Did they spay her properly??

I took my female cat in to be spayed yesterday - she was back that evening and running around the house already, and being very affectionate, eating etc - shes recovered well.

But has the surgery been done appropriately? She has an incision scar of under 1 inch long, on her left side rather than along her belly. Does this indicate a less complete spay? She was still periodly nursing her babies (they are shortly to be 12 weeks old) so did this influence the way the surgery was done?

Anyone have any experience on this? I hear its better for both the uterus and ovaries to be removed, but this doesn't look like the case with my cat?

It was performed at a local vet surgery, not a low cost clinic..

thanks!

I'm sure they wont mind if you ring back to the vets and have a chat with them about your questions - I'm sure vets prefer owners who are curious about what goes on rather than people who aren't.

I was amazed when the vet here did spays with an incision down the belly - my London vet always did it in the side, and it seemed to me that the cats worried it less.Talk tot he vet but I am sure you have nothing to be concerned about.

There are a couple of different ways that spays can be done from what I've read. It sounds like your cat got the "Left Lateral Flank Spay". I wouldn't worry about it being any less reliable than a spay done through the stomach area. I've heard that it's actually more efficient and easier for the cats to recover from... as your cat seems to be proving.

Hope this helps.

I wouldn't worry about it. I had a "spay" (hysterectomy) three years ago, and was surprised when they told me that "buttonhole surgery", meaning just a small incision above the naval, might be possible. It wasn't in my case, because I had adhesions, but there were 3 other women on the hospital floor at the same time who'd had it done that way.
I've often heard that British vets use the side incision mentioned by other posters.

Hi - thanks, I was a little worried that they had left part of the womb behind, and that when this happens cats still go through the heat cycle, though they cannot get pregnant.

She is recovering well though! Acting completely normal and romping around the house with her kittens still!

Originally Posted by chupi

Anyone have any experience on this? I hear its better for both the uterus and ovaries to be removed, but this doesn't look like the case with my cat?

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Just wondering how you can tell by looking at a scar, whether or not both parts have been removed? They are tiny and skin stretches, no reason why the parts couldn't fit out through a small slit. That is all that is needed.

Originally Posted by Jen

Just wondering how you can tell by looking at a scar, whether or not both parts have been removed? They are tiny and skin stretches, no reason why the parts couldn't fit out through a small slit. That is all that is needed.

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I couldn't - thats what I was asking

I have read though that surgery where the abdomen is not opened up is often performed by low cost clinics (the problem with this is that abdominal bleeding cannot be detected with this kind of surgery)

the other thing that these clinics also do, again to save time, is to remove just the ovaries and leave the uterus - I was wondering if the 2 are related..