Spaying

pui hang

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Bella and Cinders are five and half months old now and my husband and I are talking about when we should get them spayed. When we took them for their first check up with our vet, he said 6 months would be fine. However, I have heard that it would be better for their health if we waited until they started to call

So my question is, should I wait or get it done as soon as they hit 6 months?
 

petnurse2265

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I would make the appointments now, they are ready now. If you wait till after their first heat their chances of mammary cancer later in life increase dramatically, they are very noisy when in heat and you will have alot of sleepless nights, they will try to get outside to find a mate, and you could have tom's hanging around your house spraying if they catch wind of them, and the spaying surgery actually becomes more involved because the blood vessels to the uterus become larger and it becomes a bloodier surgery (alot of vets charge more because of this).
 

rarepuss

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i never heard about waiting until they go into heat, instead i head it's much more dangerous to do it while they're in heat and vets charge more to have it done.
 

sar

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I would say that they are pretty much ready to be spayed!

As has been said, it is a more difficult surgery to do while the cat is in heat, but I think you were asking about getting them spayed after their first heat! (?) Molly was due her spay and had to have it delayed until the end of her cycle as she was in heat, it is recommended not to perform surgey during.

I would also speak with your vet, they are better to advise you!
 
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pui hang

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Originally Posted by Sar

I would say that they are pretty much ready to be spayed!

As has been said, it is a more difficult surgery to do while the cat is in heat, but I think you were asking about getting them spayed after their first heat! (?) Molly was due her spay and had to have it delayed until the end of her cycle as she was in heat, it is recommended not to perform surgey during.

I would also speak with your vet, they are better to advise you!
Thanks Sar
Yes, I meant after their first heat - not during. Going to ring my vet in a minute and get them booked in.
 
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pui hang

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Originally Posted by rosiemac

My vet always advises 6 months so i would get their appointment made as well
Thanks. I spoke to my vet a while back about spaying at 6 months versus early spaying and he was saying that the reason why he recommends 6 months is because it is easier for them to do when the kittens are a bit bigger
 

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Thats right, plus their stronger for the anaesthetic as well.

Only in extreme circumstances will they do it under 6 months in the UK, such as aggression, but that doesn't happen often.

Are they booked in?.
 

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Go with your vet - 6 months. There is no good reason to wait until they have their first heat. Plus you risk the possibility of them getting outside and getting pregnant. Cats in heat (and tom cats) have a sneaky way of getting outside.
 
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pui hang

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Right, they are booked in for a nurse's appointment on Monday 13th at 5.10pm. Apparently they want to check the girls out first to make sure that they will be ok for anaesthesia. Based on that, an appointment will be made to get the job done (generally 2 days after)

And, oh god!!!
According to their computer systems, my girls are already 6 months old!!!!
They were born on 18th August and I was basing my premise of their age by month i.e. they would be 6 months old on 18th February
 
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pui hang

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Originally Posted by Petnurse2265

they are very noisy when in heat and you will have alot of sleepless nights, they will try to get outside to find a mate, and you could have tom's hanging around your house spraying if they catch wind of them
That's what I've just been told. I can't believe they are ready already. It only seemed like yesterday when I brought them home
My babies are growing up so fast!
 
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pui hang

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These are probably questions for when I see them on Monday but I'm going to take advantage of everyone's experience here


What sort of recovery period will I be looking at once they have been spayed? Will they have to wear plastic collars to stop them picking at stitches or anything like that? They play fight a lot at the moment and I was going to start stressing about them tearing each other's stitches out but I guess that won't happen because they will be sore and not inclined to play rough for a while?

I hope they don't hate me and will trust me again once this is all over (can you tell I've never had kittens before???)
 

rosiemac

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Rosie and Sophie were a bit wobbly when they came back, but the following day they were fine
Just make sure you don't let them jump up any heights and try and not let them run around too much.

I had to put the e-collars on them, but Sophie managed not only to get her collar off after 3 days, but also managed to pull out one of her stitches
Luckily she was going that night for a post spay checkup to make sure she was healing ok, so they didn't have to add another stitch but i just had to tighten the e-collar slightly.

Sophie was going to have what they call sub cut sutures which means theres no stiches on the outside, but because they had to make her incision a little larger they couldn't so they had to do outside as well.

Trust me they won't hate you and they'll still be just as mischeivous!
 

sar

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Molly was just a bit quiet when she came back from her spay - but it didn't last long!
She was doing really well without the collar until she took it upon herself to remove the a stitch and subsequently the other!


I took her for a quick check up because of this, so she had a shot of antibiotics, to be on the safe side, and she was back to normal in no time!!
 
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pui hang

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Thanks for all the advice!


I think I will restrict the girls to the kitchen when they get back rather than let them have the run of the whole house. I'll also put a little stool next to their radiator bed so they don't have to make great leaps to get into it

I'm concerned about Bella getting hers and Cindy's stitches out which is why I was thinking about getting her a collar. I'm not so worried about Cindy as she is a lot calmer than her sister


Just one last question... once I get them home, do I need to take a few days off work to keep an eye on them just in case?
 

rosiemac

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I took them in on the friday so i had the full weekend with them as well, but they should be fine with just the day of their operation.

One guy at work dropped his cat of in the morning but didn't pick her up until he left work.

They rang me sooner than i imagined because Sophie came around very quickly and was meowing the whole surgery down!. She was upstairs but you could hear her in the waiting room, so they had to ring me to collect her asap because it was stressing the other animals
 

petnurse2265

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Originally Posted by Pui Hang

That's what I've just been told. I can't believe they are ready already. It only seemed like yesterday when I brought them home
My babies are growing up so fast!
I know, my Sturgis will be 3 in May and I still think of him as my little baby, though alot of that is because he still sucks on our ears several times a day when he needs comforting.
 

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Incidentally, there is a vet sort of in my area that does do early spay/neuter, one of the local rescues have been using him for over 14 years now with no problems, and the kittens and puppies actually get over the anaesthetic quicker than when they are 6 months old. I saw a 16 week old puppy that had been spayed at 8 weeks and the scar was so tiny and barely there. They spay/neuter all puppies and kittens before they are rehomed to stop people 'forgetting' and taking them back in a few months complete with babies. And most vets will neuter at 5 months if you have a brother and sister. When I was reading up on mammary cancer, cats are 200 times less likely to get it if spayed before their first heat.
Good luck with them. One of the fosters I had spayed was more hyper after coming back from the vets than she was before she went, someone must have forgot to tell her that she was supposed to be dopey and wanting to rest!!
 
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