# I'm worried about my Zoe after being spayed



## Zoe's mom

Hello, I'm Zoe's mom. Zoe is my 1 year and 10 month old cat. She got spayed 3 days ago at the ASPCA mobile spay clinic. She's been quieter than usual since I brought her home and seems to be hiding more than usual. Today she didn't come downstairs when I did but after an hour I managed to lure her down by shaking her box of treats. I picked her up to look at her wound and noticed that it was slightly swollen but no more than what it had been on the first day of her spaying. I also noticed that the incision line looked a little red. The redness does not extend beyond the incision line. I don't know how normal this is. When I held her up to look at her incision I thought I felt her trembling a little. She ate her treats and drank some water and then went back to her hiding spot. I couldn't even find her. I shook the box of treats again and started rolling her ball with a bell in it, but she didn't even come out. I'm not sure if this is normal after being spayed 3 days ago, but I'm sitting here at work worried sick. I don't know if I should bring her to the vet or not. I don't want to traumatize her again needlessly because she is afraid of people and hisses when a stranger comes near her. I've never had a cat before so I don't know what is normal and normal 3 days after being spayed. I'm almost sorry I did this to her. She was a normal happy cat before and now she's hiding and not acting herself. Please give me some advice on this. Thanks. :roll:


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## yingying

Sending warm thoughts to you... It doesn't sound quite normal. Usually young cats bounce back quite quickly from s/n. But it could also be because she was really traumatized by the experience or is just simply mad at you. Is she eating/pooping well? Do you see any liquid oozing from the incision? I would (not saying you have to) wait for 2 more days and see if things improve. If it's not getting any better, I will send her to a vet. Better safe than sorry. 

BTW, you might want to make appointment now, as some vets don't take "walk-in patient".


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## LaurulFeatherCat

As long as she is eating and eliminating OK, just keep an eye on her. If the food is disappearing and the litter box has deposits in it that is half the battle. I had my three rescues spayed six months ago and the smallest one, Sterling, still has yet to begin trusting me again. She hides constantly, comes out to eat when I am in bed and if I see her and call her name, she runs and hides. Her sister and mother are back to normal with me and have been for two months; but Sterling decided being spayed was a unforgivable sin. It is OK, I have years ahead to win her over again.

One of the best things you will ever do for her is spaying her. You all but eliminate her chance of getting uterine and ovarian cancer and save her from the huge hormonal swings her heat cycles would have put her through. You also eliminate the possibility of her dying in the birthing process and save all those potential kittens from a short ugly life if they were ferals. You have done her a big service. The incision could be red from her licking it. Sterling did that and I had to put a collar on her for a week; another reason she is upset with me. If she doesn't have bulges in the incision or have fluid leaking from it or the redness spreading out from the incision, just wait a few days and see how she does. You are a good cat mom for being concerned.


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## Tammy74

Hi there. You could always make a quick call to the vet clinic to let them know of your worries. They would know if she needs to be seen, or if you could give her a few more days to re-coop.


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## penny1956

About a week ago, I went through the same exact thing you're going through. I actually brought my kitten into 2 different vets to check out her incision within the first 7 days after her spay. I was a nervous wreck. They said it looked a little irritated and to watch it. It seemed to look worse on the 7th day than it did on the first few days. It didn't stop being red until the 10th day when it finally turned pink. There were bumps (and still are) but they say that's normal as it's the internal stitches healing. Also on the 7th day, I saw what I thought was white puss but found out, after another vet visit, that it was the beginning of a scab. Didn't feel better about her until the 10th day. That seems to the THE DAY (according to a lot of blogs and articles I read) that it actually seems to be healing.

I have a picture of her incision on the 7th day - it looks horrid, but that same day, the vet said it was fine. I could try to post a picture if you want (although it isn't pleasant to look at). 

She still stayed playful during this time, though. I think it wouldn't hurt to visit a vet just for peace of mind. My kitty was so stressed out when I took her and felt so bad, but it did give me peace of mind (for a day then I'd worry again - lol)


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