posted 12-03-2003 01:45 AM         

She will be gone for 2 days (which will be so tough! I wanna get in the cage with her!).
1. Will she resent us for it? I've heard of cats getting very vindictive afterwards.
2. How long does it take to heal?
3. Will she be in any pain when she gets home?
4. Will her attitude towards things change?
5. Will she till go into 'heat' every now and then?
6. Are there any dangers/complications that can arise from getting spayed?

I know I can ask the vet this, but I wanna hear it from people with hands on experience/living 'conditions' afterwards w/ the spayed/neutered animals.
Thanks in advance!

posted 12-03-2003 07:50 AM         

Wow 2 days is a long time, I usually get to take mine home that night. Im sure you will miss her, but she will be much happier and much healthier because of it.

1. Ive never had a cat resent me for spaying them. When she gets home she will be groggy and tired. Just remind her how much you love her with lots of praise.

2. It generally takes 7-10 days for them to completely heal.

3. She will be in slight pain, it is an operation. However it will not be agonizing. The vet will tell you to keep her quite for the next 24 hours. Ive had kittens come home and try to bounce off the walls after spaying. Animals have a higher pain tolerance than humans do. Sometimes its hard to tell if they are in pain because they mask it so well.

4. Her attitude will change towards mating because she will no longer have the hormones giving her the urge. Otherwise her personality should stay the same. Spaying and nuetering sometimes can help with aggression problems associated with mating.

5. A spay is a complete removal of the uterus and sometimes ovaries, she will no longer be able to go into heat.

6. With every surgery there is always a danger of complications. To be 100% on the safe side you can always have your vet run some presurgical blood work.
I have had 187 cats spayed/nuetered this year and only had a problem with 1 kitten who stroked during surgery. She had transitional blindness and deafness however, she is getting better! She is starting to see shapes and is very reactive to light. One of the problems is that the owner who adopted the kitty opted for a declaw as well. The vet said that he has seen this reaction in declaws more often than in spays. Unfortunatly after the owners rendered her defenseless they decided that she was no longer the kitty that they desired and returned her back into rescue.

posted 12-03-2003 08:31 AM         

Also, i think its horrible what happened to the kitten maydaysmom talked about. I dont care what disabilities a cat or kitten has, once you adopt them they are your responsibility and in my eyes family. I see no point in declawing a cat then saying well shes not good enough anymore... its a shame.

posted 12-03-2003 04:02 PM         

Arnie I got to take home the same day, and he acted like nothing happen. He was VERY happy to see me, and did nothing but 'grunt' and purr all night long! He ate like a pig, because he was hungry (they have to fast 10-12 hours before the surgery). They kept Abby overnight for observation. (they usually do this with all females, because they have to cut directly into the belly, and the vets like to watch afterwards) I picked Abby up around 12 noon the next day, and she too was acting fine, she had an incision about 1 1/2 inches on her belly, and she was licking it once in a while, but that was it. Neither one of them needed pain meds, but I know they kept Abby a little more sedidated after the surgery.