spaying recovery

Abi will have this done before long and I need to know more about the recovery time, process, activity level she will have. I am preparing for a February vacation and need to decide to do it before we go away or after. Those who have been through this with a female, please tell me your experiences. Thanks
Diana

It normally only takes a few days to recover. You just need to keep them confined to a smaller space with not a lot of places to jump on for at least the first 2 days. I wouldn't worry about going away. If you get her done anytime from now until the end of january. Depends if you are going at the beginning or end of Feb. As long as you have a week to monitor her and all is well she should be fine. I have NEVER had a problem with a cat recovering from a spay or neuter. It is such a common, routine procedure. As your vet for some hints.

It normally takes a few hours to a few days, depending on the age of the cat.
Kittens under 5 months old are running around that evening as if nothing happened. Older kittens and adults will act lethargic and sore for a couple of days. Under any circumstances a normal recovery takes well under a week.

Sage took a couple days to recover, she was only five months old. I would wait to do it until you return from your trip.

Originally Posted by Abigail

Abi will have this done before long and I need to know more about the recovery time, process, activity level she will have. I am preparing for a February vacation and need to decide to do it before we go away or after. Those who have been through this with a female, please tell me your experiences. Thanks
Diana

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Hi there I had Nermal spayed 2 weeks ago and by the third day she was running around like crazy - as though nothing had happened in the first place...

She's recovered quickly and is still the same kitty as she was before, in fact she's more loveable than ever, but that does depend on the cat's personality.

yasmine was spayed and within a few days she was her normal self. Just keep a close eye on the incision to make sure its not seeping or not broken.

Molly was spayed 2 wks ago, was attacked by yasmine so her incision opened up about an 1/2 an inch and it wasnt real pretty. We have to put her under tomorrow so the vet can fix her incision!

The vet told me that within a week the incision should be healed enough to where she/he can do normal things. And two weeks, they are good to go!

My cats were all doing fine within hours of their spays/neuters because they were young - usually 5 1/2 months or so. There was only one I had neutered when he was two years old (I didn't have him as a kitten) and that turned into a nightmare. Poor thing had an undecended testicle which made the surgery more complicated. A few days after surgery, his wound got infected, so then a second surgery to cut out the infected tissue.... then after another week went by, we let him play with the other cats, he played too rough and got a hernia... back for a third surgery.

The moral of the story:

The older the cat, the longer it will take to heal. IMO I'd watch her for a week just to be on the safe side.

HTH!

I had my little girl spayed at 6 months old. I picked her up the same day and she was really groggy and out of it due to the pain medication. By the next day she was back to her spazzy self. I had to keep an eye on her for a few days just to be sure she didn't overexert herself or pull her stitches. I'd say leave yourself at least a week after the spay before the vacation. That way if something does happen (pulled stitches etc) you will be there to take care of things right away. And you won't spend your vacation worrying about her

I think it varies on the cat in terms of how long it takes them to recover. Some seem fine the next morning, while others take a few more days for activity/personality to return to normal. My little girl was spayed yesterday, and she's doing just great.
However, even if a cat seems fine fairly soon, one still has to be around for about 10-14 days in order to check the incision daily. You have to be able to make sure there is no discharge/puss (infection indication), bleeding, or missing stitches. The above can be caused from excessive licking/biting or a high activity level which can include jumping a lot etc. and must be prevented should it occur. You also want to make sure that her appetite (among other things) in normal during that time period. Like another poster said, you might also want to confine her to a smaller space where jumping and running around can be kept to a minimal.
Your vet will probably explain more of the above in detail when she is discharged.
I hope I'm not scaring you as Spay/neuter recoveries are generally quite straight forward without incident. However, an owner's presence during that time is still very important incase any complications do happen to arise.
Good luck and I'm sure your girl will make out just fine.

Originally Posted by yasmine

The vet told me that within a week the incision should be healed enough to where she/he can do normal things. And two weeks, they are good to go!

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That's how it was with April Joy. It takes a lot longer for the belly fur to grow back I got a sedative to give her for the first few days so she wouldn't run and jump too much. My vet used dissolvable stitches so I didn't have to bring her back in to get stitches removed. I would recommend getting her spayed before you go on vacation. That way all the dread will be over. Plus, if she starts going into heat the spay process will be a lot harder.