Neutering my kitten this weekend...need some advice

My 6 month old kitten, Iggy, is getting neutered this Sunday morning. I am absolutely scared. The reason is, I've read stories about people's kittens not making it. I asked his vet at the humane society if there are any special tests he needs prior to surgery and she said no. He's a healthy kitten and has no underlying medical issues but I'm still very scared to the point of anxiety. I love him so much and I don't want to lose him.

Are there any anesthesias/pain meds I should say no to? Are there any pre-surgical blood tests Iggy needs to do?

Here is Iggy:

My kitty was neutered at the same age. The vet did a thorough health check before, and all went well. No blood test was needed, a healthy kitten normally don´t need that, they told me. But I feel that my vet is very thorough and very caring about the animals. I don´t think you need to be worried, but I know the feeling! Someone doing something possibly dangerous to my baby!

My biggest concern was the first days at home after surgery, since it´s quite invasive surgery for a female cat, but I convinced the vet that I wanted a "cone" back with me in case she started licking the wound.... which she did- so I decided to let her use it for 5 days to start with so that the wound would start healing, and then decide if she could leave the wound alone. Which she did.

She did not seem to be bothered by the cone, so she ate normally afterwards. But, she threw up due to the painkillers they gave me to give to her once a day. She was sluggish for two or three days, and then back to normal.

It healed normally afterwards as well. But be careful of how much you feed him (?) afterwards- my kitten had done well with free feeding before surgery, afterwards she started gaining weight. I simply reduced the amount given, and fed her 2-3 times a day instead. The weight came off fast after that. 

let me know what happens!

the medicine they gave me was metacam- but not all cats react badly to that. My first cat did not, and the metacam helped her through the first painful days. 

It is understandable to be worried! I was too I had my kittens fixed at 5 months, and the neuter process is much faster and less invasive than the spay. I'm pretty sure it takes less than an hour, maybe even 15-20min. I opted out of the pre-surgery blood test since they have had no indication of health issues. If you're not sure of their history, or want to make sure they are functioning well enough for the anaesthesia, I would say go for it.

Afterwards, we kept them isolated in the kitchen overnight to prevent jumping, and fed a few tablespoons of wet. The boy had two doses of pain meds (Buprenex) and the girl had about 5 days worth. It would be ideal If you or someone in the household can stay home with him for at least the first few days for comfort, and also to minimize activity and prevent licking of the wound. Make sure to check for redness, inflammation or oozing at the site of the stitches. I limited play for 2 weeks mainly to make sure Sophie was completely healed. Tux was back to 100% after about a week. Good luck!

You worry because you care. That is completely normal. I was a mess.
My cat does have breathing problems due to having pneumonia as a newborn kitten which is why I waited until she was 16 months and required a life saving surgery. I was petrified because I had heard storied about cats breathing stopping and anesthesia going wrong but spays and neutering are a very routine procedure that experienced vets do pretty much on a daily basis. It honestly takes less than an hour, one small incision and thays it with no complications. I called up many times with questions about their clinic and what kind of equipment they had to monitor her vitals and if they were equipt to handle her special needs. Not only will the cat be on a heart rate monitor and blood pressure monitor, they have breathing tubes (if they need it) to ensure complications are very rare. During the surgery she recieved more oxygen than she has gotten in her entire life.

Cats recover quickly too. Just make sure you watch your cat eating or drinking or hiding from you after the surgery as that could be a sign of discomfort, if it doesnt improve after 48 hrs, contact your vet. About pain meds, I really wouldnt unless you notice your cat in pain (google signs of pain). Cats are not used to drugs they prefer to go into hibernation mode because at least they can wake up when theyre hungery and actually feel hungery. I had to give my cat 4 days of strong pain meds after her eye surgery/desexing and it really changed her. It made her lose her appetite and just completely knocked her out. It was quite sad. Thats why I would only suggest at most 1-2 days IF you feel they're in alot pain. If it was just a desexing I would have only given her MAYBE 1 day of medication. But if they're eating they'll have the strength to pull through. Theyll mostly just eat and sleep until they feel better. just give them lots of pats and TLC. Which I know you will

But seriously if your going to a trusted clinic then everything is going to go smoothly and your baby will be back in your arms by the end of the day. I know how hard it is to be afraid of losing your babym Trust me. 3 weeks ago I was told my baby had eye cancer then 2 weeks ago she had her eye removed and we decided to kill two birds with one stone and get her desexed. Now shes developed kidney failure ( NOT because of the surgery but because she stopped drinking when she came home). Anyway through all that shes pulled through it. So im 100% positive your healthy kitty will be perfectly fine and the benefits outweigh all the incredibly rare odds of complications.

