Desexing
Your pet has been desexed, which involved surgery in a very sensitive area and therefore needs care for sometime after the event. Unfortunately animals do not always understand that they need your assistance for their recovery.
Immediately After
When you pick your pet up from our hospital, they may be a little drowsy. This is quite normal following surgery. The drowsiness should reduce over the next 12 – 24 hours, and you shouldn't expect them to be completely normal for a few days. Keep them in a quiet, warm place and give only small amounts to eat and drink.
Take care
Most animals have recovered fully within a few days. Unfortunately this does have some disadvantages in that they may start jumping, running around and generally trying to do everything that they normally would, and this can upset the surgery and/or sutures. It is critical that they are kept as quiet as possible for at least 4 days, or until the sutures are removed, ideally in a laundry/bathroom or somewhere they cannot run and jump and injure themselves. Take them outside on the lead to go to the toilet, then bring them back inside after.
Sutures
The sutures are removed ten days after the surgery, and it is extremely important that you keep a close eye on them to make sure your pet isn't licking or chewing at them. If they are paying attention to them, we have plastic elizabethan collars here which you can put on them, or you can make one at home yourself by cutting the bottom out of a plastic plant pot or bucket, drilling a few holes around the bottom and tying it to their collar, making sure you can get it over their head but they can't get it back off themselves.
Problems
Generally there are very few complications after the operation, however, there are some signs to watch for that may indicate a problem:
- Dull and listless (especially after the first 24 hours)
- Excessive redness or irritation around the suture line
- Swelling or lumpiness around the sutures
Your pet has been desexed, which involved surgery in a very sensitive area and therefore needs care for sometime after the event. Unfortunately animals do not always understand that they need your assistance for their recovery.
Immediately After
When you pick your pet up from our hospital, they may be a little drowsy. This is quite normal following surgery. The drowsiness should reduce over the next 12 – 24 hours, and you shouldn't expect them to be completely normal for a few days. Keep them in a quiet, warm place and give only small amounts to eat and drink.
Take care
Most animals have recovered fully within a few days. Unfortunately this does have some disadvantages in that they may start jumping, running around and generally trying to do everything that they normally would, and this can upset the surgery and/or sutures. It is critical that they are kept as quiet as possible for at least 4 days, or until the sutures are removed, ideally in a laundry/bathroom or somewhere they cannot run and jump and injure themselves. Take them outside on the lead to go to the toilet, then bring them back inside after.
Sutures
The sutures are removed ten days after the surgery, and it is extremely important that you keep a close eye on them to make sure your pet isn't licking or chewing at them. If they are paying attention to them, we have plastic elizabethan collars here which you can put on them, or you can make one at home yourself by cutting the bottom out of a plastic plant pot or bucket, drilling a few holes around the bottom and tying it to their collar, making sure you can get it over their head but they can't get it back off themselves.
Problems
Generally there are very few complications after the operation, however, there are some signs to watch for that may indicate a problem:
- Dull and listless (especially after the first 24 hours)
- Excessive redness or irritation around the suture line
- Swelling or lumpiness around the sutures
