Cat spay incision (WITH PICTURES)

[Jadelou92x]

Hi

I had my little girl spayed on Monday and she was feeling very sorry for herself when I brought her home and she hid in my room. She then felt better the next day and she obviously over did it. We went for a check up on Wednesday and they said the incision is swollen and prescribed medication and said she needs to rest.. which is hard when she’s only 11 months old and very active.They suggested a dog crate but I can’t afford to buy one just like that so I bought a pop up play pen for her instead which was also recommended to help her to rest. I let her out of the play pen in the kitchen for a walk around at points of the day but tonight when giving her medicine I noticed the incision looks very red but I’m not sure it’s normal. On her check up on Wednesday she bit the nurse when she touched the incision area as it was painful but I touched it and she didn’t even flinch so it’s not painful. I’m not sure what’s normal and what isn’t but I don’t drive so can’t afford another £12 on taxis for it to be a normal part of the healing process (already spent £25 on taxis as I don’t drive).
Thanks x

Forgot to add she’s fine in herself, eating and drinking well and dying to run round the house x

 

[Mac and Cats]

I am not a vet and not an expert, but to me the area looks ok. As long as it isn't inflamed/red, hot to the touch, obviously leaking puss or painful, I think she is ok. Did they recommend giving her something like gabapentin to keep her a little bit calmer for a few days? She's awfully young and I don't know if they recommend gabapentin or the like to young kitties like her. I've mostly had older cats, so I'm not sure what they recommend for babies like your girl. I don't have any experience in getting animals fixed myself because all of the animals I have had already came that way. But, I have had a cat that had a small cancerous mass removed from his "pantaloon" (butt cheek) area and I can tell you there were days when I thought it looked very bad. Our vet just recommended I leave it alone until it heals and put a cone on him when I wasn't around to supervise. They also had me give him gabapentin twice daily for several days to keep him calm and inactive. There were a few times when it was "leaking" shortly after we brought him home and I was really concerned about that. I called our vet and they said that it was ok as long as it wasn't puffy, red, hot and there wasn't any puss. I did clean it up a couple of times (very carefully) with a warm damp wash cloth, but tried to just leave it alone for the most part. Maybe someone else can chime in, but to me, it doesn't look infected or anything, just healing.

Edit: Also, this is not really relevant, but is this her side and not her belly? If so, I was not aware that they do spaying like that! So this is news to me!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I am not the greatest one to be responding - the last spay I dealt with was 16 years ago! But I don't think that looks bad. Do you think the swelling that the vet saw has gone down? I don't see swelling really, and the redness you talk about is not showing in the pic. I'd say just keep an eye on it and keep her 'crazies' down to a minimum for the next couple of days, if you can. Make sure she is not over grooming/licking that area too.

The play pen is a good idea at least until you finish with the medication. And a follow up pic or two to send to the vet to see what they think, surely can't hurt.

 

[mani]

Edit: Also, this is not really relevant, but is this her side and not her belly? If so, I was not aware that they do spaying like that! So this is news to me!

I'm another who thinks the wound looks pretty good, although pictures don't tell the whole story.
And I'm also confused about where the wound is.

EDIT: all is well. I can see they often do flank incisions in the UK.

 

[GoldyCat]

The incision looks like it’s healing well. If the medication they gave her is an antibiotic you should go ahead and finish it. If it’s a pain medicine, only give it as long as she seems to be in pain.