Advice needed on spaying??? PLEASE!!!UPDATE ***PICS***

Tommorrow my baby girl gets spayed. I am extremely nervous. What should I expect when she gets home? Will she be grumpy? Also I have another kitty and three kids under the age of nine , should I limit her interaction with them ?Another concern is the e-collar. I have been reading catmandu problems with it so this is worrying me. If she should get the collar off how do I keep her from playing with the stitches , or worse pulling them out? Are there any activities that should be limited? I would like to thank everyone in advance. This is one of the few places I can go to ask questions without feeling criticized , so thank you thank you very much. :o





Brrrrr....I've been frosted!!!!

Okay meowmie, deep breaths now. I totally understand you being worried about your little baby. We all go through this, even though we know everything will be just fine. :)

To answer some of your questions. Yes, it would be a very good idea to keep her very quiet and away from activities for the time being. Usually your vet will tell you not to let her jump up or down from anywhere. In regards to the E-collar, usually kittens adjust well to it, mind you though there are some that don't. I pray that yours does as this will help to keep her away from the stitches. I would speak to your vet about what to do about keeping her from getting at her stitches if she doesn't do well with the E-collar.
All in all, if you can keep her secluded in a closed room, it would be best.

Prayers on the way that your baby girl will do just fine and ((((((HUGS)))))) for the nervous meowmie. :)

I feel so much better , this is my first time going through this soooo.... you know. I appreciate the knowledge and advice....

I Have Never Had To Have A Collar Put On Any Of My Cats When They Were Spayed, And They Were A Lot Calmer After The Operation Than Before.
I Would Get Her On Her Own For A Few Days , To Error On The Side Of Caution.
Spayings So Advanced Now, Theres Virtually Nothing That Will Go Wrong.

Well coming from an over protective or reacting Meowmie!!!! I understand your pain....... My little sweetheart Paris just had her spay on Tuesday of last week. And it didn't go that great mainly because she is VERY SPOILED!! I realize this now but, she managed to get herself all full of her food-litter-water..... You name it she was full of it. But she is doing really well now. It takes about 4 days for her to start coming around. Quiet is a very good thing. She was just fine as long as she had me, some quite and some special one on one time we me....... If she is predominately your kitty you will need to comfort her after her vist it sort of scares them sweet?????? Once they start to come around they will be up in no time. Keeping them from moving too much is the hardest thing to do....
Good luck- My prayers are with the two of you!!

I have to agree with catmandu, I never had to use an Elizabethan collar after spay surgery. Your vet will give you the signs and symptoms of an infection. Getting your little girl spayed is the BEST thing you can do for her!!! Well, other than LOVE and feeding her!!! Good luck...

You will most likely not even need the E-collar. most cats are good about being spayed.
She might be groggy or tender, but not for very long. Keeping her quiet will probably be impossible! So just look at the incision every day. A bit of swelling is perfectly normal, but extreme reddness, oozing or bleeding are not.

Mostly.....don't worry. She WILL be fine. :)

Most vets will give you written instructions, so you have something to refer to. And if you have any questions once you have her home, call and ask. The staff always have lots of experience too.

Each cat reacts little bit differently. Vita came home and spent 4 days sleeping it off, while none of my others needed more than 5 or 6 hours to be up and about.

It is important to limit their activity for the first few days at least. If you do have a separate room for her, that would be good.

I have had 4 females spayed, never needed an e-collar, and other than Vita sleeping for days, no issues either.

Males on the other hand . . . . Dazzle came home with an e-collar. He hated it and learned to get it off in 2 minutes flat. Then he would start the licking. Dad and I took turns keeping him busy with a catnip mouse or some other toy. Put the ecollar on; off it came. He was a little energizer bunny and wasn't about to stay put unless he had to. I had to keep him in the carrier at night for 2 nights. And Amber didn't have a collar but he kept licking and bothering until the vet told me to wrap a towel around him and tie it! That did nothing but give him something else to "attack." Boys. Sigh!

Your little one will be fine. If you aren't working during the day, you can usually go in and visit as they are coming out of anasthesia, about 1 PM. I always go in and visit, then go back to pick them up at 4 or so. Even if you can't visit, you CAN call and ask how things went, usually after 11:30.

