My cat is seven years old and I had found an ulcerated growth about the size of a golf ball on her right back leg. I took her to the vet and she had surgery this morning. I noticed with growing alarm that the workers were disorganized (they didn't even have her scheduled). When I got her back, there were no aftercare instructions (doc was gone) and the antibiotic I paid for was not provided. I will get on their case tomorrow, in the meantime, what are some general aftercare instructions for this type of surgery? I've looked everywhere, can't find specifics at all. Do I leave her in a small room tonight (like bathroom) with box and water? Do I leave her in kennel? She already tried jumping around in room and went crazy in kennel, so is in bathroom, isolated, at moment. Please help. I WILL be changing vets after this.
sleepycatz19722008-03-25T21:39:36Z
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general rules after undergoing surgery: • keep her warm & quiet, in a draft-free place. if the cat doesn't like a large kennel and may hurt herself trying to get out, a small bathroom is fine. (make sure toilet lid is down so she doesn't hurt herself there.) put the litter & bedding in there & leave light dimmed or off. • if it has been several hours since the cat woke up, you can try SMALL amounts of water and food. keep it small, because your kitty may still be woozy and have an upset stomach from the anesthesia. if the kitty throws up at all, pull the food and water for a few more hours & try again later. it won't hurt the cat to go all night without it. and even though they should have given you the meds today, she probably shouldn't have gotten them until tomorrow anyway to limit the possibility of her vomiting it back up. not good of them to forget, but at least no harm done to the kitty. • try to limit the kitty's activity. she may injure her surgery site if she jumps up or down off things, especially an area like a hip/leg which would absorb so much impact. easier said than done, but it's easier to do if the kitty is in an area it feels calm in. most cats are pretty good about not over-estimating their strength and abilities after something like this. • she may be wobbly and stagger a little until all the anesthetic leaves her system, in a day or so. she'll may be quiet for a few days, may not seem like herself at all, and that's fine. just give her extra patience and love and before you know it, she'll be back to her old self.
every vet clinic has a bad day (maybe they'd had a very bad emergency right before your arrival that shook them up a bit?), so try not to nuke them too badly tomorrow. have to say, though, that i am glad you'll be looking for another vet anyway...trust is a very big thing in the patient/doctor relationship, and even if this vet is wonderful, his workers didn't maintain the professionalism needed. that trust needs to be there to make sure you feel your pet is getting the best care possible. good luck with your girl.
sleepycatz1972 is pretty much spot on with everything about post operative care. Also, make sure to get the antibiotics form them first thing in the morning. You don't want her to go too long without it.