Getting kitties spayed

[shanghaic]

I might have found a home for one of my kitties but the lady wants to know:
1. She has a 5 month old boy that needs a playmate, my kitties are 10 weeks old, do you think there will be a problem with the 2 boys?
2. She is also looking at one of my little girls but wants her spayed. Isnt this too young?

I have never done this before, im sitting here sobbing my heart out, I just cant take my baby girl in at 10 weeks to go through such a big operation, I just cant do it

Can anyone tell me what this operation consists of, my boyfriend said its like taking in a family member for an operation and that it is quite a big ordeal. I need some advice.

 

[liza24]

found this online, hope it helps!!

What is actually removed during spaying?
Spaying is an “ovariohysterectomy,” which means that both the ovaries and the uterus are removed. The cervix is tied off, leaving the vagina to end in a blind sac. Since it is the ovaries that are responsible for the heat cycles, possible mammary tumor development, and behavior problems, it is crucial that the ovaries be removed intact; some veterinarians will leave the uterus behind, though, it is generally regarded as best to remove the entire tract, uterus included.

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How long will my cat stay in the hospital?
Our hospital prefers to keep surgery cases overnight so that they can have “bed rest” in a properly confined area. We believe that this first night of confinement helps the incision in healing. Some hospitals and most spay clinics will release the cat on the same day as surgery so that she may be observed at home in case of problems. Either way is legitimate and largely depends on the preference and philosophy of the doctor in charge of setting policy.

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Will she have stitches?
Some veterinarians always place skin stitches. Some veterinarians never place skin stitches and prefer to close the incision with “buried” stitches which are internal. The spay incision is closed in several layers (the abdominal muscles, the tissue under the skin, and the skin itself may all be closed separately). Skin stitches necessitate a return visit for a recheck, which is always a good idea after an abdominal surgery. Obviously, it may be more convenient for the owner not to have to make a return trip and it may be simpler not to have to worry about the cat pulling out her skin stitches and causing herself injury. Our hospital employs both methods though aggressive or feral cats almost always receive buried sutures so as to eliminate possible bite injury to the staff at suture removal.

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What can I expect regarding recovery period/incision care?
One of the advantages of keeping cats overnight after spaying is that they usually go bouncing out of the hospital as if nothing has happened. Some cats will not eat for the first day or so but if the cat does not seem back to normal by the day following discharge, we would like to know about it.

Cats discharged on the same day as surgery may experience more soreness if not confined to a small area. Food and water are generally withheld until the next day or late that night and the cat should be kept quiet and not allowed outside. Cats should not be discharged while still groggy in any way from anesthesia as they are a danger to themselves and to their human handlers.

Later in the recovery period, it is not unusual to notice swelling at the incision site. Cats often react this way to internal sutures and this kind of swelling is common and resolves spontaneously. Such swellings are firm and there is no fluid drainage or bleeding from the incision. They generally resolve in 3-4 weeks.

Any fluid drainage from the incision is abnormal and the cat should be rechecked by the veterinarian who performed the spay if possible.

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What if she is in heat at the time of spay?
Some female cats are disruptively annoying when they are in heat, yowling and carrying on and they are spayed to end the heat quickly. Other cats are spayed in heat randomly when the owner does not realize that the cat is in heat. Either way the spay is slightly more difficult due to the engorgement of the tissues and larger blood vessels. Spaying in heat does not carry a significant risk to the cat but, since extra surgery time is frequently required, an extra charge may be incurred.

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What if she is pregnant at the time of spay?
Spaying can be performed at any time during the course of pregnancy. Often, the owner is unaware that the cat is pregnant. If there is any question, make it clear to your veterinarian what your wishes are should your cat be found pregnant. The incision can be closed and the pregnancy can proceed or the spay can proceed and the developing kittens will be removed along with the rest of the uterus. Due to extra work and surgery time, most veterinarians will charge an extra fee for spaying a pregnant animal. Some veterinarians will not knowingly spay a pregnant animal after a certain stage of pregnancy. At our hospital, we are commonly asked what to do about newly adopted stray cats thought to be pregnant. As we work with numerous rescue groups we are keenly aware of the pet over-population problem. We encourage spaying of strays or newly adopted female cats regardless of pregnancy. There are simply too many kittens without homes as it is.

