Cat won't eat or drink 3 days after spay

My cat Mittens got spayed 3 days ago. At first she was doing great, besides licking her incision. We had to put an e-collar on her, and she's been crated in a 3ftx3ft dog crate since she got home on Sunday since they said she needed to have restricted movement. She was eating/drinking fine. Well, this morning she won't eat, she won't drink, and all she keeps doing is meowing to us. She threw up in her crate, and it was clear, so I know she doesn't have anything on her stomach. However, she did take some treats, and she looks fine otherwise. What should I do? Could she be doing is because she's been restricted and has that collar on? Is it worth risking her running around to see if she starts eating/drinking again? Thank you for any help!

I would give the vet a quick ring see what he/she suggests, cats need to eat and drink

I agree, give the vet a call because it is ALWAYS better to be safe rather than sorry. Hope your baby is just fine!

Thanks. The problem is, I got her spay done at a low cost spay and neuter. I'm not exactly sure who to call? I could call my regular vet, but they didn't do the spay.

The reason I asked here is that I don't have the money at this time to rush off to the vets unless something is really, really wrong. I just figured if I was stuck in a cage for 3 days, with a cone on my head not even being able to groom myself, I might not want to eat either.

But anyway, I just smeared some of her canned food on her gums/teeth and she started eating right away. She ate about as much as she usually does. I just don't know what to do. Obviously if she continues to not eat without me bribing her I'll take her in. I just wanted to see what you said on here, and at least want to give it this morning to see if she improves.

can you not take the come off at meal times maybe she is uncomfortable while eating

and yeah just call your normal vet they can give advice over the phone

I've had cats for over 25 years now....and only ever had ONE not do well afterward a spay..she did need to see a vet....but he gave her a shot ( it was a 3 in 1 pain meds appetite stimulant and antibiotic ) and she was fine the next day.. If you are able to watch her maybe you can take the collar off and let her out of the cage..she could be stressed from that as well....Good Luck !

She doesn't need the collar while she is eating. I'm sure if you take off the collar during mealtimes that she will be just fine. Think about how hard it must be for the poor thing to try to eat while wearing that thing! She's probably starving but can't eat because it's in the way.

I've never had a vet give me an e-collar after a spay or neuter. They said that it's not necessary unless the kitty won't stop licking constantly. I just had my little boy neutered a week or so ago and although he licked a little bit, it wasn't that big of a deal and now he's all healed up.

But anyway, if you look online, it's not really necessary to e-collar a cat after a spay or neuter unless they are going to town and licking too much. I've never used one myself and I don't actually know anyone who has used one. Only after I started reading forums like this one did I even know that people actually did that. I have only seen them used on dogs after surgery.

Like I said before you can put clothes on her instead of the collar.
My Meeko slammed her head against the wall when we tried a collar with her until it was destroyed so I put clothes on her.
Your cat could be getting a infection and that is why she does not want to eat.
My Lucy did and I almost lost her after she was altered years ago.
Call a vet and ask for advice.

Originally Posted by Ruby35

She doesn't need the collar while she is eating. I'm sure if you take off the collar during mealtimes that she will be just fine. Think about how hard it must be for the poor thing to try to eat while wearing that thing! She's probably starving but can't eat because it's in the way.

I've never had a vet give me an e-collar after a spay or neuter. They said that it's not necessary unless the kitty won't stop licking constantly. I just had my little boy neutered a week or so ago and although he licked a little bit, it wasn't that big of a deal and now he's all healed up.

But anyway, if you look online, it's not really necessary to e-collar a cat after a spay or neuter unless they are going to town and licking too much. I've never used one myself and I don't actually know anyone who has used one. Only after I started reading forums like this one did I even know that people actually did that. I have only seen them used on dogs after surgery.

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I too don't know anyone who has had to use an e-collar and restrict their cat to a cage after a spay.

My advice: get Mittens out of the cage immediately and take off the e-collar.

Vets will always advise no running or jumping for 24 hours after spay surgery. Keeping her confined in a cage is totally unnecessary. Keeping her in a room would have been better. At this point, 3 days after the spay, you don't need to worry about her moving around. Most cats are getting around fine the next day, sometimes even the same day as the surgery.

If she's excessively licking the incision, check it to make sure there are no signs of infection (it feels warm, looks red or inflammed). Some licking is natural. Check the incision each day.

Mitten's tummy is empty and you're right, she's unhappy and stressed about the collar and the cage. Please let her out of the cage and give her a nice meal for being such a good girl and putting up with all of this!

PS - Thanks for being responsible and getting Mittens spayed!!!

i think you should try letting her eat outside of the crate and without the collar. also, let her get out and walk around. being stationary for 3 days and not able to eat or groom without that collar really could just be putting her in a funk.

with the female cats i've had, after a spay my vet has told me to restrict their movement only as far as jumping and strenuous play was concerned. as long as you're there to monitor her movements, it would probably do her good to engage in some mild familiar activities to get back into her groove.

Neither Ally nor Ollie had satellites on them after being spayed/neutered. My dog did though, and I think he even got HBO on that thing.

Ollie really didn't seem to care about the fact that his family jewels had been removed. I was impressed. I knew my little guy was tough as nails right then and there.

Ally on the other hand wasn't happy after getting spayed. She was hesitant to eat and drink, but did so when she couldn't hold out any longer. She was obviously in some significant pain. She improved pretty quickly though if I remember correctly. Back to normal in a week I think.

Maybe just call the clinic that did the low-cost spay and ask if there is anybody you could speak to for questions, and what to do if you think there might be a complication post-op. Better safe than sorry right? They didn't give you any kind of information such as contact info should there be a problem?

