Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, I'm new to this site.
I got my two cats neutered today. Their names are Smokey and Blackie, they are brothers and they have never been apart since they were found together as kittens. They just recently turned two years old and are in great health. I would have liked to have the procedure done at their regular vet but there was just no way I could afford their rates, so I opted for a local animal shelter. Apparently they don't have a veterinarian on staff but one comes in once or twice a week to perform operations like this.
I dropped them off at the clinic at 9:00 a.m. and was instructed to pick them up at 3:00 p.m. When I got them back, the lady told me that everything had gone fine and I was just to give them each one tablet of Onsior per day for the next three days and make sure they wore their e-collars. I got them home and let them out of their carriers and Blackie almost immediately started licking his incisions. I quickly struggled with him to get his collar on, which took about five minutes. Once it was on I turned around to put Smokey's on only to find that he had apparently been licking his own incisions most of the time. They both have their collars on now but I'm worried that Smokey may have opened one of his incisions in the 5-10 minutes he was uncollared. The clinic's take-home instructions call them "absorbable sutures." I don't know if that means they used stitches or an adhesive or what, but each side of Blackie's scrotum and one side of Smokey's has a small point of red surrounded by a shaved area of pink skin, which I assume is just what the normal incision looks like. On the other side of Smokey's, however, I can't see the skin at all, there is just a round spot of red, larger than the spot on the other side. He doesn't seem to be bleeding but the spot looks like it might be dried blood and there appears to be a small amount of blood in the fur around the area.
I called the clinic and got no response, and the vet who did the operation won't be back until next week anyway, so I called my regular vet and the receptionist told me that as long as there isn't pus or blood actively flowing out I shouldn't be alarmed. I still can't help worrying though, especially as Blackie is acting like his normal cheerful self and Smokey is remaining mostly stationary, huddled up on the floor staring at the carpet, although that may be due to the anaesthesia or his discomfort from the collar. Do you think I should take the vet at their word and just keep an eye on him for a few days to see if the incision gets any worse, or should I seek another opinion?
I tried to take some pictures of the site, they're not very good because they're focused on such a small area, but you can kind of see the contrast in the appearance between the two incisions. Does this look normal for a few hours after a neuter?
If I have to take him to the vet and get him stitched up again of course I will, I just don't know how I'll be able to afford it so anyone has any advice I'd be extremely grateful.
I got my two cats neutered today. Their names are Smokey and Blackie, they are brothers and they have never been apart since they were found together as kittens. They just recently turned two years old and are in great health. I would have liked to have the procedure done at their regular vet but there was just no way I could afford their rates, so I opted for a local animal shelter. Apparently they don't have a veterinarian on staff but one comes in once or twice a week to perform operations like this.
I dropped them off at the clinic at 9:00 a.m. and was instructed to pick them up at 3:00 p.m. When I got them back, the lady told me that everything had gone fine and I was just to give them each one tablet of Onsior per day for the next three days and make sure they wore their e-collars. I got them home and let them out of their carriers and Blackie almost immediately started licking his incisions. I quickly struggled with him to get his collar on, which took about five minutes. Once it was on I turned around to put Smokey's on only to find that he had apparently been licking his own incisions most of the time. They both have their collars on now but I'm worried that Smokey may have opened one of his incisions in the 5-10 minutes he was uncollared. The clinic's take-home instructions call them "absorbable sutures." I don't know if that means they used stitches or an adhesive or what, but each side of Blackie's scrotum and one side of Smokey's has a small point of red surrounded by a shaved area of pink skin, which I assume is just what the normal incision looks like. On the other side of Smokey's, however, I can't see the skin at all, there is just a round spot of red, larger than the spot on the other side. He doesn't seem to be bleeding but the spot looks like it might be dried blood and there appears to be a small amount of blood in the fur around the area.
I called the clinic and got no response, and the vet who did the operation won't be back until next week anyway, so I called my regular vet and the receptionist told me that as long as there isn't pus or blood actively flowing out I shouldn't be alarmed. I still can't help worrying though, especially as Blackie is acting like his normal cheerful self and Smokey is remaining mostly stationary, huddled up on the floor staring at the carpet, although that may be due to the anaesthesia or his discomfort from the collar. Do you think I should take the vet at their word and just keep an eye on him for a few days to see if the incision gets any worse, or should I seek another opinion?
I tried to take some pictures of the site, they're not very good because they're focused on such a small area, but you can kind of see the contrast in the appearance between the two incisions. Does this look normal for a few hours after a neuter?
If I have to take him to the vet and get him stitched up again of course I will, I just don't know how I'll be able to afford it so anyone has any advice I'd be extremely grateful.