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What’s the difference between spaying in a hospital versus spaying in a low cost spay clinic?
This question may have a very regional answer depending on what sort of low cost facilities are available in a given area. Most areas have some sort of low cost spay/neuter option (consult your local animal shelter for more information). There are some general principles that tend to hold true.

Low cost spay/neuter facilities operate on a very tight budget. They have to in order to provide a low cost service and still be able to pay for supplies and staff. This means they use cheaper materials for suture and anesthesia, often have limited hours (our local facility closes at 2pm and all the morning’s surgical patients must be discharged by that time, other facilities may be open only certain days), and may not have state of the art monitoring equipment or capabilities in case of emergency. Probably most important is the fact that in order to stay in business, a low cost clinic must perform a high volume of surgeries each day. This limits the individual attention a patient can receive if an “assembly line” approach is used. Often these are the situations where only the ovaries are removed and the uterus is left behind so as to save time or where the entire spay is performed through a tiny incision only a half inch or so long so as to save time closing (and sacrifice inspection of the abdomen for bleeding). Most of the time, the end result is the same: a spayed happy female cat and, of course, cost can be an important factor. It is a good idea to know what one is paying for, however. It may be a good idea to have a tour of your local spay/neuter facility and see what they have to offer.

A full service hospital tends to have more nursing care (such as a technician tableside monitoring anesthesia throughout the procedure), monitoring technology (EKG, pulse oximeter, blood pressure monitor, respiratory monitor etc.), fluid support, all day (sometimes all night) patient observation, safer anesthetics (which tend to be more expensive), less reactive suture materials (which also tend to be more expensive), and most importantly individual attention to each patient. As a prominent member of the surgery board once said, “Speed is not a legitimate goal in surgery. Doing a careful, meticulous job is the real goal.”

It should be noted that many full service hospitals have some low cost options. Sometimes there are special arrangements for rescue or shelter dogs, people with multiple pets, senior citizens or even an annual special. Check with your vet to see if you qualify for any special programs.

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Will spaying affect her personality?
The female cat spends at least half the year with her reproductive tract dormant (cats only cycle Spring and Summer). This means that, behaviorally speaking, she acts spayed most of the time and no personality change should be noted. This said, it is important to realize that a cycling cat can be extremely solicitous of affection. This kind of playful, flirtatious behavior will stop with spaying.

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How long after having kittens can she be spayed?
The mammary (breast) development that comes with nursing can make the spay surgery more difficult. Ideally, a month after weaning allows for regression of this tissue and spaying can proceed. Unfortunately, it is possible for a female cat to become pregnant during this waiting period if her owner is not careful.

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At what age can my cat be spayed?
The traditional age for spaying is six months, however, this practice has enabled kittens to be adopted from the shelters unspayed. Often the new owner fails to return for spaying and the result is further contribution to the pet over-population problem. The last ten years has brought us a great deal of research into “early” spaying and we now know that there is no problem with spaying as early as 8 weeks of age. Our hospital finds such tiny tissues difficult to manipulate and we like to spay our female patients when they weigh at least 3 1/2 to 4 pounds.

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Will she get fat and lazy after spaying?
Estrogens have a natural appetite suppressing effect and the loss of estrogens may lead to an increased appetite. It is important to realize that estrogens only circulate in a female cat during her mating season. Behaviorally, she should not be any different (or hungrier) than her Winter self.

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Can she still come into heat after spaying?
Without ovaries, she should be unable to come into heat. Occasionally, a remnant of ovarian tissue is left behind by mistake. This can lead to some annoying behaviors as the female cat comes into heat (though she would be unable to get pregnant if her uterus has been removed as is customary with spaying). Special testing or even surgical exploration may be needed to determine if there is an ovarian remnant.

 

[familytimerags]

Originally Posted by ShanghaiC

I might have found a home for one of my kitties but the lady wants to know:
1. She has a 5 month old boy that needs a playmate, my kitties are 10 weeks old, do you think there will be a problem with the 2 boys?
2. She is also looking at one of my little girls but wants her spayed. Isnt this too young?

