Congestion after Spay?

[FaunaFreak]

Friday I had our kitten Skit spayed. Since then, she has seemed very congested - after she drinks, she starts coughing (a very "wet" sounding cough), and her purring/meowing sounds congested too. I've called the vet, and he is supposed to call me back in the next hour or so. None of my previous cats have had this problem after their spays, so I'm wondering if anyone else may have noticed it with their cats. Thanks

[Pink]

Hmm.. That's really odd, FaunaFreak. When I got my cat fixed she never experienced anything like that. Has the vet called yet?

[LynnM]

Hi FaunaFreak. I volunteer at the local SPCA and here is what they tell adoptive parents: Whatever illness, no matter how slight, a cat might have before it's neutering or spaying surgery will be magnified after the surgery. So, you might not have noticed that your cat was developing a URI (upper respiratory infection) or a cold - and it might be that without the surgery the cat would normally have fought it off before you started seeing signs - but now on the back side of the procedure you definitely see the symptoms.

Taking your cat to the vet is the best thing - or at least talking to him/her on the phone.

Hopefully you will know shortly if you need to get any medication for your baby, or what. Please write us back and let us know the outcome.

Lynn

[**Sapphire**]

Thank you Lynn for that great information. I never knew what you told Fauna.

So, Fauna hun, have you heard back from the vet yet? I hope all is well with your baby Skit.

I don't have any experience with getting your cat spayed or neutered. Both EJ & Lucy were "fixed" before I got them, so I don't know if they had any underlying sicknesses, etc..

[FaunaFreak]

Hey, thanks for the info. Dr. Steele called back last night and asked me to bring Skit in this morning. She said that Skit's lungs sounded clear, but could definitely hear gurgling sound when she purred, and her meow is slightly hoarse. She thinks what may have happened is that Skit's larynx was aggravated by the breathing tube (which makes sense - after my surgery, I had a sore throat for a few days due to that thing). Since Skit is still on the small side, the tube may have been a little too big for her throat. The vet gave her an anti-inflammatory and an antibiotic, and plans on speaking with the vet who performed the spay to see if Dr. Weeks noticed anything unusual when inserting the breathing tube. Dr. Steele says it may take a few days to clear up, but to keep an eye on her in case it gets worse.

[**Sapphire**]

Very good, I'm glad to hear that it's nothing totally serious Fauna hun. :) Keep us posted on how Skit is doing.

[persian_kitty]

Well good I'm glad it was not a major thing. But as far as after spaying I never noticed any kind of illnesses either. keep us updated please!!

[FaunaFreak]

Thanks! Her cough is 95% gone, so it seems that Dr. Steele's analysis was indeed correct! Unfortunately, she has to go back this week to get the stitches removed (she is going to HATE carriers soon, if she doesn't already)

[**Sapphire**]

That's great Fauna hun, I'm really happy to hear that Skit's cough is all but gone now. :whoo:

LOL...poor baby, she just might hate that carrier, your right. Hey, maybe put it out the evening before you go, let her kind of play in it, it just might help her to not be so uptight & view the carrier as a bad thing. That way you won't have any kind of problems putting her into it.

[persian_kitty]

I'm glad she is better!! I'm surprised the doctor didn't use the stiches that dissolve as it heals. thats what the did with Brownie.

[FaunaFreak]

Yeah, I mentioned that to Dr. Ansara, so he might consider looking into the dissolvables

[LynnM]

Yay for Skittles! Oops, "Skit", sorry. So glad she's better.

Speaking of cat carriers, when I brought my Gracie home from SPCA she was very attached to her carrier. It took almost a week to gently break her from sleeping and hiding in it. That's probably a great idea, Sapphire, about putting it out prior to a trip.

[**Sapphire**]

Thanks Lynn, that's what we have done for EJ & Lucy. It's put away most of the time, but when we've had to take them in we put it out & let them get all curious & see it as a good thing instead of a bad thing.

[hopscotch]

I had this same problem recently when we got our new kitty spayed. Our kitty had a little something before she went 'under the knife' so it must have been irritated by the operation.

[**Sapphire**]

Is your kitty doing better now hopscotch?

My vet told me that he needs to get our kitty vaccinated before he does any kind of surgical procedure on her. So we have to get her shots & then we can get her spayed.

[hopscotch]

yes she is better. I had to get her out of the vet building to make it happen though it seemed. she wouldn't eat down there and wouldn't let the workers touch her. we brought her home and opened the door to the carrier and she went straight to her food bowl and started eating. the vet gave us antibiotic and she is fine now. she had a pretty tough go of it with this operation so she got lots of cuddly snuggly loves.

[persian_kitty]

I'm glad to hear your little kitty is doing better. Got any pics to post of her? We all like pics :)

[hopscotch]

no i don't have any pics and am having some problems with the computer so I don't know whats going to happen. hoping to get it cleared up but you prolly know how it is.......takes forever to figure it out.

[**Sapphire**]

Good, glad to hear that your new kitty is doing much better hopscotch hun. :)

Yes pics are a must once you get your computer stuff straightened out. Don't make me come & find you if we don't get pics soon. :D :nono::p