Spay, Neuter & General Surgical Discharge Instructions

Home care after surgery mainly involves the restriction of physical activity. After arriving at home, keep your pet warm and comfortable by providing a soft clean bed, ideally in a quiet and draft-free room at a comfortable room temperature (68-75°F or 20-24°C).

Dogs should remain indoors overnight, going outside only for short leash walks as needed to urinate and defecate.

Cats should remain in a small room [area] limiting objects to jump on/off from for the first 1-2 days with access to food/water and a litter box.

Pets do not understand the seriousness of surgery or significance of the recovery period. Most pets will naturally become very active within 12-24 hours after surgery. Confinement and close supervision is important This means:

❖ No jumping or running
❖ No stair climbing
❖ No playing with other pets
❖ No ‘rough-housing’

Some level of activity restriction is necessary during the entire recovery period (1-2 weeks).

“Avoid running, jumping, and other strenuous activity that could cause strain on the incision and incisional dehiscence (opening).”

For dogs, a short leash is recommended when eliminating and returning indoors immediately for the first 2-3 days. Carry your dog up and down the stairs to get to your yard. Afterwards, only very short, slow leash walks as instructed by your veterinarian.

“If your pet is left alone, cage confinement or a small room (pantry, closet, laundry room) is ideal .”

If your pet is left alone, cage confinement or another small warm and safe area is recommended. Excessive physical activity can lead to injury or serious complications. Meaning additional expense to you and added discomfort and risk for your pet.

After arriving at home, you may offer your pet half of its normal meal. If they eat and still seem hungry, offer the rest of the meal an hour or later. Some pets experience nausea after general anesthesia, and dividing the meal into smaller portions may decrease risk of nausea and vomiting.

Unless otherwise instructed, your pet’s access to water should not be restricted.

Appetite should steadily improve over the next 2-3 days, if appetite is decreased or your pet completely stops eating, please contact the hospital.

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Your pet was given a general anesthetic or sedative. These drugs can take a number of hours to wear off and may cause some patients to appear drowsy or even disoriented (wobbly) for the next few hours. Please plan accordingly for navigation in/out of vehicles, on/off furniture and around stairs. Over the next 24-48 hours, your pet’s behavior should gradually return to normal. If abnormal behavior continues past 48 hours, please reach out to the hospital.

Your pet may also vocalize, (whining/whimpering/groaning/howling) as a result of medications used during anesthesia and pain management (dysphoria). These are normal behaviors however, if you feel that your pet is in pain or you are concerned, please reach out to the hospital.

Your pet may have had a tracheal (windpipe) tube placed during anesthesia to administer oxygen and anesthetic gas. Tube placement can cause mild irritation to the throat. A minor cough (dry hacking) or difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) can be seen. The cough & dysphagia should diminish over the next few days. If either condition persists or worsens, contact the hospital.

Do not bathe your pet or allow the incision to get wet for at least 2 weeks. Do not allow your pet to lick or chew at the incision.

Monitor the incision daily for signs of redness, swelling, bruising, discharge, or excessive licking.

Mild redness and swelling are part of the healing process and should be expected for the first few days after surgery. After the first 2-3 days, the swelling and redness should subside and the incision should look better each day. Moderate swelling on or around the incision site is abnormal, and may be an early sign of infection. For routine elective surgeries, any discharge from the incision site is abnormal unless your veterinarian performed a SCROTAL NEUTER.

Because SCROTAL NEUTERS are usually left open or contain 1-stitch, it is not uncommon to see occasional [bloody] drainage/dripping/spotting or noticing a “gap” in the incision.

“Never put anything on the incision unless you are specifically told to do so by your veterinarian.”

Never use hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol on the incision. These chemicals are toxic to healing tissues, will cause inflammation and delay healing.

It is not uncommon for pets not to pass stool for the first few [1-3] days following anesthesia.

Anesthetic and pain medications used can cause slowed intestinal motility/transit time. As long as your pet seems comfortable, normally eating and drinking, and not showing signs of distress – let nature “take its course”. If your pet is actively straining to have a bowel movement for a long period and cannot pass stool, or is passing blood, please contact the hospital.

On the other hand, your pet may experience loose stool or diarrhea. This can be from stress caused by going to the hospital. Some of the medications sent home can also cause loose stool.

A bland diet, adding fiber, probiotics, and binders can often help. If the loose stool persists more than a day or two, or if your pet also vomits or has a decreased appetite, contact the hospital.