What is spaying?
Spaying is an ovario-hysterectomy surgery. This involves surgical removal (-ectomy) of the ovaries (ovario-) and the uterus (hyster-), as a sterile procedure. The surgery is only performed by a licensed, experienced veterinary surgeon. This is exactly the same surgery as would be done on a person, under very similar surgical conditions and anesthetic.
Should I have my cat spayed?
We recommend spaying all female pets who are not going to be used for breeding or showing, as an important part of basic preventive health care.
This decision is made easier knowing the benefits that you are making for your pet’s future health.
What are the advantages of spaying my female cat?
- Prevention of heat or estrus. During “heat” she may display unusual behaviour such as loud and persistent crying and frequent rubbing and rolling on the floor.
- When in heat the female experiences an urge to escape in order to find a mate. This urge is eliminated – thereby reducing roaming and keeping your pet safer.
- The prevention of breast cancer. A female cat spayed before her first heat cycle (about 6 months of age) will be less likely to develop mammary cancer when compared to an unspayed cat. The majority of cats who develop breast cancer have not been spayed and over 80% of their tumors are malignant.
- The prevention of disease exposure, severe infections and abscesses. While looking for a mate your pet will come into contact with other cats. Cat bites can transmit diseases causing AIDS-like syndromes and Feline Leukemia Virus.
- Elimination of the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer.
- No risk of pregnancy thereby preventing unwanted litters and the needless deaths of kittens and cats.
Are there any disadvantages?
Most of the perceived disadvantages are false. The most common misconception is that the cat will become fat or characterless.
Obesity is probably the most common myth of spaying, and is the result of overfeeding a cat at the time of her life when she needs less, not more food. Spayed pets usually eat about the same amount of food that they ate before surgery, but they tend to expend a little less energy because spaying reduces sexual interest and roaming. When this happens, some pets may have a tendency to gain weight. You should always monitor your pet’s weight and, if necessary, adjust the amount of food being fed. Proper nutrition is always important.
There is no scientific evidence that letting your cat have kittens will have any calming psychological effects or make her a better pet. Spaying doesn’t cause a change in personality, intelligence, playfulness or affection.
When should the operation be performed?
The surgery should ideally be performed just before the first heat cycle. We recommend spaying at six months of age.
Are there any dangers associated with the operation?
Ovariohysterectomy is a major abdominal surgery, requiring general anesthesia and performed by an experienced veterinary surgeon using high quality materials under sterile conditions. With our modern anesthetics, blood pressure monitoring, the standard use of intra-operative intravenous fluids, and our experienced monitoring staff, the risk of anesthetic complication is exceedingly low.
Before surgery, your pet will be given a physical examination. Pre-anesthetic blood testing is performed to assess your pet’s internal organ function, in order to design a safe anesthetic regimen specifically for your pet. Regardless of your pet’s age or health status, we will work with you to do everything possible to keep your pet safe and comfortable.
What happens during the surgery?
The anesthetized patient, lying on her back, is shaved around the surgical site, and the skin is prepped with sterile solutions for surgery.
The procedure involves making a small incision just below the umbilicus and surgically removing the ovaries and uterus. There are sterile dissolvable sutures at the incision sites internally, as well as holding the abdomen muscle layers together. The same suture material holds the inner layer of the skin together, then skin sutures are placed. These are removed in about 10 days. The patient recovers from anesthetic in about 5 minutes, is sitting up in about 15 minutes, and walking within an hour.
Analgesics (pain medications) are administered before, during and after surgery, to provide a comfortable recovery. Our highly experienced operating room nurses are with your pet during the full recovery period to ensure that no problems can arise.
Are there any post-operative precautions I should take?
When you get home, offer only small amounts of food and water at a time for the first night. Normal feeding can be resumed over the next day or two.
Rest and restricted activity are the primary post-operative care you should provide for the first week or two. Most cats can resume normal activity about a week after surgery. Until then, keep her indoors, limit stair climbing, and make sure she gets lots of rest.
Your cat’s incision needs to be checked daily and the tiny skin sutures will need to be removed at your follow-up visit. The emergency clinic is open all night, and all day on weekends and holidays, should unexpected problems arise. Everything will be carefully explained to you after your pet’s surgery.
Please give no home medications without approval from our veterinarian since drugs such as Tylenol, Advil and Aspirin are toxic to cats. If your pet seems uncomfortable, call us, as additional pain medication is available if needed.
Almost 100% of the time, patients recover “too quickly”, and keeping your cat quiet is the toughest job of all!
