Care Before and After Surgery

Before Surgery

• You must have an appointment. Making your appointment online is the fastest and best way.
• Cats should receive no food after 9 p.m. the night before surgery. Water all night is OK. 
• Keep pets inside the night before their appointment so we can be certain they will not find anything to eat.
• Cats must be in individual carriers
• Payment is due upon check-in. We accept cash, credit, and debit cards. 
• We open our doors at 7:00 a.m. to begin filling out paperwork and take your place in line.
• For the safety of your pet and staff, all call cats must be in a carrier. If you do not have a carrier, SNYP can provide you with one at a nominal cost.

After Surgery

• Keep your pet inside and restrict activity for 10 days. This allows tissue time to heal and avoids the incision from opening up.
• Do not allow licking of incision site! If licking, please place a protective cone or collar on the cat for 7 days to prevent complications. You can purchase a collar here or at a pet store.  
• It is extremely important to limit the activity of females because they’ve just had abdominal surgery.
• The incision of female cats is sealed with surgical glue to help protect it against infection. If that glue gets wet, it can dissolve too quickly – this means no licking, bathing, or swimming for ten days.
• Females should be kept separate from males during their recovery time, as mounting could cause the patient harm.
• If you have a female cat, her ovaries were removed. Her incision is located on her belly. If you have a male cat, his testicles were removed. His incision will be located directly on the scrotum.
• When you take your pet home, look at the incision site. What you see today is what we consider normal.
• Check the incision site at least once a day to check for signs of infection. Check for excessive redness, swelling, and discharge. There may be a SMALL amount of bruising, redness, or swelling as your pet heals.
• The incision will heal more quickly if they are kept quiet with limited activity.
• All of the sutures we use are internal, so no suture removal is needed unless indicated on your paperwork.
• Do not change your pet’s diet or give special treats for a few days. There will still be anesthesia in their system and you do not want to cause them an upset stomach.
• You may feed them their regular diet. Your pet will be ready for food when you get home, but you should feed a smaller meal than normal.
• If there are signs of swelling, discharge, redness, or opening of the incision site, please contact us during business hours at 541-858-3325.  You may also take pictures of the site and email them with a message to clinic@spayneuter.org, or you may contact your primary care veterinarian.