How long to wait?

Hi, I trapped Shea last May, just before she gave birth to five beautiful kitties. I have since been able to place the kittens in a foster home and had Shea spayed two days ago. My question is how long do I wait after the surgery before releasing her back to her prefered habitat? There is no way she will be adopted, and I am unable to keep her, so basically it is an extended TNR. I just need a basic timeline because I would rather she didn't tear open the incision once back in the wild. Any advice?

Would you be able to keep her another 8 days? This would take it to the 10 days that vets normally take stitches out, so little chance of it tearing.

Normally females are released 1-3 days after surgery. If you are keeping her in the same room she had her kittens in, then it wouldn't hurt to keep her another week. But since it's already been two days you can return her any time now.

Originally Posted by booktigger

Would you be able to keep her another 8 days? This would take it to the 10 days that vets normally take stitches out, so little chance of it tearing.

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For feral cats..they normally use dissolving stitches that do not need to be removed.

Katie

I know that, but keeping her till 10 days after the op would mean it was healed enough to stop the worry over her tearing it again, it is what my friend who deals with ferals tries to do, although it does depend on the cat.

Thanks for the advice, I feel a lot better knowing she will be ok. I will probably keep her till at least a week after the surgery, just to be on the safe side. Thanks again!