Having to stay overnight for a spay?

So I made an appointment to have Poptart spayed. They told me I could drop her off at 8am and pick her up at 7:30am the next morning... Is this normal? I am being charged $10 extra for this (and if picked up after 7:30am $20 an hour). When I had another cat of mine spayed she was sent home that night. I had the option to pay extra to have her stay, but we just brought her home. I am just wondering if the norm is for them to stay?

I don't mind her staying, $10 isn't so bad. I guess I just wanted to be there for her that night and not have her stuck in a cage with people (I would assume people are there overnight) she doesn't know. I even took the days off from work so I could be with her.... 

My male cat was kept overnight and it was nice not to have to have him home while he was unsteady on his feet.  However, they did call my bright and early and tell me I could come pick him up because he was yowling and carrying on.   If you're concerned about her being left unattended overnight, ask the vet if there is someone there or someone who comes to check on them during the night.  Also, if you don't want to leave her overnight, call around to other vets in your area and ask what they charge, when the kitties can go home, and perhaps consider using another vet for the spay.

So I talked to the vet since her spay is next week and they said they do not have anyone there after 11pm. I asked if I could please take her home and they said it was against policy to allow females to go home that night.

I have a spay certificate so I cannot pick another vet. I really hate the fact that she has to stay there with no one all night, what is the point? I know that she will be fine... I just would rather her not spend 6 hours alone in a cage after a surgery. 

Wow if there is no one there I would be concerned as well. You're kind of in a sticky situation since you have a spay certificate. I would look into spay & neuter clinics as  you get to bring her home the same day and they're generally low cost. I had Angel spayed at one and got to bring her home the same day and even got to stay with her and wake her up. She did great.

Honestly I'd want her back home the same day as well so you can keep an eye on her recovery as they won't be there to. If the spay certificate isn't made out to you directly perhaps you can give it to someone else that needs to spay their cat but can't afford it once you figure out where to get your kitty spayed. If you need help finding low cost spay & neuter clinics just send me a PM!

I'm surprised.  Few clinics still require overnight stays for routine procedures like spays and neuters.  And I never understood the point behind it unless there was a staff member on duty overnight with them.  I'm guessing it stems from a desire to keep the patient as inactive as possible after surgery, when at home she might be climbing steps to get to a litter box or jumping to get food.  I think most clients understand, though, if it is explained to them during the discharge, and can keep a patient just as inactive, with less stress, than an overnight, unattended, at a vet clinic.

I agree with @Miagi's_Mommy...look for a low cost clinic that will let you take her home that night.  I have not seen any research suggesting that staying unattended, overnight at the clinic after a routine spay is beneficial in any way.  If anything, it's more dangerous than releasing the patient to the owners, who can keep an eye on the animal, go to an emergency clinic if needed, and make sure the animal stays warm.  You can't leave an animal unattended with a heat source, even a temporary one like a rice sock, and I'd be worried about my pet getting chilled overnight, especially if the bedding becomes wet due to potty needs, knocking over water dish, or anything like that.

I recently had a whole bunch of cats spayed and neutered and they all were required to stay overnight.  I have to say, I preferred the arrangement to bringing them home groggy.  My vet told me it was for pain control and to keep them immobilized.

Thanks everyone.

She was spayed yesterday and stayed the night. Everything went well with the spay. They told me she has "pillow paw" and they are worried she has FIV. My vet told me many times I didn't have to worry about it because she is 100% inside. From what I read she would have gotten it from her mom if she does have it (I'm not really educated on it though). I'm going to take her to get tested in a couple days and find out what's going on. This clinic wasnt even very clear on what pillow paw even is.

I've heard of Pillow Paw, here is a link explaining more about it, http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_plasma_cell_pododermatitis.html

I've not ever have a cat with it so I do not have much to add.

They did send PopTart home with pain meds didn't they? A spay is a quite painful procedure given what it is. I would strongly suggest she have some. I am surprised the clinic kept her overnight and there was no one to check on her. All my kitties have always stayed overnight but there was a tech that stayed and checked on them.

Thanks for the link!

I paid for a pain injection that is supposed to last 3 days. They said this was a better option then pills.