I got my 5 month old kitten spayed today, I got her home at 3 pm. It's now 6:15 pm and she's still very out of it. What worries me the most is that she can't seem to move her hind legs, is this normal after surgery? It's been 3 hours, how long does it usually take for cats to heal after getting spayed? How long does it take for the anesthesia to leave the body? I'm worried there is something wrong. I could really use some advice.
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Kitten Can't Move Hind Legs After Spaying
- Thread starter nalaragdoll
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It might be a reaction to the anesthesia. Can you call your vet to see if they have any advice or think she needs to be brought back to the clinic to be checked on?
She should be back to normal by tomorrow morning. Many vets keep them overnight so the owner doesn't have to deal with the anesthetic recovery. They can act very weird while under the influence of anesthetic. I'd give her until morning, if she isn't up and moving, and drinking water, definitely give the vet a call. She may be slightly groggy tomorrow and may still not be hungry, but she should be acting fairly normally.
You should have seen me after my broken wrist was repaired surgically - the arm was totally paralyzed, I was having random pain and prickles in the arm in places where the arm wasn't, and the arm was so hot that if it had been my whole body I would have needed immediate hospitalization to bring the fever down before it caused brain and organ damage.
Not the same thing at all, I know, because that wasn't general anesthesia but rather a nerve block and some kind of conscious sedation (though I don't remember being conscious during the surgery
), but these drugs can really take time to wear off. After my gall bladder was removed, before laparoscopic surgery was available, it was something like two or three days before I could focus my eyes well enough to read or even watch television comfortably. Annoying? Better believe it! Worrisome? Not at all.
Margret
Not the same thing at all, I know, because that wasn't general anesthesia but rather a nerve block and some kind of conscious sedation (though I don't remember being conscious during the surgery
), but these drugs can really take time to wear off. After my gall bladder was removed, before laparoscopic surgery was available, it was something like two or three days before I could focus my eyes well enough to read or even watch television comfortably. Annoying? Better believe it! Worrisome? Not at all.Margret
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If she is not significantly improved by tomorrow morning, call your vet. Cats can have all sorts of reactions to anesthesia that are perfectly normal. Hekitty was kept at the vet overnight because she couldn't stand up for several hours after surgery, and the vet's office is very aware that I use a walker.
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Thank you, I called the vet. She just said it could take a while for the anesthesia to wear off.
Thanks, I'm very worried about her. The weird thing is she's both eating and drinking water, she literally dragged her feet to the food and water bowls. She also somehow managed to use the litter box, also by dragging her feet. It was a struggle though.
She did have laparoscopic surgery, that's why this is so weird. I thought laparoscopic surgery was supposed to be better, less invasive, with a shorter healing time. I guess not. I'll give her until tomorrow morning, if she's not better I'm calling the vet again.You should have seen me after my broken wrist was repaired surgically - the arm was totally paralyzed, I was having random pain and prickles in the arm in places where the arm wasn't, and the arm was so hot that if it had been my whole body I would have needed immediate hospitalization to bring the fever down before it caused brain and organ damage.
Not the same thing at all, I know, because that wasn't general anesthesia but rather a nerve block and some kind of conscious sedation (though I don't remember being conscious during the surgery
Margret
Thanks, I will call the vet again tomorrow if she's not better. I was expecting her to be better by now. I'm worried because it's been almost 9 hours since I picked her up and there's still no sign of her getting better
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If she is not significantly better tomorrow i would run her back in to the vet. some do take longer to come out from under the anesthesia. Do keep us updated! I have found that with my vets office the girls that answer the phone are not the best to talk to. so frankly i just make an appointment and go on in. The vet is best. 
Just because it was laparoscopic doesn't mean it wasn't done under general anesthesia, which is the issue here. I only mentioned the fact that my surgery wasn't laparoscopic to give you some idea of how long ago it was; anesthetics may have changed since then, but they still do pretty much the same thing they've always done.
The fact that it was laparoscopic means that the incision is smaller, which is nice for long-term healing, but it probably doesn't mean that the surgery was any faster, which is the thing that might result in less anesthesia being used.
Margret
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It's the next day and she's still not using her hind legs. I was actually planning on going back to work today (took the day off yesterday), but I just let my boss know that I have to take another day off. Everyone I've spoken to said it was enough with one day off work, if I had known it would be this bad I would have taken the whole week off and used some of my vacation days. Anyways, I'm gonna call the vet as soon as they open.
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I took her to the vet today. The vet took the body suit off and she literally ran around the room! I think it was hindering her movement. Glad to know she's ok. She is eating well and seems to be back to her old self. I have learned my lesson though, I won't use a body suit again. If she ever has to get surgery again I'll demand a cone instead.
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I am glad this is all it was. My little white cat, we tried a body suit with her too. she would not walk. she would take 1 step and flop over. I didn't realize your girl was in one. Mine did ok with the cone too. 
LOL, that's so funny! Poor girl, just like a cat who flops while wearing a harness . Well, glad it was that easy to fix. Hope the rest of her recovery goes just as well! 
. Well, glad it was that easy to fix. Hope the rest of her recovery goes just as well!
Little stinker! MAN, she had her mama worried! MOST cats actually do better with the body suites (I've know a few who really liked the ones made from an old sock), but evidently your kitten is NOT "most cats." As my dad often said, "Who knows from cats?"
Reading this thread for the first time, from the beginning, just now--my heart was beating hard and I was really scared for your kitty. So happy for today's update, nalaragdoll.
