Two of my cats will get fixed. How should I care for them after the surgery??

Question

I am taking my two cats this Wednesday to get fixed. I will drop them off at the vet at 9 am and pick them up at 4 pm. How stressful this surgery will be for the cats? Will they be in any pain for few days after the surgery? For how long will they be in pain? I have never dealt with anything like this before, so I have no idea what to expect. Any advice.

They are both female cats.

Answer 1

They will be groggy when you pick them up from the vet's. As the anesthesia wears off, they will begin to feel some pain. But cats are very stoic creatures and are very good at hiding pain, so you will not observe much other than the cat desiring to curl up in a quiet corner. Prepare a cosy quiet place for them to recuperate in when you bring them home. The litter box should be readily accessible and provide water - some cats get very thirsty after anesthesia. Some cats will want to eat something when the anesthesia has completely worn off, some will not want to eat until the following day. You'll also want to keep them completely indoors for at least a week after any surgery. The vet should give you WRITTEN instructions as to their post-operative care - usually very simple. The only things to watch out for are infection to the surgical incision site and possible detrimental effects from anesthesia (rare, but there). Spaying and neutering are so routine now that compications are extremely rare - so don't worry. If your cats are male, they'll be bouncing around after 24 - 30 hrs. If female - a little longer than that. But keep them calm and quiet - no "horsng around" - just to give their incisions time to heal.

Answer 2

My cat, LUCKY was fixed about 6 years ago. She was about 6 months old when it was done. What I did was I gave her a room to herself . She will need to be left alone, no picking up and playing. I let her decide what she wanted to do. I kept fresh water and food for her and I also put her litter box in the room with her. I also have another boy cat done at the same time. She will be out of it for the first three days. The night of the surgury I would watch closely. There should not be any problems. It took her a few weeks to get back in swing of things. She did wonderful as well as your I hope. Hope this helped a little.

Answer 3

Cats tend to heal quickly and don't seem to be in much discomfort after spaying. You'll definitely want to keep them inside at all times until they've completely healed (actually, cats should always be kept inside, in my opinion, but for sure while they're recovering from surgery). Do ask your vet about things to be on the lookout for--things that might indicate an infection or other problem. Your cats may still be quite groggy when you pick them up, so you'll want to plan to give them a nice quiet room to rest in for the remainder of the day at least (not that you have to lock them in there--just make sure it's available to them). You'll probably want to avoid playing games that require them to jump, pounce, or run (of course they'll probably be doing those things on their own a couple of days after surgery, but no sense in forcing the issue). It's also important to keep them away from other animals if they tend to get into fights with those animals until the sutures have had time to heal up. I'd also advise that you keep them away from small children for a week or so. Cats are good at hiding their discomfort, and it might not be easy to see that it's painful for them to be picked up in an awkward way by a child (or adult).

Answer 4

They tend to see purple mice for a while after you pick them up, meaning they will be groggy for a bit and want to sleep. They should be up and moving the next day. They tend to bounce back very quickly. This last time I had a female cat spayed they vet gave me pain pills for her. Of course you have to make over them and spoil them rotten for a few days. One of mine still thinks I am suppose to carry her everywhere and she has been spayed for over 5 years. They will play it for all it's worth.

Answer 5

I've had males and females fixed. The males need hardly any care but the females need a day or so to recupe. Just do what the vet says. Mine just said to keep them in for a day and let them rest. One of mine was older when we fixed her and she moved a little slow for about 2 days. The other was a kitten and seemed to just bounce right back. Good for you for taking good care of your kitties. Good luck!

Answer 6

Well post-op it does not hurt much,.. but they do tend to feel scratchy. You may see them licking the operated area or even scratching it. Basically the problem is that they may end up opening the stitches. Try to be more attentive for a few days post the operation & discourage them from trying to scratch the part,.. if they are persistent, you may even try bandaging their paws for a few days (ask your vet & they should do this for you).

Answer 7

Your Vet and his or her staff will provide you with all that information after your felines are released to go home, if in doubt ask questions regarding this issue.

Answer 8

How should we know they will be in pain, we are humans, and they are animals. This is a strange question. Why don't you ask other cats instead of humans.