Rest is important for your pet tonight. Please take him or her home to a warm, quiet, dark, comfortable place where your pet can get some sleep. (Please keep any other animals away, even if they are pals.)

Anesthesia can take up to 24-48 hours to wear off and could cause disorientation. This could look like:

• Excessive whining
• Pacing
• Not being able to get comfortable

If your pet continues to have these issues after 48 hours, your pet should be seen by a veterinarian 

Your pet is being given an Elizabethan collar to wear post-op for 10-14 days. This is to ensure that your pet doesn’t lick the incision which could cause infection and/or trauma to the incision.

• Their sutures are dissolvable
• Keep the incision dry
  • No bathing, grooming, or swimming
• Chew Guard/Bitter Apple spray can be applied around (not directly on) the incision using a Q-tip or cotton ball. This spray is available for purchase at the clinic front desk, or at our online store.
• A medical shirt (onesie) can be used for added protection or if your pet is too stressed with the cone on. This is available for purchase at the clinic front desk, or at our online store.

Check the incision site twice daily.

• For Female Cats and Dogs
  • They may have a slight bulge at the incision—this is normal, if it is not accompanied by pain, redness, or discharge. The bulge is a reaction to tissue handling and activity following surgery. With rest and with time, the bulge will gradually resolve.
• For Male Dogs
  • Pre-scrotal (Incision is at the base of the penis, above the scrotum): There might be a slight bulge at the incision site—this is normal, if it is not accompanied by pain, redness, or discharge. The bulge is likely a reaction to tissue handling and activity following surgery. With rest and with time, it will gradually resolve.
• For Male Cats

  • Scrotal (Incision is directly on the underside of the scrotum): It can be normal to see small amounts of blood-tinged drainage/discharge for 1-3 days after surgery. This can reduce the chance of other more significant complications like swelling, bruising, or pain of the scrotum.

    
    

All pets receive a very small, permanent tattoo next to the incision to indicate sterilization.

• This is separate from your pet’s incision
• This is located next to your pet’s umbilicus (on the belly)

Offer your pet a small amount of water when you get home. Your pet may not be interested in eating until the next morning.

You can feed your pet as soon as you get home. We recommend feeding small meals throughout the night the day of surgery, your pet may be nauseas from the anesthesia  

If your pet is not eating after the first 36 hours, call us at 734) 662-4365 to schedule a drop-in appointment.

Going Outside: Physical activities should be limited for ten days to allow proper healing of the surgical site. Cats should be kept indoors during this time. Dogs should be taken outside only on a leash, and only to urinate and defecate. Do not let your dog run or jump, even if he or she wants to play as usual. If your pet is too active too soon after surgery, your pet could tear out the sutures and develop a hernia, internal bleeding, or failure of the incision site.

Females in heat: If your pet was in heat at the time of surgery, she may continue to be receptive to males for several days. If she is allowed to mate during this time, she could be seriously injured. Keep her away from intact males. In dogs, a blood-tinged vaginal discharge may persist for more than a week following surgery.

Male Animals:Even though the testicles have been removed, there may be residual, live sperm in the reproductive tract. Your pet may be capable of getting a female animal pregnant for several weeks after surgery.

Upper respiratory infections are an inherent risk when animals from multiple households are housed in the same space. While each animal is in their own recovery kennel, and we practice rigorous cleaning protocols, it is still possible an animal may contract illness after hospitalization.

• Kennel cough is a very common and highly contagious viral disease of dogs. It can last for several weeks with persistent symptoms. Common symptoms are a dry, hacking cough and occasionally green nasal discharge. If coughing is the only symptom, either no treatment or cough suppressants may help.
• If any upper respiratory symptoms persist, and especially If there is green nasal discharge, your pet may need antibiotics. Call the clinic for more information.

Most of the sterilization surgeries performed at the HSHV Veterinary Clinic are closed using absorbable sutures. If skin sutures were used (for certain spays, umbilical hernia repairs, wound repairs, etc.), please call us at (734) 662-4365 for a suture removal visit in 10 to 14 days.