Dangit!!!! Spaying a cat.....

[DizBelle]

Well, we gambled and we lost.....

We "acquired" a kitten back in May (DH rescued her from a busy street). The plan all along was to have her spayed right after our WDW trip (4 days YAY!!!!). Well, she went into heat over the weekend. We talked to the vet and she recommended that we spay her now. Leaving her in the house with all of the other cats (5 of them) can lead to problems with aggression. We have some very old cats (2 of them are 17) and it could be risky if left to their own devices with an in heat female. Fighting and aggression is NOT a good thing for our older/more fragile cats. If last night is any indicator (yowling, hissing, snarling, growling, and fighting) leaving them in this situation for 2 weeks is not a good idea. The vet agrees. The vet thinks that surgery plus 2 full days for recovery should be enough (provided there are no complicatons) and she'll be fine while we're gone. We will have a pet sitter coming every day (and maybe twice on Saturday and Sunday just to check on her). If there are any complications, she'll be boarded at the vet where she can be cared for 24/7.

It's been 10 years since we've had a cat spayed so I can't remember exactly how long it takes to recover. What I remember mostly is the anesthetic and how woozy my cat was for about a day after surgery. I don't remember much about the incision and its healing.

How long did it take for your female kitty to recover from being spayed? Particularly the incision.

 

[freckles and boo]

My kitten busted open her incision (ewww!!!) and had to be restitched and wear a cone collar. She also needed oral antibiotics to avoid infection. It took a full week for us to feel like we could take her collar off. She is a VERY frisky girl (even now at 1-1/2). I would ask the vet to board her just in case.

 

[rkwells]

If it were me I would not want the surgery done just before we left as there is always the risk of complications with any surgery. I would just leave this one cat at an animal boarding facility. Even if you decide on surgery boarding would still be good as your pet will be kept quiet and there will be someone around to check on it more often then if a sitter came to your house once a day. Like freckles and boo said above, your vet would be a good option.

We are lucky in that there is a small ma and pop facility in our town that our dog just loves going to! Maybe you could find something like that for your cat.

Wishing you the best (and enjoy that vacation! )

 

[DizBelle]

any other experiences?

 

[akhenaten]

I had a kittie spayed a few months ago....
she did fine ...i suggest you put the cone on right away..or at least make sure you leave the vets with one...
I had to go right back to the vet and pick one up ' cause she started to lick her wound.....

 

[funnygarcia]

I recall that my female was wozzy and wobbly the first day. In fact the vet kept her most of the day, picked her up at closing, as she was a little too wobbly.
Next day she wanted to hide under the couch, but couldn't lower herself down to fit under the edge. awwwww.

Slower moving and sleepier the first two days but after that she was fine.

Good luck!

 

[Laura]

If it were me I would not want the surgery done just before we left as there is always the risk of complications with any surgery. I would just leave this one cat at an animal boarding facility. Even if you decide on surgery boarding would still be good as your pet will be kept quiet and there will be someone around to check on it more often then if a sitter came to your house once a day. Like freckles and boo said above, your vet would be a good option.

We are lucky in that there is a small ma and pop facility in our town that our dog just loves going to! Maybe you could find something like that for your cat.

Wishing you the best (and enjoy that vacation! )

I agree. If you do have it done before you go, board her with the vet. If you don't have it done and you're concerned about confrontation with the other cats (very understandable), I would board her somewhere while you're gone.

Probably, she'll be just fine. My kitty was bouncing around in a couple of days. We had to make sure she wasn't jumping up and down on things that were too high. But every kitty's different.

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

She should be fine, but just in case you might want to ask the vet to used 'buried' or subcuticular skin sutures that she can't chew out.

 

[Imzadi]

I saw my kitty's pic on the pound adoption website. I called about her & was told she was being spayed the next morning. I pressed & was finally told I could come in to adopt her at 4:30, but to expect her to be woozy.

I knew she wasn't going to be around if I waited longer than that. She was the cutest kitten. So I was there at 4:00.

Yes, she was extremely woozy - until they put her in the box. Then she started clawing it like crazy. I thought she was going to bust her stitches. But, she made the long 40 mile trip fine.

I had her sleeping next to me. She woke up about 3 am, crying, becasue she was separated from her sis & in an unfamiliar place. But, I calmed her down and that really bonded her to me. She went back to sleep again, and when she woke up in the am, she was fine, a bit slow, but fine. (She's sleeping next to me as I type. )

When I called for the free vet visit I was given by the pound, they told me to come in a month, to take out her stitches.