I didn't restrict Attitude or use a collar after her spay. She did run around and jump, chase her brother and the receptionist who called the next day to see how she was doing laughed and said that with a kitten there is no way to slow them down. There is no reason to restrict her or make her wear the collar. When Attitude had her corneal ulcer I don't think she even made it 24 hours with the e-collar, she kept sticking her front leg through it even though it was as tight as I could make it without strangling her. She was only restricted to a large dog kennel for 10 days because she was living outside at the time and she still had time out of the cage on a daily basis with my supervision.

Goldie was climbing trees the day after getting spayed and she was fine. None of them were still for long. They went about their business. She was released from her kennel the second she got back. Mama was kept in it overnight due to rain otherwise she would have been as well. Biter took longer, the anesthesia make her a little dopier than the others so it wasn't safe to release her at that time and we needed to make sure she ate and drank) but even she was released from it first thing the next morning.

I'd remove the collar and get her out of the cage and see if she perks up and eats. If not she needs to get to a vet.

Also, the low-cost spay I used(TNR) gave no info so you were on your own if there were complications. Call your regular vet and see what they say. It doesn't matter where she was done you need to get in contact with a vet and I'd use my own, even if she was spayed elsewhere.

Taryn

Originally Posted by Taryn

I'd remove the collar and get her out of the cage and see if she perks up and eats. If not she needs to get to a vet.

Call your regular vet and see what they say. It doesn't matter where she was done you need to get in contact with a vet and I'd use my own, even if she was spayed elsewhere.

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Exactly, 500% to everything she said!

My rules on cats not eating.

One day - It happens, everything gets an upset stomach now and then.
Two days - Try other foods to see if anything at all is eaten.
Three days - If morning meal is not taken a vet visit is made for that day.

As others have said, get her out and get the collar off. Cats are so sensitive to things like this and big changes can stress them out. Surgery alone is a big thing for any cat (or pet).
Call your vet ASAP, it's been a bit too long for her not to eat. See if they have advice and if they want her brought in. It could be that her incision isn't healing as well as it should or maybe even related to the surgery itself.

I agree with others in taking off the collar during mealtimes.

I recently had my kitty neutered. He barely eating at all. We took the collar off and boy did he chow down. After meals the collar went back on. I guess he just hated eating with it on.

Thank you so much for your advice everybody! Sorry it's taken me a while to update, but yesterday was so hectic. Unfortunately, taking her out didn't do anything. And removing the cone isn't an option. As soon as I removed the cone, she tucked her head down and bit vigorously at the incision and pulled off the scab. Her incision was bleeding a little bit, and we put the cone back on. So, of course, we ended up at the vet. She continued to throw up and have diarreah. Well, they did an exam and a fecal, and it turns out, she has an outstanding number of roundworm. She must of had them before, but the stress with the surgery/crating must of let them multiply. The problem is, she won't keep her meds down! She was perscribed Metronidazole and Strongid-T. The Metronidazole I'm not as worried about her vomiting up last night because it's once every 12 hours. However, the Strongid-T, I was given only 2 syringes, one for last night and one for two weeks from now. And she vomited up the first one... I called the vet and they said to wait a few days to give it to her, once her stomach is settled, and to go back in two weeks and they'd give me the dose she threw up free of charge. But, how do I help her keep things down? They told us to give her 1/4 of a 10mg Pepcid AC tablet to help, but it doesn't really help that she's throwing that up too. Last night we got her to keep it down, but she did throw up over night. I hope it was in there long enough for her to absorb it. She's also kept down her pepsid and metronidazole down this morning so far.

But I know she's going to get better.. the thing I'm MOST worried about is she EVER going to trust us again? We have to wrap her up in a blanket to keep her from fighting us with meds, and I have to do this with three meds. She hasn't wanted a thing to do with us. How long will it take for her to trust us again? And if she does start keeping the meds down, how long do you think until she starts eating again?

Thank you again everyone!

What a stressful time you are all having. I hope she is better soon, and it sounds as if she is improving. I would not worry too much about her trusting you - just talk to her gently all the time you are treating her, in a soft voice to reassure her, and even if she doesn't immediately react to it, it will help. In a few days I am sure she will be back to normal. I have had times when a cat I have nursed from a baby has run from me on sight because s/he knew I was going to administer something nasty, but a couple of days later was coming for scritches and cuddles as normal.

Originally Posted by My_Mittens

But I know she's going to get better.. the thing I'm MOST worried about is she EVER going to trust us again?

We have to wrap her up in a blanket to keep her from fighting us with meds, and I have to do this with three meds. She hasn't wanted a thing to do with us.

How long will it take for her to trust us again? And if she does start keeping the meds down, how long do you think until she starts eating again?

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I had to take Holland in to get all her teeth pulled a few weeks ago. Then I had to give her meds 3x a day for almost a week, which she HATED. But once she was all healed up, she was better than new - playful, lovey, cuddly. I think once your baby is feeling better she'll be back to her old self. I think on some level they know that we do what we can to make them feel better.

I don't have any experience with roundworm, but I hope she starts eating soon!

Thanks everyone. I'll just have to wait until she's done all of this and hope that she comes around.

And there's been a success, she's kept down her Strongid-T! I'm hoping since that's the big worm medicine, she'll feel drastically better. And she hasn't thrown up since over night, so here's hoping the pepsid and settled her stomach. Still not eating, she is drinking a little though. What I've been doing is crushing up some of her hard food into a powder, mixing it with water and syringing it to her. So she's getting some nutrition, but no where near what she'd be getting if she was eating on her own. But either way, there's improvement.

Thanks for the update! I can't imagine having to syringe feed my kitty, but I know that it's sometimes necessary, and it's good that your baby is getting some food in her. I'm glad to hear that she's keeping her meds down.

Keep up the good work, Mittens!!