Spaying Today- Recovery?

[marmoset]

I'm spaying an unhandleable semi-feral that had a litter of kittens. The kittens are 15 weeks old and have been sharing the same room as the mother. All seems well. They still try to nurse but she's clearly had it and kicks them off 98% of the time.

Last night I had to cage the mother separate from the kittens and everyone went crazy. Mother was crying all night (louder than I've ever heard her as she was silent for the first two months) and the kittens were trying to get in to be with the mother.

So momma cat is getting spayed today. Based on past experience with spaying hard to handle females the vet will return the cat before it is fully out of the fog of anesthesia so I can safely transfer the cat to the recovery area by putting the carrier into a larger enclosure and opening the door allowing the cat to venture out when she's got her legs back so to speak.

What I have no experience with is having a cat in recovery with kittens. I will certainly keep her enclosed and separated from the kittens until she's walking normally and fully awake but I worry that even after that if the kittens want to interact with her she will become stressed. On the other hand she is distressed if she's away from the kittens and they are the same. How long should I keep them separated? I'm hoping others that have had mothers spayed while they still had kittens around can give me some advice.

 

[kittypa]

I would ask the vet doing the spaying.

 

[jcat]

Yes, your vet should be able to advise you.

When we have that situation at the shelter and there were no surgery complications, mom goes back in with the kittens once she's fully awake (no longer groggy). We put some cat-sized cardboard boxes in the room (with towels) so she can retreat when the kittens are too rambunctious and we keep a close eye on the situation. Cardboard can be cut open fairly easily if mom isn't coming out at all and you have to check her incision and general condition, or the whole box can be put in a dog carrier to get her back to the vet's if you suspect a problem.

We play babysitter as much as possible, i.e., play with the kittens and wear them out so mom can get some rest.

 

[marmoset]

Whew. I asked the vet and got the impression that it was not cut and dry and depended on the cat's personality. She recommended a few days apart from the kittens because the mom is a moody cat. Momma cat was very groggy until around 3 am when she finally came out of the carrier and made a racket trying to get out of the crate. The kittens have been the room a few times but she's not in the mood for visiting and was hissing/ swatting and nipping at them so I'm keeping the little ones away for now.

As an aside momma cat spit in the vet techs eye. I hope she has a long life of good health