Is it bad to take spaying stitches out late?

My kitten Drusilla was spayed on Dec 21st. However I'm not going to be able to get her back there til to have her stitches taken out until Jan 18th. The vet papers say they should be taken out within 10-14 days, will anything bad happen if they stay in longer?

I think the skin can grow over them a bit, making them harder to take out. We've always taken out the stitches ourselves, but if you aren't comfortable doing that, you'll need the vet.

Congrats on having your girl spayed.

Katie

Yes, the skin can adhere to the stitches. I would advise that you have them taken out asap, so you don't have problems with them...

My dog got his stitches (from an ACL surgery) taken out just a few days late and the skin had grown over a few of them. It wasn't severe or anything, but it caused Jake enough pain to give the vet a bit of trouble in getting them out. I would definitely advise getting them taken out before Jan. 18, but if it really isn't possible, then your kitty isn't going to die or anything like that, lol

I also take the stitches out myself. It took a few animals before I got brave enough but now it is really easy for me.

She should definitely have the stitches taken out within the recommended time frame, otherwise the skin will heal right over them and it will be very hard to take them out. You don't necessarily have to take her to the vet who did the surgery if that is going to be problematic - any vet clinic can do it.

They didn't use dissolving stitches? Next time, just ask them to do that for you.

The HS I volunteer at takes the stitches out themsleves. That date one kitten got spayed was written down wrong, so her stitches got taken out 4 days late. The skin had healed over & it was quite stressful for the kitten. Thankfully, she got a home after all of that pain.

We take stitches out of people/pets outrselves. It is best if you can do it when your kitty is calm & with another person to help. If your kitty is fighting really bad, let her go, then try again in 5 minutes.

Because the vet was closed for the holidays, Tyron had her staples taken out today instead of Saturday (12/31). Didn't cause he any problems... was over in minutes... skin didn't grow over.

But I can also see how skin would grow over stitches easier than staples since stitches tend to sit a little lower....

Well I can't get her into the vet any earlier, so i'll just take them out myself.

Any tips on how to do that?

Have someone hold your kitty securely and use tweezers to pull the stitches up a bit.Then place the tip of the sissors under the loop and cut. The tweezers will pull out the stitch as soon as it is cut.

If you have hemostats, they work better to hold the sutures. Just cut carefully and do not cut the cat's skin. If you are unsure how to do this, wait and let a vet or a vet tech do it for you.

Also, make sure you only cut ONE side of the stitches..it's sounds dumb but if you cut them both, the stitch will be stuck in there and will probably get infected.

Don't forget to use clean tweezers and scissors!

Stephanie

I know I'm going to be guilty of thread necromancy here, but I just want to say this is very useful information. All of the local vets are closed for the holidays and we got Carly spayed 11 days ago. I don't think it's going to be too bad just one day late. It seems to have healed nicely. Now to just wait until she tires out from play.

No, one day later is no big deal, it's just several days or a week that are too much.

Well, we just tried it and she was very sleepy beforehand but now we both have several long scratches, so it's a no go. We don't know anyone who would be able to take us to the vet tomorrow even if they were open. So I don't know what to do. Is there anything we can do to try to sedate her?
 

Taking stitches out should be just about painless - that's always been my personal experience, ditto for staples.

You need a tiny, very sharp blade - something like a #11 scalpel blade.  You also need someone to hold the cat firmly (scruff if necessary) and a pair of tweezers.  Slip the blade under the stitch sharp side up, it should just slice through and the stitch should pull out easily.

Springing something on a cat when she's asleep probably isn't the best way to go about it - imagine waking up and finding what appears to be Sweeny Todd standing over you!  Do it when she is relaxed but awake on your lap. 

I guess this is a midline spay which is harder to get at than a flank, plus most UK vets use dissolving subcutaneous stitches for flank spays which means nothing that needs taking out...

And no, there is nothing you can safely sedate her with available OTC - you would have to go to the vets in which case the vet nurse would be able to take them out for you....

OrientalSlave said:

Taking stitches out should be just about painless - that's always been my personal experience, ditto for staples.

You need a tiny, very sharp blade - something like a #11 scalpel blade.  You also need someone to hold the cat firmly (scruff if necessary) and a pair of tweezers.  Slip the blade under the stitch sharp side up, it should just slice through and the stitch should pull out easily.

Click to expand...

Agree it should be pain free.

I also just use a scapel and tweezers, though I don't need a second person just flip the cats over to get at the area. for less compliant cats an extra set of hands would be needed.