Our little (6months) Nori girl, has just been to the vet to get castrated. What a champ she was! She’s now recovering from the surgery, giving her unlimiteds (and much deserved) amounts of cuddles.
On the picture she’s still drugged and asleep, even though her eyes are open. She was given eye gel to not have her eyes dry out too.
We’ve put her cat tower down on the floor so she doesn’t have to jump to get into it. And made extra sleeping spots on the floor with warm wooly blankets. Got treats of all kinds and water bowls place in different spots for easy reach.
How’s peoples experiences been with this process (the aftermath)? We got some painkillers for her to take daily, for 6 days. Any tips on making cats swallow pills easily? Is there anything extra one could do for the cat?
Have a nice day, and don’t forget to cuddle your cat a little extra 😻
D’awwww those paws!
Depending on the cat you might have success hiding pills in treats. I always have some frozen raw chicken for my cats (actually food quality for cats, not whatever I would buy for myself which needs cooking first). I make sure that’s thawed up and room temperature, then roll it into a little ball with the pill inside so my cats can just nom it without coming into direct contact with the pill. There’s also some liver paste treat thing I know but my current cats are not a fan.
As for what you can do for your cat: Watch her and see if she wants something specific. If she acts as if something is completely abnormal check in with the vet again. But overall the aftermath should be pretty smooth sailing from the one case I experienced myself.
Thanks for sharing, might try to hide the pill in something she likes. Vet told us to just put it down her throat, while effective doesn’t feel like the most pleasant thing to do…
That works but… I rather keep that as absolute last resort possibility. It’s not something the cat enjoys for sure and I rather have my furmily members as happy as possible at all times. They’re a bit like kids in that regard: sweeten things up for them and suddenly they’re not (as) horrible anymore. And fighting against a child/cat that absolutely doesn’t want to is not a battle you win easily.
I once had a cat that trusted me enough to just eat the pill as is straight out of my hand but he was an absolute exception in every way possible. Ofc he too got treats after taking his meds.
I have a senior cat who needs a pill every day. He’s on a restricted diet for chronic kidney disease so I avoid giving him treats. What I do is give him the pill by putting it down his throat right before feeding him, so the food itself is the treat. He’s super used to the process now.
Sorry to hear about the disease, but good you have a suited way of doing it, especially if he doesn’t mind it.
She low-key fell asleep in the litter box late last night too hehe… Kind of amazed she found her way to the litter even though the drugs were still effective on her.
Lol, aww… at lest she made it there… ❤️
Brave girl! And good on you to neuter them! Give her a lot of cuddles and treats :)
For the pills: A stupidly good tip I’ve read on Lemmy a while back is butter! Cats love that stuff and it masks the bitterness of the medicine. Wash your hands after initial handling of the pill, rub them in a bit of butter between your fingers and optionally put them into a snack your cat likes. That way, I can give my one very picky cat its meds daily.
When our cat had this surgery, the vet told us that she should not jump and climb if possible. So, maybe set everything she likes up the way so she won’t have to climb/jump? Ours especially liked to crawl into our bedsheets afterwards, so I set up the bed on the ground for some nights.
And, if you have another cat: separate them if you can’t watch them. Cats can’t really recognise their fellows after a surgery (meds, wounds and the vet mask their normal smell) and might go a bit berserk on them.
I’ve always put their meds into some wet cat food, that has usually gone over well in my case. I’ve got 4 rescue cats going in on Monday to get done and another three next month, hopefully these ones all handle things smoothly as well.
Good tip! And how great of you! 🙌
I don’t see any sort of cone. If she grooms the incision it will very likely get infected and become very complicated.
I’d look for a kitty collar rather than a cone. They’re way more comfortable and still get the job done.
I asked the vet about this, and she said they barely give these out anymore as it’s not needed. She followed up with cats being generally smarter than dogs when it comes to not kicking their wounds too much. But will obviously vary from cat to cat.
Ours is just resting and not touching her wound at all, so don’t see the need for a cone or collar.
Good for you! I just didn’t want you to go through the unnecessary medical bills and anxiety we did over our apparently uniquely stupid cat.
I’ve never seen castration used in relation to cats and it feels weird.
Oh, is there another more appropriate word for it? English is not my first language…
Traditionally we use the term “spayed” for female cats and “neutered” for males. It’s also common to say they’ve been “fixed”, which applies to either sex.
Good to know, thanks :=)
