spaying jazzy friday, and could use some input/advice please.

Hi everyone,
I am taking my furbaby jazzy to be spayed friday, and im sooo nervous!
I have never been through the spaying process before, and as the day gets closer, i find myself getting more and more anxious. I was wandering if someone on here could walk me through what goes on? What do i need to do to prepare her for the surgery? What is normal and what is not after spaying? Post-care tips? Im getting her something for pain to go home with (not metacam, heard too many bad things) what did you use and how did you administer it? How will she be on the way home? I live over thirty miles from the vets office, and am worried about her being carsick. I dont want to use a cone on her, because i know she will fight it the whole time (you should see how she acts with just a collar). Im interested in using a body sock, if someone can tell me a little more about how to use them it would be greatly appreciated. I have had over 25 surgeries on my ears, and i know how bad i felt after each one, so i just want to make this as stress free and painless as possible for her and me both. I will be taking her by myself and can't find anyone to go with me for support, so any input or advice to help me prepare for this would really help.

Hi there!

I can't possibly count the number of spays (and neuters!) I have dealt with.

You haven't mentioned her age, so rather than me running it all down for adults and for kittens, let me know her age and I will walk you through it.

Not alot, it's pretty simple with a very short recovery time.

Surgeries and procedures are always harder on the humans than the cats.  The best thing you can do for her is to not stress out as she'll pick up on it and that will upset her.  As for the surgery, it's fairly easy.  Some vets like to keep the kitty overnight to monitor them, but others like to send the kitty home late on the day of the surgery.  They will usually give her a pain killer via injection so she won't need anything once she's released.  However, nowadays it seems like more vets are sending painkillers home with owners when it's really not necessary.  If they send you home with something, be sure it's not Metacam.  If they want to send you home with Metacam (or Meloxicam), ask for something different or just refuse the medication.  Most cats recover just fine without any additional pain medication.  Also, they'll probably want her to wear a cone so she doesn't lick her incision.  That's not really necessary either.  If she starts licking, you can either get a cone or try some other things such as a baby onesie, the top of a tube sock, or even a paper plate.  You probably won't need to confine her either.  Most cats are self-limiting when they don't feel well.  She may come home still a bit wobbly and "hungover" from the anesthesia and pain medication.  She'll probably sleep a lot when you get her home if you bring her home the same day.  That's totally normal and she'll be okay. 

She is a little over a year old.

Do you know if she'll be coming home the same day or the next day?

One other thing I forgot to mention is to withhold food & water from about 10PM the night before.

She will be coming home the same day.

First of all, bless you for caring so much! She sounds like she'll be in good hands with such a loving family. Spaying is always harder on our babies then neutering, they appear hung over and sleep a lot. I just wanted you to know that a 'lump' under the incision is normal, I know it freaked me out the first time I saw one. They get stitches inside too that dissolve, so that and swelling from the surgery causes the lump. Some redness, clear fluid and small amts. of blood are normal too. Watch for 'heat' and any drainage that looks white, yellow, or green, that is abnormal. (which in many spayings I have seen, not one got infected) I'm sure she'll come through with flying colors, remember that those poor feral cats are released within days of being spayed and they do fine! Good luck and keep us posted!

Good advice above.

Stop food by midnight, water is okay until morning, cats don't normally fill their tummies with water anyway like we do so it's fine.

Have canned pate for when she comes home later on as you won't want to allow her dry food until mid day the following day. This is to prevent possible vomiting and choking can occur, though rare. 

She will be spayed, and have dissolving stitches.

I have only had to cone one female in all my days, and it wasn't for her spay it was a small tumor removed from her side, my felv girl Baby. Even then it was only for a day and I made a soft one out of felt.

Many vets will recommend cones but honestly, are rarely ever needed and only cause additional stress.

It's fine for her to lick the area, it doesn't mean she will be chewing on her stitches, it's normal and natural for her to lick the vet smell and medicine from her body. This is fine.

She will come home groggy, unstable and need to sleep off the anesthesia. Her eyes will appear a little puffy, this is the med as well. Offer her water only until she seems a bit less out of it and keep an eye on her when she does eat the first time. Canned pate or chicken baby food is great, goes down easy.

The area will be a bit pinkish, not alot though. Rarely happens when the surgery area gets infected, almost never actually. Just keep an eye for redness, swelling, drainage, bleeding, scabbing, or hot to the touch. In general, it's not hard to tell if there is a problem going on.

Within 2 days, as soon as the anesthesia is out of her system, she will bounce back to her old self again.

She will be given a pain med injection by the vet, this is all she will need. No need for bringing home meds.

Don't stress, vets can do this with their eyes closed as this is the most commonly done surgery by far.

Thank you for all the advice. I feel more at ease now that i have an idea of what to expect.

mrswilkes said:

Thank you for all the advice. I feel more at ease now that i have an idea of what to expect.

Click to expand...

