Feline Spay FAQ

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Feline Spay FAQ

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Spaying your cat is an important part of basic cat health care.

Spaying at a young age prevents mammary cancer and spaying at any age prevents unwanted kittens, noisy heat cycles, and possibly even urine marking in the house. The following is a list of frequently asked questions gleaned from years of veterinary practice as well as from answering questions online. We have found that even though the cat spay is a routine and a commonly performed procedure, many pet owners still have questions. Hopefully, this FAQ will be helpful.

Frequently Asked Questions

Spaying is an ovariohysterectomy, which means that both the ovaries and the uterus are removed. The cervix is tied off, leaving the vagina to end in a blind sac. Since it is the ovaries that are responsible for the heat cycles, possible mammary tumor development, and behavior problems, it is crucial that the ovaries be removed intact; some veterinarians will leave the uterus behind, though, it is generally regarded as best to remove the entire tract, uterus included.

Star of Texas Veterinary veterinarians do not place skin stitches and prefer to close the incision with “buried” stitches that are internal. The spay incision is closed in several layers (the abdominal muscles, the tissue under the skin, and the skin itself may all be closed separately). Skin stitches necessitate a return visit for a recheck, which is always a good idea after an abdominal surgery. Obviously, it may be more convenient for the owner not to have to make a return trip and it may be simpler not to have to worry about the cat pulling out her skin stitches and causing herself injury. My hospital employs both methods although aggressive or feral cats almost always receive buried sutures so as to eliminate possible bite injury to the staff at suture removal.

One of the advantages of keeping cats overnight after spaying is that they usually go bouncing out of the hospital as if nothing has happened. Some cats will not eat for the first day or so but if she does not seem back to normal by the day following discharge, we would like to know about it.

Cats discharged on the same day as surgery may experience more soreness if not confined to a small area. Food and water are generally withheld until the next day or late that night and she should be kept quiet and not allowed outside. Cats should not be discharged while still groggy in any way from anesthesia as they are a danger to themselves and to their human handlers.

Later in the recovery period, it is not unusual to notice swelling at the incision site. Cats often react this way to internal sutures and this kind of swelling is common and resolves spontaneously. Such swellings are firm and there is no fluid drainage or bleeding from the incision. They generally resolve in 3 to 4 weeks.

Any fluid drainage from the incision is abnormal and if possible the cat should be rechecked by the veterinarian who performed the spay.

Some female cats are disruptively annoying when they are in heat, yowling and carrying on, and they are spayed to end the heat quickly. Other cats are spayed in heat randomly when the owner does not realize that the cat is in heat. Either way the spay is slightly more difficult due to the engorgement of the tissues and larger blood vessels. Spaying in heat does not carry a significant risk to the cat but, since extra surgery time is frequently required, an extra charge may be incurred.

This question may have a very regional answer depending on what sort of low cost facilities are available in a given area. Most areas have some sort of low cost spay/neuter option (consult your local animal shelter for more information). There are some general principles that tend to hold true.

Low cost spay/neuter facilities operate on a tight budget in order to provide a low cost service and still be able to pay for supplies and staff. This means they use cheaper materials for suture and anesthesia, often have limited hours, and may not have state of the art monitoring equipment or capabilities in case of emergency. Probably most important is the fact that in order to stay in business, a low cost clinic must perform a high volume of surgeries each day.

This limits the individual attention a patient can receive if an “assembly line” approach is used. Often these are the situations where only the ovaries are removed and the uterus is left behind so as to save time or where the entire spay is performed through a tiny incision only a half inch or so long so as to save time closing (and sacrifice inspection of the abdomen for bleeding). Most of the time, the end result is the same: a spayed happy female cat and, of course, cost can be an important factor. It is a good idea to know what one is paying for, however. It may be a good idea to have a tour of your local spay/neuter facility and see what they have to offer.

