Neutering Your Cat: Taking Your Kittens to The Vet

Neutering Your Cat: Taking Your Kittens to The Vet

A trip to the vets is always a worry, whether it is for a routine visit or as a result of serious illness or incident, sometimes we don’t know what to expect and the fear of the unknown can add to our worries.

British Pet Insurance will be publishing a series of health information articles to give pet owners some insight into some of the normal but potentially scary vet visits to put your minds at rest.

Taking Becks and Punc to The Vet: Preparation

Becks and Punctuation are domestic shorthair kittens that were hand-raised by a Cats Protection volunteer, they were very poorly when they arrived aged around 3 to 4 weeks, but you wouldn’t know that today!

In preparation for the neuter operation, you are asked to not feed your cat or kitten from the night before, Becks and Punc, as she is known at home, were not happy about this and spent the night scratching at doors and retrieving toilet rolls to shred on the kitchen floor in protest!

Luckily our appointment was at 8.30am, meaning I didn’t have to endure their starvation cries for long, I made the mistake of opening the fridge door at which point Becks appeared on the top of the door looking for some breakfast!

It is so important that you use a cat carrier that is big enough for the cat you are taking to the vet, or in this case, to house both kittens comfortably, both on the journey in, but considering the journey home later when they will be a little sad and sore. Becks and Punc are very close and so I decided that they would be better together than in separate carriers, I placed a comfy bathmat in the bottom of the carrier which can be washed in case of any accidents.

The kittens were surprisingly happy to be popped straight into the carrier which was probably helped by me leaving it out for them with the door open from the night before, they had played in and on it and were very familiar with how it looked and smelt.

The carrier was placed in the car and strapped in securely, this is important and also a legal requirement as per Rule 57 of the Highway Code.

Again, I was surprised that Becks and Punc were so good in the car, there was no crying or attempts to get out of the carrier, they just cuddled up together as far back as they could go.

Arriving At the Vets

On arrival to Foxcotte Veterinary Surgery, we were met by our lovely vet, Chloe, she proceeded to do a pre-op check on first Becks and then Punc. They had a thorough check over, with their weight, heart, teeth, tummy and general health checked to make sure they were healthy enough to go through the anaesthetic and operation.

After their check over, I was asked to sign a consent form that gave permission for the kittens to undergo the operation.

I was asked if I wanted a ‘buster collar’ which I refer to as a lampshade, or a full-body suit to protect their stitches, I chose the suit as I felt it would be more comfortable for them.

Both kittens were popped into the carrier and taken off by the vet, I was told someone would give me a call to let me know when they can come home.

Impatient as ever, at around 2.30pm, I called to see how they were and spoke to one of the nurses, she told me that both kittens were okay, that Punc was out eating and having lots of cuddles and strokes, but Becks was hiding under a blanket, wouldn’t interact and wouldn’t eat – not even fresh-cooked chicken!

The nurse told me that they had discovered during the surgery that although she was only 2.4kg, Becks had a fair bit of internal fat, and this suggests that she will be predisposed to putting on weight now she has been neutered and as she gets older. I was advised to ensure I use sterilised food from now on to keep her weight in check, I told the nurse that I feed my older cat Royal Canin Sensible, she told me that was fine to use on the kittens.

I was told I could collect them at 4pm

Collecting The Kittens & Post-Op Care

When I arrived, I was given 6 syringes with the correct dose of Metacam, a discharge sheet and some information on the bodysuits they were wearing. I was talked through how to look after them that night, which included keeping them quiet and warm, a light meal of either their usual food or some fresh chicken. I was told to look out for discharge, redness or swelling and if I saw any, I was to phone in immediately.

The Metacam was to be administered with food from the following day, but they were not allowed it if they didn’t eat or if they were vomiting.

I was told I needed to book a check-up on day 3 and again on day 10.

As soon as I got home, I opened the carrier and both kittens were very distressed, they could not – or would not – move in their bodysuits; Becks in particular was very distressed and was throwing herself around, bashing into the carrier. Princess was stuck on her back, unwilling to move.

I made the decision to remove the bodysuits as they were both extremely distressed and wide-eyed.

They both immediately headed to the litter tray, but I think were sore and so kept entering and then leaving gingerly, neither managed a wee until the next morning.

I put down a plate of fresh chicken which they both ran towards and proceeded to clear the plate, afterwards, Becks jumped onto my dressing table and stole another piece from the packet, I think she was very relieved to be home.

I kept the kittens away from my dogs on the first night and they stayed in my bedroom, which was the right decision, but I did question it a couple of times when I woke throughout the night to a kitten on my face!

In the morning I put down some more chicken, which they gobbled up. I checked their wounds which looked clean and dry, with no swelling or redness.

Both kittens were perky and happy, against vet wishes, they were jumping all over the place and thrilled to be back downstairs, even smashing my favourite floor standing vase during the course of the morning!