink and eat some baby food and then she went potty and off to sleep. She seems to have recovered fine. I think she is still a bit tender but she has gotten playful and is sleeping on her back. He is much more wild than before and has taken to trying to beat her up and my older male cat. I think he was traumatized there! I'm trying to cuddle him and calm him down but I'm hoping this will be a phase that passes.

Ok /rant. As much as I love rescue groups, I think this one and the vet they use are in cahoots and will never go through them again.

Has anyone here experienced a major change in attitude with a cat after seeing the vet or being neutered? Does it last or has he been really upset by the "care" he got?

No need to worry. Cats often get freaked out at the vet, no matter what kind of treatment they receive. Some cats more than others. Willow freezes on the examination table and her eyes open so wide it looks like they're about to roll out of her head. Gizmo burrows under the blanket in the carrier and shivers. And that's when they get a normal appointment and I'm there the whole time.

It's also normal for some cats to attack one another when they return from the vet. Cats recognize one another by smell more than sight. Since they've been at the vet's, they smell different to one another. Once they settle down and the unfamiliar smell wears off, they'll be fine.

As far as pain medication goes, none of my female cats have ever needed any when they got spayed. In the unlikely event that infection sets in she may need some, but all the spayed females I've had weren't bothered in the least. They're usually back to their old selves by the next day. I'm against giving animals medications when they don't need them, and I'd say that in the case of a normal spay, they don't need painkillers.

That being said, I do think the way they treated you at this vet is a shame. They are definitely lacking in customer skills, and I certainly wouldn't go back either.

Every cat I have had done foster or not has had pain killers I would not want to have a inch insision without pain killers.

Even males have had pain killers. hey only have it for two days and my females have it for five. I use three different vets and they all give pain killers.

I wouod run from that vet and yes cats re tromatized from the vets office I have had some that attack me coming out of there carriers at home. And I had had them from birth as fosters

Mine all got pain meds for 3 days after.
My vet includes it in the price.

From the behavior you described, do you think it might be a reaction to the anesthesia they used? I am not that familiar with the different drugs used but have heard from friends about reactions to anesthesia.

Might be worth finding out what they used and researching it in case he needs surgery or sedative type medication in the future.

Hope they recover soon.

I've had several pets "fixed" over the years and they all have had pain meds from 2 to 5 days...My female cat was fixed a few months ago and she wasn't aggressive afterwards but she didn't settle for several hrs after returning home....its a reaction to the anesthesia.

Thanks for the good info regarding the anesthesia. I'm not sure, supposedly the job was done early afternoon and I finally got them out around 4:30. It's definitely something I will be keeping in mind if he ever needs it again.

And thanks for the good advice on returning cats. Harley has finally calmed down a bit, and Sasha is doing fine as well. I think the glue they used on her wound was irritating the other cats because all of them kept trying to lick her at the incision site. I wasn't able to get out of the house to buy a cone, so I wrapped a small towel around her midsection and pinned it. She wasn't too happy, but it did stop her from licking the area. I took it off after a day and she hasn't bothered it since.

Now - I could swear that on my other female, the wound site was a long cut that was stitched up. My new kitten has a belly button. The area they fixed has all been crammed together into a small little circle with dissolving stitches and what I think is glue (it's had a crust on it since I got her back) and she has a weird pooch under the wound area towards her tail. It's hard to describe, but it's like empty flesh just hanging off of her. This will all stretch out to normal when she gets older though - right? Oh, and her nipples no longer line up. Is that unusual? My husband thought she had weird skin growths and when I told them they were her nipples he wondered why they were all askew. Anyway, at least she is not irritated and licking her wound any longer. I don't mind if she ends up with a "belly button," it will only make her more special.

Originally Posted by DragulescuGirl

Oh, and her nipples no longer line up. Is that unusual?

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That is really weird. Lola's lined up after her spay. She was stitched up with internal dissolving stitches and healed really fast.

If I were you, I don't think I'd go back to that vet.

Sounds to me like that was harder on the cats than it had to be.