A full service hospital tends to have more nursing care (such as a technician tableside monitoring anesthesia throughout the procedure), monitoring technology (EKG, pulse oximeter, blood pressure monitor, respiratory monitor etc.), fluid support, all day (sometimes all night) patient observation, safer anesthetics (which tend to be more expensive), less reactive suture materials (which also tend to be more expensive), and most importantly individual attention to each patient. As a prominent member of the surgery board once said, “Speed is not a legitimate goal in surgery. Doing a careful, meticulous job is the real goal.”

It should be noted that many full service hospitals have some low cost options. Sometimes there are special arrangements for rescue or shelter dogs, people with multiple pets, senior citizens or even an annual special. Check with your vet to see if you qualify for any special programs.

The female cat spends at least half the year with her reproductive tract dormant (cats only cycle seasonally, primarily in the spring and summer). This means that, behaviorally speaking, she acts spayed most of the time and no personality change should be noted. This said, it is important to realize that a cycling cat can be extremely solicitous of affection. This kind of playful, flirtatious behavior will stop with spaying.

The traditional age for spaying is six months; however, this practice has enabled kittens to be adopted from the shelters unspayed. Often the new owner fails to return for spaying and the result is further contribution to the pet over-population problem. The last 20 years has brought us a great deal of research into “early” spaying and we now know that there is no problem with spaying as early as 8 weeks of age. Our hospital finds such tiny tissues difficult to manipulate and we like to spay our female patients when they weigh at least 3 1/2 to 4 pounds.

Estrogens have a natural appetite suppressing effect and the loss of estrogens may lead to an increased appetite. Further, sterilization surgery has been shown to slow a cat’s metabolism. Depending on the cat’s age and activity level at the time of surgery, a diet change to a “lite” diet may be in order. Ask your vet if you are not sure.

Without ovaries, she should be unable to come into heat. Occasionally, a remnant of ovarian tissue is left behind by mistake. This can lead to some annoying behaviors as the female cat comes into heat (though she would be unable to get pregnant if her uterus has been removed as is customary with spaying). Special testing or even surgical exploration may be needed to determine if there is an ovarian remnant.

Frequently Asked Questions

Spaying is an ovariohysterectomy, which means that both the ovaries and the uterus are removed. The cervix is tied off, leaving the vagina to end in a blind sac. Since it is the ovaries that are responsible for the heat cycles, possible mammary tumor development, and behavior problems, it is crucial that the ovaries be removed intact; some veterinarians will leave the uterus behind, though, it is generally regarded as best to remove the entire tract, uterus included.

Star of Texas Veterinary veterinarians do not place skin stitches and prefer to close the incision with “buried” stitches that are internal. The spay incision is closed in several layers (the abdominal muscles, the tissue under the skin, and the skin itself may all be closed separately). Skin stitches necessitate a return visit for a recheck, which is always a good idea after an abdominal surgery. Obviously, it may be more convenient for the owner not to have to make a return trip and it may be simpler not to have to worry about the cat pulling out her skin stitches and causing herself injury. My hospital employs both methods although aggressive or feral cats almost always receive buried sutures so as to eliminate possible bite injury to the staff at suture removal.

One of the advantages of keeping cats overnight after spaying is that they usually go bouncing out of the hospital as if nothing has happened. Some cats will not eat for the first day or so but if she does not seem back to normal by the day following discharge, we would like to know about it.

Cats discharged on the same day as surgery may experience more soreness if not confined to a small area. Food and water are generally withheld until the next day or late that night and she should be kept quiet and not allowed outside. Cats should not be discharged while still groggy in any way from anesthesia as they are a danger to themselves and to their human handlers.

Later in the recovery period, it is not unusual to notice swelling at the incision site. Cats often react this way to internal sutures and this kind of swelling is common and resolves spontaneously. Such swellings are firm and there is no fluid drainage or bleeding from the incision. They generally resolve in 3 to 4 weeks.

