Uneasy about leaving cat at vet for a week Advice needed

[daones]

Hello all,

I would tell the whole story but i think people will be lazy to read all of it... but ill go over the first week briefly.

We recently got our 8 month old cat spayed, things went normal for the most part except the first day we brought her home which is expected from the medicine.

At our one week checkup and that time they planned to remove exterior stitches the vet said her internal closings had a hole i guess that means something went wrong somewhere and she said all the could do is have to redo the stiches inside... which meant more surgery. She suggested this time to keep her at the vet a week to ensure she healed properly.

All i know is when we brought her home the first time maybe we werent strict enough in her activities, the first 2 days there was no need to use a collar because she was still hurting and basically sat in the same areas... after that we used a collar most of the time except eating and during sleeping ( i was able to watch her at night since i sleep daytime). Although we caught her a few times jumping on the sofa and table maybe that was the problem.

Well anyway she had the other surgery yesterday its been about 24 hours, but i am not thrilled of the idea of keeping her at a vet for a week. She isnt the type of cat who likes attention or new people she scared even if someone new comes in the house she will go hiding under the covers (literally). Adding to her stress level keeping her at the clinic im not sure its a good idea.

I talked to the vet today, the one at the holding place for the animals (basically a pet hospital) and he said he understood my points but at the same time the vet who did the surgery thought it was best to keep her there a week to make sure the same problem didnt occur. I went to visit her today and she had a cut on her head when i asked about it they said it was there already when she arrived... that also makes me wonder.

So anyway do you guys think its necessary to keep her there a week? if we had her at home should we keep her in a cage? at least she would be around people she knows and similar surroundings.

 

[vball91]

Hmm, tough call. I would certainly ask the vet if keeping her at home in a cage would suffice. I guess the question is are they doing any special monitoring to verify that she's healing well? If they are only keeping her there to ensure that she doesn't move around much, then I don't see why you couldn't do that at home. Sending healing vibes your way.

 

[tulosai]

Hmm, tough call. I would certainly ask the vet if keeping her at home in a cage would suffice. I guess the question is are they doing any special monitoring to verify that she's healing well? If they are only keeping her there to ensure that she doesn't move around much, then I don't see why you couldn't do that at home. Sending healing vibes your way.

I agree.  Clarify with the vet exactly why they think it would be advisable to keep her there and ask if there is any way for you to replicate that at home.  If it is for monitoring ask if a whole week is really necessary and if you could take her home after 2-4 days and keep her 'contained' so to speak there.

If you trust your vet, and he/she is firm that they truly think that it is best for her to be there for some specific reason, I would do it.  Given what's happened already I'd feel it's better to be safe than sorry.  If you get the sense they are just scraping for more money or that the reasons they want to do this could be handled just as effectively from home, I'd go that route instead.

 

[catspaw66]

I know how hard it is to let your cat be at the vet for a week. When Silly had her eye removed, after the second time she slipped her e-collar and messed with the stitches, my vet kept her for a week. They would tell me every couple of days what was going on with her, but I was so bummed that my Tilly Twit was not beside me. After the week was up, I went to get her, and the change was amazing. She was healing properly, had no e-collar on, and seemed to not be scared.

This is a cat that hides under the bed when anybody comes over, even my cat-sitter.

So, like everyone said, carefully weigh the benefits against your anxiety and that of your cat.

 

[daones]

Thanks for the replies guys, that was my initial thoughts as well... Keeping her there maybe 4 days then taking her home the only thing is my girlfriend seems to want to keep her there a week just to be sure and if problems did arise similar to the first time they couldnt put the blame on us. My only concern is her health, and if she is being taken care of properly... especially after seeing that knick on her head. We might just keep her there the full week which is just 6 days from now anyway but things could change... we are going to checkup on her again on sunday.

Catspaw: thats good to hear your cat returned to normal after coming home, thats my concern as well im hoping "sticker" (my cats name) will not be traumatized from all this extra stress.

 

[daones]

Just an update on this thread, we went today to visit sticker she looked to be doing okay and wasnt as scared as the first time. Her hair seemed to be coming out easier but I guess that expected from not cleaning since they have the cone on her. The vet said she is healing good and the incision area is starting to dry up already. This problem is turning into an argument between me and my girlfriend and she is really angry with me now.

Originally the vet who did the surgery told us 7 days to keep her at the hospital on the first day, so we went with that option but today another vet was there and we asked her will they be transporting sticker back to the original vet for us to pick up and when. She said after 10 days, so I dont understand how 7 days turned into 10 days this is why I like to talk with the same vet. Now my girlfriend wants to take her advice and keep her there 10 days so no other problems arise. 10 days to keep a cat at the vet for a spay? I think 7 is sufficient and if needed an additional week with the cone at home.

I guess my girlfriend does not trust herself to take her home since the original surgery her stitches came undone, she is overthinking it... I mean if we have a cone on her at home, my girlfriend is scared she will walk too much... From what I read a week after being spayed limited walking should not be an issue. 

 

[catspaw66]

10 days does seem like a long time. You said the original stitches came undone. How many days ago was that?  Did you ask the vet today the specific reason why another 3 days?

 

[daones]

She did the second surgery to close with the new stitches on Tuesday so its been just around 4 days. It seems her quote of 10 days was referring to the normal time to get the stitches removed so it was not really a suggestion (keep in mind there is a language barrier). We will be calling the original vet tomorrow to see what she says. My only worry is keeping sticker in confinement for 10 days im hoping it wont have her stressed out too much.

 

[daones]

I have some good news, we got sticker home today from the vet. They said so far there wasnt any problems. We have to take her back in 3 days to get the stitches taken out which will be the 10 day mark im really hoping there is no problems this time, since this is the second time and she was at the vet a week i dont think there will be.

She is happy to be back home, we are keeping her in the bathroom until we get the stitches taken out and keeping the cone on her. Everytime we go in the bathroom she purrs so thats probably a sign she is happy to be back home. And she isnt giving us much problem being stuck in the bathroom like she used to do.

One question though once we take out the stitches do we need to keep limiting her activity (i.e. using the cone) how long until its safe to return to her normal activity?

 

[catspaw66]

Yay

Your baby is home. I will bet she is so happy to be there.  I would say a few days after the stitches come out, she should be safe to take the cone off. Your vet should tell you how long to keep it on. Better safe than having her injure herself.

 

[daones]

Thanks, I will try to upload some photos of her while shes still in the cone .

 

[tulosai]

Yay

Your baby is home. I will bet she is so happy to be there.  I would say a few days after the stitches come out, she should be safe to take the cone off. Your vet should tell you how long to keep it on. Better safe than having her injure herself.