I have had female cats in the past and one had the metal clamps. I think they are more stable. It didn't bother the cat to have them removed, as I recall. My last kitty to be spayed had internal and external stitches - ones that had to be clipped and pulled out after a week. The Vet told me that I should be alarmed if there was inflamation and oozing around the stitches. A couple of external stitches were "removed" by Ms. Kitty...aka Miley. She too started running around as soon as she got home. She had spent the night (with her brother who got his "snip, snip" proceedure done at the same time) and had recovered from the drugs by the time she hit the door step at home.

I would consider switching vets as well. There is nothing like a wonderful Vet and one who thinks along the same lines as you do. For example, my Vet is not big on unnecessarily giving pills to pets...or taking extreme measures to heal something that can heal on its own. He is good, but relaxed and INFORMATIVE FOR SURE!

Good luck and keep us posted!