Care for a litter of kittens after spaying

I'm currently fostering a litter of 4 kittens, 2 males and 2 females. They were spayed today and we took them back because there are so many kittens being done that they asked if the fosters could take them for a day or two. No problem! They're lovies, so why not?

We normally keep them in a small bathroom when we're at work, but let them out when we're around to supervise. Today we put the boys in the bathroom itself and the girls in the hallway off it.

All of them are screaming like crazy to come out. The girls are growling at each other, but when they're out, they're fine. I think the carriers are freaking them out because it has hospital/unfamiliar smells, but the house smells familiar.

Before they got spayed, everyone would jump up on the couches and chairs and I know we're supposed to keep them quiet.

Has anyone else taken a whole litter home post-surgery before? How did you handle it?

Hi @mm01772  Welcome to the cat site.

This is quite a common reaction when you bring cats home from the vets. I've had rescue kittens spayed and neutered in pairs before and they always hiss and growl at each other and at all the other cats in the house when they get home. It's because they've just been through something scary and because they can still smell the vets on themselves, bringing back all the memories of that experience.

It will take a while for the smell to wear off and them to all calm down again. I'd let them come out if you're there to keep an eye on them. Are they all easy enough to handle? You could use a blanket that they were sleeping on or a towel that you have used to pet them with. This will help to cover the vet smell with something familiar.

They're usually all back to normal within 24 hours.

Thanks so much for the reply.

Yes, they're all easy to handle, and oddly enough, that's when they were calmest -- when I was holding them. I didn't want to keep picking them up, though, because of the surgery.

When we let them out of the bathroom, they go running around, jumping up on counters, jumping up on the back of the couch from the floor -- all things that can't be good for them. Today we limited them to an hour in the morning and an hour at lunch (I'm home today) and although they're not growling as MUCH, they're still growling, still chasing, and still jumping.

When I picked them up, I asked about keeping them in a large dog crate for the day or two, but the vet preferred that they be in a room and allowed out now and then, which is what we're doing. Still, I worry that their running and jumping will cause hernias or bleeding in the girls. So far the incisions all look fine and I don't see any swelling.