Incision After Being Spayed

[Lilahbear]

Hi everyone!
My cat was just spayed on Tuesday, she’s been really good, hasn’t had diarrhea and she’s been eating and drinking her water, she’s been jumping in the bed a couple of times but for the most part she has been resting a lot. Today I noticed she has some swelling about the size of an olive so I called the vet and told her about this and she said it’s probably because she’s been jumping so she said to keep an eye on it and if it gets worse then to take her in. I just wanted to see if any of you have had this happen with your cat I hope it goes away because I feel so sad for her, she hates getting on her carrier and I don’t wanna cause her any more trauma :’(

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Ya know, I'd give the vet a call and ask if you can email those photos to her. It may well be a bit of nothing, but it doesn't look quite like other swellings I've seen in newly spayed cats.

 

[Lilahbear]

Ya know, I'd give the vet a call and ask if you can email those photos to her. It may well be a bit of nothing, but it doesn't look quite like other swellings I've seen in newly spayed cats.

Do you think it would be okay if I wait until Monday? Since my vet is close on the weekends, my cat is still eating and acting normal, and the swelling looks pretty much the same not bigger or smaller

 

[zagne11]

I got my 2 siamese spayed and noticed some swelling post-surgery. Honestly, I couldn't say if it's normal during recovery or not since I haven't seen your cat personally and I am not vet. All I could give you is my experience. My first cat started to swell post-op and the vet said that it is expected. However, due to excessive moving and jumping and probably licking, the swelling got bigger to the point where the wound opened. I had to rush her back and the vet did an emergency re-closure of the wound. My poor cat got wound dehiscence due to increased activity. I decided to cage her for two weeks fearing it might happen again. And she recovered quickly after that. Be sure to monitor your cat for excessive activities and licking of the surgical site as it might cause dehiscence or infection. I know some would not agree to cage a cat during recovery but it was my only choice because I'm working. Maybe if you could phone your vet about your case, do it. Normally, there is swelling post-op but I can't tell how small it should be to be qualified as normal. Better contact your vet via call or email then s/he should be the one deciding if your cat needa to be examined in the clinic again.

 

[Lilahbear]

I got my 2 siamese spayed and noticed some swelling post-surgery. Honestly, I couldn't say if it's normal during recovery or not since I haven't seen your cat personally and I am not vet. All I could give you is my experience. My first cat started to swell post-op and the vet said that it is expected. However, due to excessive moving and jumping and probably licking, the swelling got bigger to the point where the wound opened. I had to rush her back and the vet did an emergency re-closure of the wound. My poor cat got wound dehiscence due to increased activity. I decided to cage her for two weeks fearing it might happen again. And she recovered quickly after that. Be sure to monitor your cat for excessive activities and licking of the surgical site as it might cause dehiscence or infection. I know some would not agree to cage a cat during recovery but it was my only choice because I'm working. Maybe if you could phone your vet about your case, do it. Normally, there is swelling post-op but I can't tell how small it should be to be qualified as normal. Better contact your vet via call or email then s/he should be the one deciding if your cat needa to be examined in the clinic again.

Thank you! I have been watching her like crazy and she hasn’t licked her incision at all, she’s been jumping in the bed on and off but it’s not that high. I tried to keep my cat on her carrier for an hour after her surgery and she was going crazy to the point she kept trying to get out and she wouldn’t even lay down so props to you because I could never keep my cat on her carrier lol also I checked today and the swelling looks the same so I’ll keep checking and if it gets bigger I will take her in, also I’ll call my vet on Monday and ask if I can email her the pictures! Thank you so much for your reply

 

[zagne11]

Didn't notice the pics til now! But it's kinda weird. I think your vet need to palpate it to make sure it's not an hernia. My cat's "pouch" started that small and due to excessive jumping and running, she got her stitches out and got an hernia.

Note: hernia is when intestines or other internal structures protrude beyond where they should be.

I hope your cat doesn't have one! Praying it's just normal post-op swelling.

 

[Lilahbear]

Didn't notice the pics til now! But it's kinda weird. I think your vet need to palpate it to make sure it's not an hernia. My cat's "pouch" started that small and due to excessive jumping and running, she got her stitches out and got an hernia.

Note: hernia is when intestines or other internal structures protrude beyond where they should be.

I hope your cat doesn't have one! Praying it's just normal post-op swelling.