Sandra

Jen just said what I was going to say. The only time I've ever used an e-collar on a cat is when they had a drain or line sutured in place, nothing to do with spaying. The cats I've had spayed bounced back, and I mean that literally, within a day of surgery. I've always kept them isolated in a small bedroom alone for a few days but there is no way I could stop them jumping up on the bed or into the window. I wouldn't cage for a spay unless the cat was sick in some other way. Also as Jen said, I keep a very close eye on the wound, checking for redness, irritation, building crust around the sutures, swelling, that kind of thing.

The only part I worry about, as I worry about it for dental cleaning or major surgery, is the anesthetic. However, since spays are relatively quick and easy, they may just use gas.

Can you isolate the cat in a bedroom? I just re-read your post and saw that you have young children. She will be groggy that evening and feel sore for a few days, so she can't be played with. I doubt if she will be irritable unless she is handled roughly, just a bit dopey and wanting to sleep it all off in a quiet area.

Thank you everyone..... Yes I can put her in my room... its off limits unless I say so or else I have two toy boxes worth of toys in there....So again I send thanks

What everyone else said is true. Please dont worry too much! I will pray for your little girl! *HUGS* Katie and kitties :D

I'm sure everything will be just fine. My last spayed cat was my Mimi and that was a long, long time ago, but I have had another female cat, before her, and neither of them needed an e-collar. They just needed quiet and rest for a short while.

My Butter milked his neuter for all it was worth and layed on my bed for days after it!!! :p Silly boy was so happy to be inside where it it was warm, that I think he didn't dare act like he was feeling well, in fear that I would put him back outside!!!!

Logan

Ok I dropped her off this morning.. It was almost as bad as when my oldest had her first day of kindergarden. This morning my baby was meowing as they took her back. I know I am going to be a nervous wreck until I know that she came out of surgery ok. What was really heartbreaking was when I got home. My other baby (oreos little brother, not biological) was crying and looking around for her. I think this is so funny because when we first brought him home oreo hated him. Well hopefully all goes well , I will keep everyone updated.

She will be fine. When my Cally was spayed she pulled out her first lot of stitches so I cut the sleeve off a cardigan and made it into a polo neck for her to wear! Her front paws went through two holes and the rest of it covered her belly - she looked great!

I know, it's like torture leaving your baby, knowing she's frightened. Don't worry, when you go to pick her up, she will be very glad to see you.

She'll be tired and groggy, but in a day or two you won't even know she had surgery. Cats bounce back quickly (as opposed to us hoomans).

My RB Daisy insisted on jumping down from the bed after her spay. Can you imagine having a hysterectomy and jumping afterward? :eek:

Let us know when it's over!

I know the feeling of worrying about your furbabies. Although Dusty came already spayed, we did have Jack taken in to be neutered, and the others I was fortunate enough to assist with their surgeries!

Depends on the individual cat how long it takes until they bounce back after surgery, anywhere from a few hours to a couple days.

It is important to limit the activity for the first few days, and to check the incision area daily for signs of infection (excessive swelling, pus drainage, etc). If you see signs of infection or anything you may be concerned about, call your vet. They are there to ease your mind and help you.

At our hospital we don't send most spay/neuters home with e-collars unless we have to, and that's very rare. My own cats never had one and only one (Cami) did any licking on the incision area which did require a round of antibiotics, but everything healed just fine in the end.

And as a side note to all of you that have to leave your critters at the vets at any time.....The people there love animals and I'm sure your furbabies get lots of petting and sweet talking while they are there. I can't tell you how many pets I've gotten rather attatched to while they've stayed with us, believe me they got ALOT of attention from me! lol Many times the ones that come in crying or whining when mommy leaves them, end up being the best purr machines or tail waggers later in the day, many of them cease whining once they are settled in their cages, and a few pats on the head or ear scratching never hurts either lol. ;)

Any word on how your kittie is doing???????

Sorry the update took so long . Well she came home about 5:30 yesterday evening. The doctors told me that she would be groggy for a while , they were wrong. She came home and the first thing she did was take off after her catnip mouse and started trying to roll around. It was funny because they had to put an e-collar on her. She kept trying to get at her incision yesterday when at the vets. She is being very good. The only problem is trying to keep her from jumping onto or off of things . Well without further ado *** PICS***



OREO



**** Brrrrr.... I've ben frosted*****

Welcome home, little girl! You be good now, and don't get too rambunctious just yet! ;)