Perfect! That's what we're here for

No worries, not a big thing, she will do fine!

I agree! I've had a number of cats de-sexed and they have never required a cone or pain meds. Just keep an eye on the wound site, I imagine she will only have 3-5 stitches in place.  Some cats, maybe go a little crazy when they come home and seem out of character but that's just the meds wearing off and by the next day she will be back to her usual self.

@mrswilkes, do you know if she'll have laser surgery or traditional surgery and if she'll have dissolvable stitches or sutures that will need to be removed by the vet.  If you don't already know, if you can get that information, we can direct your further.

Since she's coming home the same day, I'd wait until later in the afternoon to pick her off so she can sleep off as much of the anesthesia as possible.  It's very disturbing to see your cat zonked out and loopy on anesthesia and possibly even get motion sick on the way home in the carrier.  (Been there, done that!)  She'll most likely be very sedate and sleep A LOT that first 24 hours.  However, some kitties react the opposite and are very zingy for about a day then crash.  (That would be my boy cat!  LOL)  Don't try to force her to eat, but offer small meals periodically.  Remember, her tummy will be empty so you don't want to feed her too much at a time.  Ease her back into her normal food and feeding routine.

I do not know what kind of stitches she will get, but i will call the vet and ask tomorrow. Also i will be picking her up around five that afternoon. The vet said they want to keep her until then just to make sure there are not any complications from the surgery and to determine if she would need a cone or not. Also that they recommend taking some sort of pain reliever home, just to be on the safe side. Do certain stiches need special care than others?

No, only if they are not the dissolving kind then you will need to take her back to have them removed.

Rarely will vets use non dissolving stitches anymore.

Complications simply means they watch that she comes out of the anesthesia fine,.

In rare instances the cat is so far under they stop breathing, but basically due to such a deep sleep.

If this ever happens they simply give her a shot that wakes her up.

Rarely have I seen this happen so no worries there.

You know I can't help wonder why vets do things the way they do. Is it the extra money? Cones and take home meds are extra cost for you and so not needed.

I had my two kittens, Millie and Milo spayed and neutered on Monday, and I was worried sick about them, particularly Millie, as she is a really petite tiny and delicate kitten, and spaying is serious surgery, even if it is routine. My male kitten cried at me from his carrier all the way over to the vets, and Millie was just coming out of her second round of heat (they're 6 months old, but were premature). I had to fill in some paperwork and they took them to the kennel area before being given a health check by the vet. I dropped them off at 9am and collected them at 3.30pm. Millie had internal dissolvable stitches and external stitches that need to be removed at 10 days, and an Elizabethan collar, while Milo, my boy, had his incisions glued.

They were both hyper, as if they had gotten adrenalin shots, and were really active, causing me to panic all evening. Millie was really distressed by the collar and wouldn't really eat or sleep for a day or two. Both kittens received a pain injection on the day of surgery lasting 24-48 hours, but didn't seem to be in any pain. Milo acted like nothing had happened and was back to normal the next morning, while Millie got herself out of the collar 6 times the first night, and got more and more distressed each time I put it back on. When it was off, she went straight for the incision and stitches, so needless to say, she had to keep wearing it.

She was listless and seemed depressed on Wednesday and Thursday, and possibly in a bit of discomfort, although the vet didn't want to give her anything unless she was in real pain. The vet did a wound check yesterday, and everything was perfect. I woke up this morning with both kittens on my bed, to find that Milo had helpfully removed his sister's external stitches for her! It's Good Friday here in Ireland, so most businesses are closed, and while I can contact the emergency vet, I haven't done so yet. I removed the collar this morning, and Millie groomed like crazy. The wound is closed, and she's happy, active, eating, purring and lounging by the window. I'll keep a close eye on her, and call the vet at the first sign of the wound opening, or her being in pain. This is day four, and both seem perfectly recovered. As another poster said, the boys bounce back remarkably well, but the poor girls have a harder time.

I'm sure Jazzy will come through surgery with no problems, I was panicking all weekend and didn't sleep the night before surgery, but once you get them home resting, their recovery, in most cases is swift.

How's Jazzy doing?  Hope she's doing well.

Jazzy is doing good today. She was really out of it yesterday, when we took her home. She seemed really uncomfortable last night and earlier today, so we gave her pain meds. I ended up taking the day off from work last night, so i could be at home with her. She slept on the bed all night and mostly all day today. my sweet and thoughtful husband took the bed apart, he put the matresses on the floor, so she could step up on the bed instead of jump. He even stacked little crates around the room so she could climb on the windowsills and dressers without jumping. She ate a little wet food earlier, so her appetites coming back. She's ready to get back to playing with peaches though lol.

What a sweet husband!  I hope she continues to do well.  If the vet gave you Metacam or Meloxicam, please read up on the negative side effects and decide if you want to live with the possible side effects. 

So glad to hear it, also that you have such a caring husband

She will be back to her norm any time now.