I have never done this before, im sitting here sobbing my heart out, I just cant take my baby girl in at 10 weeks to go through such a big operation, I just cant do it

Can anyone tell me what this operation consists of, my boyfriend said its like taking in a family member for an operation and that it is quite a big ordeal. I need some advice.

Pediatric spaying and neutering is not a new procedure and is very safe. I have practiced it for almost 5 years on many kittens without any trouble. I believe it is easier to spay or neuter at 10-12 weeks than what some consider the normal age at 6 months. The incision is smaller, the recover time is much shorter, as well on a female, spaying early greatly reduces her chances for uterine or mammary cancers or infections.
There are many websites that explain about early altering (pediatric spay and neuter). My favorites and most informative in my opinion are from The Winn Feline Foundation.
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/heal...ay-neuter.html
If you have any concerns over the many myths surrounding early altering, please read the study report regarding the subject, also from the Winn Feline Foundation.
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/repo...ly-neuter.html

I, myself, am a huge advocate of early spay and neuter. I do hope that you consider the benefits. Good luck.

 

[tnr1]

Our rescue spays and neuters all our kittens at 10-12 weeks and the vets use disolving stitches so that the kitten doesn't have to have the stitches removed.

I would call around to low cost clinics in your state and ask if they perform pediatric spay/neuter.

Katie

 

[moonvine]

I typically take mine in around 12 weeks if they weigh enough (the low cost spay/neuter places here will not perform spay/neuter surgery until the cat is 3 months AND at least 3 pounds on their scale - if they weigh the cat and she is 2.9 pounds you have to go home).

I have never had a problem. Unfortunately the city subsidized clinic does not use dissolving stitches, but it is usually just one or two stitches. They give them a shot of painkillers and none of mine have ever been in pain afterwards. They usually don't even know anything has happened to them.

 

[familytimerags]

Originally Posted by TNR1

Our rescue spays and neuters all our kittens at 10-12 weeks and the vets use disolving stitches so that the kitten doesn't have to have the stitches removed.

I would call around to low cost clinics in your state and ask if they perform pediatric spay/neuter.

Katie

Hi Katie,

Our vet uses dissolving on our boys, but uses a higher strength non-dissolving thread on the girls, that is removed 7-10 days later. I have noticed that I can't tell anything on the boys after they come home, but the female will have about a half inch incision with 2 stitches, sometimes 3, and of course a small shaved area surrounding the incision.
I spoke with our vet about using dissolving on our females, but he felt more comfortable using the non-dissolving to prevent the incision breaking open. I have had good success that way, so who was I to argue.

Purrs,
Stormi

 

[crittermom]

Our Vet will not spay/neuter before they are 12 weeks old.
As for the child, are they hyper or kind of laid back?If you do place your kit with them, I would ask that the child be supervised with the kit until the parent is sure that he/she will not harm the kit.

 

[shanghaic]

Originally Posted by crittermom

Our Vet will not spay/neuter before they are 12 weeks old.
As for the child, are they hyper or kind of laid back?If you do place your kit with them, I would ask that the child be supervised with the kit until the parent is sure that he/she will not harm the kit.

The 5 month old is a male kitty not a baby. Do you think there will be a problem between 2 boys? As they both are so young and still at that playful stage I presume that they will get along great???

 

[familytimerags]

All introductions will take time, but they will learn to adapt and will either be great friends or they may just learn to tolerate each other. Some cats are very social with other cats, and others prefer to be the only cat. A 5 month old kitten is still young and playful, and will probably adapt quickly to a new kitten.
I would recommend that the new kitten be in a separate room for 1-2 weeks for quarantine, as well it gives each kitten the chance to smell each other throught the door and place a paw under the door. IMO, it is a much easier introduction if it done slowly.
The adopting family may want to use a vanilla oil, baby powder, or some other fragrance on both cats, that will sometimes help if there is any problems when the time comes for face to face contact. There is going to be hissing and growling and communication between the new kittens, this is normal, and will decrease over time. I suggest both kittens nails be trimmed, just in case any swiping is directed, the claws can't hurt.
They will probably be quick friends before long.