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Post Surgery Care
On arriving home you should keep you cat warm and comfortable by providing a soft clean bed, ideally in a quiet and warm room. Unless otherwise instructed, your cat should be offered a drink of water and a small amount of their regular food. Ensure your cat has access to their litter tray.
Please keep your cat indoors for at least 5 days following the surgery, to minimise their level of activity and minimise damage to the surgery site. You should discourage any jumping or activity that will cause excessive stretching of the wound, especially during the first five days post-operatively.
Your cat may have had a tube placed in their trachea (windpipe) during the anaesthetic - this can occasionally cause mild irritation and a slight cough as an after-effect. If so, it will settle down over the next few days, however should it persist then contact your local veterinary practice.
It is only natural that your cat may try to clean the operation site, however, if this becomes excessive, then there is a danger of the stitches being pulled out or infection being introduced into the wound. If you have purchased an Elizabethan-type collar to prevent the cat chewing then please ensure it is used, otherwise please contact your local practice, and ask for one. Not surprisingly, many cats find these collars strange at first and will attempt to remove them. However, after a short period most animals will settle and tolerate wearing the collar. Once accustomed, it is better to keep the collar on permanently, rather than to take it on and off. Remember - it only takes a few seconds of unobserved chewing for a cat to undo its stitches. If your cat does succeed in removing any of its stitches, then please call your local vet as soon as possible.
The wound should normally be clean with the edges together and the skin a normal or slightly reddish/pink colour. In pale skinned cats bruising may be seen around the wound. This may not appear until a few days after the operation, and in some cases can seem excessive in comparison to the size of the incision, however this is due to seepage of blood under the skin edges. Please contact your regular veterinary provider if you see any of the following at the wound:
- Continuous seepage or a large quantity of blood.
- Intermittent blood seepage
- Any swellings, excessive redness of the skin or discharge.