Any fluid drainage from the incision is abnormal and if possible the cat should be rechecked by the veterinarian who performed the spay.

Some female cats are disruptively annoying when they are in heat, yowling and carrying on, and they are spayed to end the heat quickly. Other cats are spayed in heat randomly when the owner does not realize that the cat is in heat. Either way the spay is slightly more difficult due to the engorgement of the tissues and larger blood vessels. Spaying in heat does not carry a significant risk to the cat but, since extra surgery time is frequently required, an extra charge may be incurred.

This question may have a very regional answer depending on what sort of low cost facilities are available in a given area. Most areas have some sort of low cost spay/neuter option (consult your local animal shelter for more information). There are some general principles that tend to hold true.

Low cost spay/neuter facilities operate on a tight budget in order to provide a low cost service and still be able to pay for supplies and staff. This means they use cheaper materials for suture and anesthesia, often have limited hours, and may not have state of the art monitoring equipment or capabilities in case of emergency. Probably most important is the fact that in order to stay in business, a low cost clinic must perform a high volume of surgeries each day.

This limits the individual attention a patient can receive if an “assembly line” approach is used. Often these are the situations where only the ovaries are removed and the uterus is left behind so as to save time or where the entire spay is performed through a tiny incision only a half inch or so long so as to save time closing (and sacrifice inspection of the abdomen for bleeding). Most of the time, the end result is the same: a spayed happy female cat and, of course, cost can be an important factor. It is a good idea to know what one is paying for, however. It may be a good idea to have a tour of your local spay/neuter facility and see what they have to offer.

A full service hospital tends to have more nursing care (such as a technician tableside monitoring anesthesia throughout the procedure), monitoring technology (EKG, pulse oximeter, blood pressure monitor, respiratory monitor etc.), fluid support, all day (sometimes all night) patient observation, safer anesthetics (which tend to be more expensive), less reactive suture materials (which also tend to be more expensive), and most importantly individual attention to each patient. As a prominent member of the surgery board once said, “Speed is not a legitimate goal in surgery. Doing a careful, meticulous job is the real goal.”

It should be noted that many full service hospitals have some low cost options. Sometimes there are special arrangements for rescue or shelter dogs, people with multiple pets, senior citizens or even an annual special. Check with your vet to see if you qualify for any special programs.

The female cat spends at least half the year with her reproductive tract dormant (cats only cycle seasonally, primarily in the spring and summer). This means that, behaviorally speaking, she acts spayed most of the time and no personality change should be noted. This said, it is important to realize that a cycling cat can be extremely solicitous of affection. This kind of playful, flirtatious behavior will stop with spaying.

The traditional age for spaying is six months; however, this practice has enabled kittens to be adopted from the shelters unspayed. Often the new owner fails to return for spaying and the result is further contribution to the pet over-population problem. The last 20 years has brought us a great deal of research into “early” spaying and we now know that there is no problem with spaying as early as 8 weeks of age. Our hospital finds such tiny tissues difficult to manipulate and we like to spay our female patients when they weigh at least 3 1/2 to 4 pounds.

Estrogens have a natural appetite suppressing effect and the loss of estrogens may lead to an increased appetite. Further, sterilization surgery has been shown to slow a cat’s metabolism. Depending on the cat’s age and activity level at the time of surgery, a diet change to a “lite” diet may be in order. Ask your vet if you are not sure.

Without ovaries, she should be unable to come into heat. Occasionally, a remnant of ovarian tissue is left behind by mistake. This can lead to some annoying behaviors as the female cat comes into heat (though she would be unable to get pregnant if her uterus has been removed as is customary with spaying). Special testing or even surgical exploration may be needed to determine if there is an ovarian remnant.

Got a question we missed? Please go to the homepage of VeterinaryPartner and find the Ask a Vet feature to ask a question. Once again, spaying is an important part of cat ownership and one of the most significant steps in health care that a cat owner can provide for their female cat.