My cat refuses to eat after spaying

[yvnairus]

Hello everybody.
My cat had her spay nearly 2 days ago. We took her back yesterday morning and she is refusing to eat still. This is my first time with a female cat and I'm quite worried about her. She is just laying or sitting nervously and turning her head when I try to feed her. I was only able to give her a little water with the help of a syringe and made her lick her vitamin paste a tiny bit. She has a cone on her neck and seems to hate it. The first day she tried to drink water with it but couldn't. Also she urinated only once since she got home and had a hard time with it. The vet says that I should never take off the cone. She is still laying depressively and I don't know if it is normal. It looks like moving still hurts since she is not moving much. I don't want to traumatize her more so I'm not sure if I should take her to vet again. Does anyone have any advice for feeding? Is this a normal situation, am I worrying too much?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Norachan]

Hi Y yvnairus

No, that's normal. Cats shouldn't go for as long as that without food or using her litter box.

It's OK to take the cone off. None of my male or female cats ever had a cone when they were neutered or spayed. Some vets put them on cats if they worry the cat will lick the incision site, but with your cat the not eating or drinking is far more serious than her licking her spay scar.

Can you take the cone off and see if that makes any difference?

If she won't eat or drink on her own keep giving her water with a syringe. You can use a syringe for feeding too. You need a soft food like liquid treats or paste. If you can get it Hills A/D Urgent Care is perfect for syringe feeding.

Hill's PRESCRIPTION DIET a/d with Chicken Wet Dog/Cat Food

What did the vet say or do when you took her back yesterday?

 

[silent meowlook]

Did they give you any medication for pain to give her? A cat spay is the equivalent of a woman having a full hysterectomy. Pain meds are definitely needed.

 

[stephanietx]

She may be freaked out by the cone. I would take it off and just monitor her licking. Depending on her age and size, you can use a baby onesie or even the elastic top of a tube sock around her belly if she licks her incision too much. Offer her plain meat baby food (chicken or turkey) or Fancy Feast pate (originals). Those seem to do the trick to get them to eat.

 

[Renne]

She sounds depressed by the cone and the general situation. I'd take it off and observe her. When my cat was sterilized she didn't have a cone but she wore a 'cat jacket' (I'm not sure how it's called): every time when I took it off to change her into another one, she suddenly transformed into a happy playful cat as if by magic! Until I put her into another one... It's worth taking the cone off even just to see how your cat behaves without it. If there's no change at all, she needs to see a vet for sure. If there is, let her roam free for a while and maybe eat on her own if she feels so inclined. It's worth it to ask your vet for a 'cat jacket' instead of the cone, her reaction to it will likely not be as severe.

Refusing to eat is a big problem, cats' digestive tracts are short, and their health can't tolerate not eating for a long time. She needs to eat, otherwise you might have a stomach health issue on your hands later.

Can you call your vet? I called the vet clinic to talk to mine instead of taking the cat to the clinic, and that was helpful.

Painkillers would certainly help, too, but on the third day... I'm not so sure. If she was in pain then the worst should be over by now. Please don't give her human painkillers, by the way, it's dangerous. Cats have their own.

 

[yvnairus]

Hi, dear Norachan S silent meowlook stephanietx and Renne . Thank you all for your kind responses. I read every single of them and you helped me a lot! I took her to vet after that day. They said that my cat is of a small and delicate type (and probably didn't drink enough breast milk imo), so she had a hard time after the surgery. (I made them run a blood test before the surgery btw but they said she is ok to go.) They gave her a 3-day course of iv drip and painkillers. Now her energy has improved a bit, although she is still not very active, but much better than before. Her appetite hasn't fully came back, but at least she is eating a little bit on her own. Taking your suggestions into consideration, I will do my best to feed her. Also, yes, turns out she really hated the cone! Now I take it out when I'm with her.