Just being cautious because my cat went 5 days without drinking (I thought she was drinking because she was sitting by the water but she wasnt actually drinking it, so just make sure they're actually drinking it) after her eye removal and desexing and went into kindey failure. But note, that was NOT because of the surgery, its because I didnt notice these signs AFTER her surgery. Again, my girl is an extreme case and merely a cautionary tale. I would hate for any cat/owner to go through this.

Cats are strong. Never doubt them. As long as they know you love them, they can and will pull through anything for you. Thats what I've learned.

I pray everything goes well and just think positive thoughts. ♡

@savingKali, thanks for yr words of wisdom and sharing yr story with me. I don't have a good vet that I can trust. I had a regular vet for over six years. I used to take my cats and my stray cats to him. This past December one of my cats (cat in my avatar) developed pneumonia. I rushed her to the vet and he told me she needed to be admitted to his clinic hospital. She had fluid in her lungs that needed draining. He told me she was severe but then he proceeded to leave her unattended through the night and didnt tell me he was going to leave her. She died that night from respiratory distress. I never got to say goodbye to her. So I started taking my cats to another back-up vet until I could find a good vet. Unfortunately one of my cats contracted toxoplasmosis this may. All my cats are indoor and I don't have mice in my house. I don't know where he got it from, but this back-up vet couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. She gave him clavamox, convenia, and baytril injection and oral, and erythromycin for his runny eyes. In the end she diagnosed him with fever of unknown origin without ANY DIAGNOSTIC TESTS and told me to take him somewhere else. I ended up at the humane society of NY where the vet ran diagnostic tests and diagnosed my cat with toxoplasmosis. My cat and I suffered for a whole month before we could figure out the problem and he could start a proper drug treatment. So currently all four of my cats are seen by a vet at the humane society of NY. I don't know how much i trust them but the vet i see there is experienced. Sometimes she seems to lack the sensitivity chip but I'm stuck as I can't find anyone decent. This is pretty scary.

The vet told me there is no blood test before the surgery. My kitten is pretty normal but his body is always hot. If there is an underlying issue, we don't know it at this point. I wish I could know somehow. Feeling so sad right now

OT what´s the difference between spay and neuter? In sweden most female cats have the ovaries removed. Is that being spayed?

Queenof3: you and your kitty are in my prayers! I do hope that everything goes well. I know the feeling of not trusting the vet. I changed vet after losing my first cat (she second vet told med the same thing as the first one, but in a way that I could accept the diagnose of my stray kitty, and the way they treated me and her during the visit at the second vet made it possible to decide that the best for her was to be put to sleep). My second cat was immediately trusted to the second vet!

cicoccabim said:

OT what´s the difference between spay and neuter? In sweden most female cats have the ovaries removed. Is that being spayed?

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Technically, both genders can be referred to as being neutered (which means removing the sexual organs). The proper word for the surgery for a male is castration, and for a female ovario-hysterectomy, but mostly in the US we say neutered for males and spayed for females. Removal is ovaries only is technically ovariectomy, but most vets in the US remove ovaries and uterus. But an ovariectomy would still be a spay, I think.

Spay/neuter is very routine, 99.9% of the time everything is just fine . You could do pre-op bloodwork but it's not usually necessary for healthy young cats. Males are usually back to normal the next day, at that age you can hardly tell anything happened.

As for him feeling hot all the time, I notice his fur is pretty short and a single coat, not a double coat like some cats. That can make cats feel hotter, without the insulation. If it's just how he feels to the touch, and the vet said he doesn't have a fever, I would guess that's the reason.