I hope it’s not a hernia

 

[zagne11]

Be positive. What you should be doing now while waiting for Monday is to limit her activities. If you could probably eliminate things like chairs or boxes so she couldn't jump on high surfaces or if you could transfer her to a smaller place, do it. You said you couldn't lock her up in a carrier, if you have bigger cage (a dog's cage maybe), put her there until Monday. At least it's not small enough for her compared to the carrier you're using. She could still roam around minus the jumping of course.

 

[Lilahbear]

Be positive. What you should be doing now while waiting for Monday is to limit her activities. If you could probably eliminate things like chairs or boxes so she couldn't jump on high surfaces or if you could transfer her to a smaller place, do it. You said you couldn't lock her up in a carrier, if you have bigger cage (a dog's cage maybe), put her there until Monday. At least it's not small enough for her compared to the carrier you're using. She could still roam around minus the jumping of course.

I will try to put her in my walking closet, I just checked her stomach again and it looks like the swelling it going down! Thank God, again thank you so much for your reply and your advice

 

[zagne11]

That's great! That's just probably post-op swelling. Keep me posted until she recovered!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Do you think it would be okay if I wait until Monday? Since my vet is close on the weekends, my cat is still eating and acting normal, and the swelling looks pretty much the same not bigger or smaller

I will try to put her in my walking closet, I just checked her stomach again and it looks like the swelling it going down! Thank God, again thank you so much for your reply and your advice

Sorry I couldn't get back to you before now. I have a "no online on Sundays" policy after I realized that I was spending in excess of 35 hours a week on the computer, and yesterday I was down with a tummy virus!

Is she continuing to do better?

 

[Lilahbear]

Sorry I couldn't get back to you before now. I have a "no online on Sundays" policy after I realized that I was spending in excess of 35 hours a week on the computer, and yesterday I was down with a tummy virus!

Is she continuing to do better?

It’s okay! She’s is doing great I called her vet and emailed her the pictures and she said it was normal and that it’s just because she was being too active and probably cause she was licking her incision so just to be safe I got her a cone for her to wear this week and it already looks so much better

 

[Lilahbear]

Sorry I couldn't get back to you before now. I have a "no online on Sundays" policy after I realized that I was spending in excess of 35 hours a week on the computer, and yesterday I was down with a tummy virus!

Is she continuing to do better?

Hope you’re feeling better as well!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I'm feeling everso much better now, and am THRILLED that your cat is improving (what is her name?)!

 

[Lilahbear]

I'm feeling everso much better now, and am THRILLED that your cat is improving (what is her name?)!

That’s good I’m glad you’re better, her name is Lilah

 

[Mamanyt1953]

If you haven't done it yet, click on this link New Cats on the Block and introduce yourself and Lilah to the community. We'd love pictures, too!

 

[tinydestroyer]

So glad to hear your Lilah is doing better! Someone linked me to this thread after I posted about the same thing after a spay, and I'm relieved to hear I'm not alone!

 

[Lilahbear]

So glad to hear your Lilah is doing better! Someone linked me to this thread after I posted about the same thing after a spay, and I'm relieved to hear I'm not alone!

I’m glad I could help you get some peace! I was sure going insane worrying if it was normal! So this is what I did:
I made sure to check her incision about 2 times a day and I took pictures to compare
I emailed the pictures to her vet and she told me that they looked fine and that it was probably caused by being way too active and licking her incision, so I bought her a cone (because she had not been wearing one) and after that everything went way better! She was not really being active with her cone on (I guess she was uncomfortable) but yeah the swelling went down and also the redness! I hope your cat recovers fast and don’t be afraid to email/call the vet! I sure called her like 5 times lol

 

[tinydestroyer]

That makes me feel so much better. I have really felt crazy the past couple days! I took her back in today, so the vet saw that it wasn't a hernia. That's a great idea about the pictures, though. I will take pics as I check so I can compare the growth, too. Mine was wearing a cone the whole time, but I think that actually contributed to this seroma thing, since she was thrashing around trying to remove it the first night. Either that or she didn't like the anasthesia. She also calmed down once she realized she can't remove it, and it hinders her jumping in general. I will definitely call if I'm unsure about anything now, though, and I don't feel like such a psycho pet parent! Thanks for the well wishes, and for sharing your story!