pyometra in breeding cats

ameezers

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Have any breeders had this happen to one of your girls? If you have, how did your she recover? Were there any additional complications? Was it opened or closed pyometra?

One of my girls is currently at the emergency vet awaiting surgery for open pyometra. The surgery was supposed to be done between 3 am and 4 am this morning but I guess they had a few animals come in that were critical, so it kept getting pushed back. Now it will be done some time today but they wouldn't give me an exact time... the waiting and not knowing is especially frustrating.
 

lutece

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I have never had a cat with a closed pyometra. I have had cats with open pyometra several times, and other breeder friends have also dealt with this many times.

In a few cases, I chose the option to treat the pyometra with Lutalyse and antibiotics, rather than spay. I found the Lutalyse treatment to be a grueling process for both me and the cat, and even after the treatment was successful, one of these cats developed pyometra again the next time she was bred.

In the other cases I went ahead with emergency spay. All cats did very well after the spay. I feel spaying is a better option as long as the individual cat is not absolutely essential to the breed's gene pool. If your cat is being spayed, I know it is a worrisome situation (cats are often very sick when they have pyometra!) but try not to worry -- they typically do well after the spay.
 
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ameezers

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How long from the time you saw symptoms to when they were spayed roughly?

She started having discharge on the 6th, i brought her into my vet they ran some tests and determined that she had an infection but that it wasn't pyo. They sent her home with antibiotics for 10 days. The discharge stopped after a few days (it was always creamy/white with no smell). She wasn't overly hungry, but would eat a little, i just thought that the antibiotics were causing her stomach upset. She seemed to be better over the last few days and every day eating a little more, so I thought the antibiotics were working. Then around 5:30 last night I noticed a significant amount of green/yellow discharge coming from her that smelled really bad, which is why I immediately brought her to the emergency vet

I was under the impression that this was a medical emergency that needed to be dealt with immediately (which is why I brought her to the emergency vet rather than waiting for my vet to open on Monday) but I still haven't received a call from them saying that she was being brought into surgery.
 

lutece

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I normally get an ultrasound immediately if there is suspicious vaginal discharge. However one cat was not at my house and it took a while before the person caring for her figured out what was going on. Maybe 4-5 days of pyo-like discharge for her before she was seen by a vet. She was ok after her spay.

It sounds like the first discharge you noticed might have been a vaginal infection of some sort. When I have seen pyo the discharge was more like the stinky yellow green that you describe.
 

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Also, you did the right thing to bring her to the emergency vet. Emergency surgery is not as time critical with an open pyo as closed pyo, but you still want to do it ASAP and by bringing her to the emergency vet she can definitely get it sooner (and they can also monitor her condition continuously until her surgery). With my girl who went for a few days before getting spayed, we did rush her to the emergency vet as soon as we figured out what was going on. Try not to worry, the emergency vet is the appropriate place for her and she has an excellent chance of full recovery.
 
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ameezers

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I was absolutely sure I was doing the right thing bringing her to the emergency vet, but when the surgery wasn't done when it was initially said it would be and still hasn't been; my partner started questioning whether it could wait until Monday for the fraction of the price.
I personally don't care what the cost is as long as she is okay, but he had me doubting my choice as I am one of those people that tend to excessively worry about things.
I definitely appreciate your back up that I did do the right thing! Thank you so much for taking the time to reply 💕
 

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I understand, I always second guess myself in these situations too. She is definitely getting care quicker this way, even if it takes them a while to get her to surgery. Even if you had waited until your regular vet was open, they still might have sent you to the emergency clinic (at emergency prices) because it can be hard to fit in an emergency surgery at the regular vet office. That is what has happened to me when I have gone to my regular vet with an emergency situation that required surgery... I ended up having to go to the emergency hospital anyway.
 
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ameezers

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That's true too, just because my vet will be open doesn't necessarily mean they will be able to help her/get her in. And then she might be in an even worse situation because we waited. Definitely made me feel a lot better thank you.
 

Whenallhellbreakslose

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Have any breeders had this happen to one of your girls? If you have, how did your she recover? Were there any additional complications? Was it opened or closed pyometra?

One of my girls is currently at the emergency vet awaiting surgery for open pyometra. The surgery was supposed to be done between 3 am and 4 am this morning but I guess they had a few animals come in that were critical, so it kept getting pushed back. Now it will be done some time today but they wouldn't give me an exact time... the waiting and not knowing is especially frustrating.
Sorry, I am not a breeder. I had a cat dumped on my family who was a senior of 13 years old. This cat was never spayed. We were told by a vet that she is too old for spay surgery (too many risks). The cat went into a few heat cycles and was driving us crazy. Then some time later she was peeing alot and had vaginal discharge, she was constantly going to the litter box. Her belly was very swollen. We initially thought she had a very bad U.I., but it became clear after awhile it wasn't that. We made an emergency vet appt and was told the cat had Pyometa. Her uterus was infected and had filled up with pus. She had to get emergency spay surgery as this condition is life threatening. She stayed at the vets office for 2 to 3 days for observation (part of this was due to her age). They wanted to see that she wasn't suffering from any complications. She was on a lot of antibiotics. I can't remember what other meds she was on as this was quite a while ago. My cat pulled through, and did not suffer any setbacks. The surgery and after care was a success and this kitty lived to the ripe old age if 19.

Here us an article on Pyometra hope it helps answer your questions.🙂
Payometra (Uterus Infection) in Cats
https://www.petplace.com/article/cats/pet-health/pyometra-uterus-infection-in-cats/
 
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ameezers

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She was spayed 6 pm Saturday evening and we were able to pick her up yesterday afternoon. I am so so happy that she is home and is doing well. (Although she's not super happy about being a cone head lol)

Thank you so much lutece lutece for all your help, I was still a complete wreck until we picked her up
but it would have been far worse without you!
 
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