spaying a cat...?

Question

how long does the procedure take? how long until they are healed? do they have to spend the night at the vets? and does it hurt them?

thanks everyone who responded, i just wanted a little info as how the procedure was done. My cat will be spayed in about a month, and i just wanted to be a little more educated about it, although I'm still looking up info online, thanks a lot!!

Answer 1

Usually they stay overnight at the vets and the next morning you bring them home. They are a little sore the next day but then it's over and they are back to normal. They just need peace and quiet the day they come home so they can rest. It's really simple and oh so necessary.

Answer 2

At the vet hospital where I work, spaying a kitten takes about 15 minutes from getting the kitten under the general anesthesia to getting her back into her cage to recover. Older cats, cats in heat, and cats who have had kittens usually take half an hour or so. Spaying a cat with pyometra can take an hour or more.

They usually come back in 10 to 14 days to get the stitches removed.

A spay is considered major surgery because a body cavity (the abdomen) is opened. And a fairly large organ is removed, along with the ovaries and fallopian tubes. It's painful, but the cat gets a tranquilizer, an anti-inflammatory and anti pain medication both before and after the surgery, plus we give the owner two doses of anti-pain medication to give at home. Usually by the second day the cat is pretty much back to normal, though we advise owners not to pick them up for a few days unless they support their hind legs and front legs and don't squeeze or stretch the cat's belly.

We usually send the cats home the same day as the surgery...they get the operation in the morning and are awake and ready to go home by 5 pm. Again, this is for kittens. If there are any complications or difficulties we keep them overnight, sometimes longer.

But don't let any of this discourage you from getting your cat spayed. Spaying is the responsible thing to do, and it will spare your cat the strain of pregnancies, possible serious problems with birthing. pyometra (a very serious uterine infection in older unspayed cats) and surplus kittens.

Answer 3

The cat population is out of control. About 10 million dogs and cats were killed in shelters last year alone. We cannot stop everyone from being neglectful and the Neuter and Spay campaign basically is just hoping to cut the amount of animals killed to something lesser. Even if we were to get 50% more people to spay and neuter, we still have 5 million cats and dogs getting killed each year. Trust me, if we were ever so successful to get 100% of people to spay and neuter the world would be a wonderful place. The governmental agencies who deal with Endangered Species and such would ensure that this would never cause the cats and dogs to become extinct. I'm not trying to be harsh, but your argument is a bit irrational. When we get down to NO cats or dogs being killed, we'll talk. (It's never going to happen). Here's another way to look at it- Lets say theres one crazy cat lady out of about 100 houses in a neighborhood. She has 2 cats which breed, and those cats have a total of 16 cats per year. But wait, of those cats, half were girls and began to breed with their brothers, so they were able to give birth to a total of 32 additional kittens per year. And those kittens were able to give birth to 16 additional kittens before the year was up. So now you see that in just one year, 2 cats has turned into 64 cats. And they are unhealthy cats because they are the direct products of incest, they will have medical conditions and some will die. The others will continue to reproduce. Now within a year, we have these 64 cats, but there are only 100 houses in the cat lady's neighborhood. So 64% of homes would have to be willing to take in a new cat just to find those cats all homes. Now, lets say there are 2 cat ladies...well then, we have a problem bigger than even that neighborhood can handle. Do you see where I am going with this? From 2 cats you can end up with enough kittens and kittens having kittens to have too many cats for a neighborhood in just a year. And not every household wants a cat. Your argument is quite ridiculous. Maybe you should ask to volunteer in the area close to where they euthanize the animals in the shelter. That way you could get a sneak peek in the room full of dogs and cats in garbage cans, or sitting on the table waiting for the lethal injection which will kill the perfectly healthy and sweet little cat or dog. Can't say anymore, I'm getting too upset. Oops almost forgot the most silly part- MOST of the dogs and cats in shelters were surrendered, not brought in by anyone other than a bypasser who found an abandoned animal, owner whos pet had a litter, or someone who doesn't want their pet anymore. You are highly mistaken. Don't be silly.

Answer 4

the actual operation takes about 30 minutes..but you would usually drop them off the morning the surgery is done and pick them up the next day. They are usually still very groggy after the surgery, so not safe to have them at home in this condition. The procedure is more painful for females (spaying) as oppossed to males (castration). Mostly it is uncomfortable rather than painful. It also depends on the cat...have had cats that did not appear to even know they had surgery, while others have seemed a little quiet for a day or so. Females usually have sutures that have to be removed in 10-14 days after surgery. Some vets will send home a big plastic collar to discourage the cat from pulling the sutures out.

Answer 5

Had mine spayed a few months ago. Took her in the morning and picked her up around 4 pm that same day. She was groggy that first night. Vet sent home pain meds mixed with an antibiotic to give her for about a week. By the third day she was doing really well. Even the day after surgery she seemed ok, a bit tired, but eating drinking, etc normally.
The vet probably would have kept her overnight if I had preferred, but she had come out of surgery well and I had the circumstances to keep an eye on her 24/7 that first week.

Answer 6

Spaying is one of the best things you can do for your cat. I just had my two done about 3 months ago. I took them in the night before. The operation was done in the morning and I picked them up after work. I had to take them back in 10 days to get the stitches out but they were already playing by the second day. I think it was a bit tender for 3 or 4 days but they certainly didn't seem to mind. I think you should just not play too rough for the first week or so to ensure that the stitches don't break.

Answer 7

At our hospital the cat would be spayed in the morning and go home late afternoon. We don't like keeping surgery patients overnight because there is not staff there to watch them. They are much more comfortable at home with someone there to keep an eye on them. We use modern, safe, and short acting anesthetics so they are not groggy when they go home. All patients get an IV catheter, IV fluids to support blood pressure and kidney function, oxygen monitoring, blood pressure monitoring, and heartrate monitoring by a Technician. They are kept on heat throughout the surgery and afterward to keep body temperature up. They receive at least one and usually two different pain injections, and several days of pain medication afterwards. Spaying is major abdominal surgery and just because animals don't exhibit pain like humans do, they feel it the same way. We do everything possible to keep them comfortable. Sutures are removed in 10-14 days.

Answer 8

The cat is put to sleep and then the operation is done. It is a 20 minutes procedure if everything is normal. In two weeks the stitches should come out, if they stitch her. Now a days it is popular to use derma-bond and skin glue. It leaves hardly any scar and it is less irritating. You can choose to take the cat home but often times they throw up, even on an empty stomach, because of anesthesia. The cat must be kept from playing or rough-housing for the night and have access to plenty of water but no food until the next day. I can imagine it is a little sore, but cats usually bounce back by the next day.

Answer 9

The procedure itself does not take long, a half hour or so. It takes them about two weeks to heal before they can become active again. More than likely they will have to spend the night at the vet's (at least I hope so, that way the vet can keep an eye on them the first night after surgery). It doesn't hurt them because they are under full anesthesia while the surgery is being performed and there is little to no pain afterward. When I take my kitties to get them spayed, they spend the night before the surgery at the vet, and the night after the surgery there. So, there is a separation period for you and your kitty, but she will be glad to see you when you pick her up. Hope this helps!