spay advice

I am taking our 5 month old kitten to be spayed on Friday. The vet said we should pick her up the same evening. Can you all tell me what I should expect? Will painkillers be needed, how long before kitty is active, eating and pooping normally? How do I keep her immobile (and for how long) or is it OK to let her jump up on the bed if she wants?

We have a very rambunctious male kitten who I will have to keep away from her while she recovers -- but for how long?

I'd be grateful for any advice. Our previous kitties have been males and I know the spaying is a more invasive procedure.

Lee

Oh, I hate having surgery done on Friday. Then if some follow-up is needed, you're in a weekend. I'd say just to prepare for some of the common possibilities, have the vet prepare some liquid pain med you can take home to give if needed. Also pick up an e-collar, again just in case it's needed. You might see if you can bring it back for a refund if you don't use it.

You don't need to keep her immobile (such a thing is impossible, anyway, without restraints) and I doubt she's going to feel much like jumping for a week or so. Since you've got an another playful cat, I think you might want to keep her in a room by herself for a few days, so she doesn't engage in any rough play with her little friend.

Tonight and tomorrow she's going to be pretty out of it. She should be feeling better by Sunday. If she has stitches, keep an eye on her and use the collar if she picks at the stitches. Also keep an eye on the incision for redness, swelling, or drainage. Any of those are cause for follow-up. She should be eating by tomorrow, but probably not with much of an appetite, and pooping by the next day. Some cats bounce back right away, some take longer, but if it's a week before she's herself again, it's nothing to worry about.

Chances are she'll be just fine.

Mine all slept for 24 hours or so afterwards, just waking to eat a little and go to the litterbox. SO I suggest you keep her in a separate quiet place with everything she needs at floor level. Often the vet will give them long term pain meds and antibiotics, but you might check this and take anything home with you to administer later if the vet will let you. If she has internal stitches she will not need to go back to have them out, but if not she will need a visit in 7-10 days to have them removed. My vet here put tubular bandages on to prevent any licking or interfering with the wound, but not all vets do that. Some prefer e-collars or leave the cat with nothing. You will need to look at the incision each day to check it is healing and that she is not opening it up by biting or licking. Some cats recover within a day or so (Ellie did), others seem take longer (Dushka couldn't walk for two days after). We all worry like crazy when they go in for spays, but 99% of the time there are no complications. Good luck.

Here is a picture of Ellie in her bandage the day after her spay.

Thank you both. That's helpful. Tim, don't worry, my vet has Saturday AND Sunday hours. I chose Friday so we would be home to supervise her over the weekend.

Wow, not only are you in the Caribbean, you have a vet with both weekend-day hours! That settles it. I'm moving. *grin*

~gf~

Originally Posted by lee

my vet has Saturday AND Sunday hours. I chose Friday so we would be home to supervise her over the weekend.

Click to expand...

Wow....you're fortunate....and sounds like a good plan, too. Let us know how your little girl is doing.

At 5 months, you should expect her to mostly sleep for the first 24 hours after surgery, then perk up after that. But a few 5-month-olds respond to surgery like younger kittens and are running around in just 3-4 hours as if nothing ever happened. But regardless, she should be acting like herself 24 hours after surgery.

She will probably get some painkillers at the vet but shouldn't get any more once she gets home. It doesn't seem very nice but you actually want her to be a little uncomfortable - she needs to know she just had surgery so she's not so active that she hurts herself. But of course she does need to be comfortable enough to eat and sleep.

Make sure she eats the day of surgery - offer her favorite canned food available and/or a treat like cooked chicken or canned tuna. As long as she's not too heavily medicated, she can be as active as she likes. Jumping up to the bed, for instance, is very unlikely to cause a problem.

when I got my cat spayed and picked her up the same night...she was still doped up....she couldn't walk or do anything...she was very hurt.I had to leave her in a doggie cage for 12 hours,but every so often I would take her out to come her down.....the next day she was back to herself.....



Good luck!!!