What You Need to Know Before Your Pet's Upcoming Surgery

Many people have questions about various aspects of their cat's surgery, and we hope this information will help.  It also explains the decisions you will need to make before your cat's upcoming surgery.

Is the anesthetic safe?

Today's modern anesthetic monitors have made surgery much safer than in the past.  Here at The Cat Clinic of Cary, we do a thorough physical exam on your pet before administering anesthetics, to ensure that a fever or other illness won't be a problem.  We also adjust the amount and type of anesthetic used depending on the health of your cat. 

Preanesthetic blood testing is important in reducing the risk of anesthesia.  Every cat needs blood testing before surgery to ensure that the liver and kidneys can handle the anesthetic.  Even apparently healthy cats can have serious organ system problems that cannot be detected without blood testing.  If there is a problem, it is much better to find it before it causes anesthetic or surgical complications.  Cats that have minor dysfunction will handle the anesthetic better if they receive IV fluids during surgery.  If serious problems are detected, surgery can be postponed until the problem is corrected.We offer two levels of in-house blood testing before surgery, which we will go over with you when you bring your cat in. 

It is important that surgery be done on an empty stomach to reduce the risk of vomiting during and after anesthesia.  You will need to withhold food for at least 8 to 10 hours before surgery.  Water can be left down for your cat until the morning of surgery.

Will my cat have stitches?

For many surgeries, we use absorbable sutures underneath the skin.  These will dissolve on their own, and do not need to be removed later.  Some surgeries, especially tumor removals, do require skin stitches.  With either type of suture, you will need to keep an eye on the incision for swelling or discharge.  Most cats do not lick excessively or chew at the incision, but this is an occasional problem you will also need to watch for.  If there are skin sutures, these will usually be removed 10 to 14 days after surgery.  You will also need to limit your cat's activity level for a time and no baths are allowed for the first 10 days after surgery.

Will my cat be in pain?

Anything that causes pain in people can be expected to cause pain in animals. Cats may not show the same symptoms of pain as people do; they usually don't whine or cry, but you can be sure they feel it.  

Because cats do not tolerate standard pain medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or Tylenol, we are limited in what we can give them.  Recent advances in pain medications have allowed for better pain control in cats than ever before.  We administer a pain injection 10 minutes prior to surgery.  After surgery, your cat will go home with pain medication to be given twice daily for 2-3 days. We will explain when and how to give meds when you pick your cat up to go home.

What other decisions do I need to make?

When you bring your cat in for surgery, you will need 5 to 10 minutes of time to fill out paperwork and make decisions on the blood testing and other options available.  When you pick up your cat after surgery you can also plan to spend about 10 minutes to go over your cat's home care needs.

We will call you the day before your scheduled surgery appointment, to confirm the time you will be dropping your cat off and to answer any questions you might have.  In the meantime, please don't hesitate to call us with any questions about your cat's health or surgery.