If you are about to have your cat spayed, then it is completely normal for you to be feeling a little nervous or anxious. You know spaying is important for your cat's ongoing health and for the well-being of the cat population as a whole. However, it is a surgical procedure, and you're aware that all surgeries come with some risks. But rest assured — vets take many precautions to ensure spaying is as safe as possible. Here are some of those key precautions.
Oxygen during surgery
Typically when cats are spayed, the vet will connect them to a supplemental oxygen supply. This will ensure that their brain and their other organs get enough oxygen, even when the cat is under anesthesia. Overall, this reduces the risk of anesthesia-related side effects and helps ensure your cat wakes up healthy after spaying.
Draping
Before the vet makes any incisions, they will drape your cat's body. In other words, they will lay surgical cloths over the cat, leaving only the abdomen exposed. This helps prevent the surgical site from being contaminated by the cat's hair and by any germs on the rest of their body, thereby reducing the risk of infection after spaying.
Equipment sterilization
Another important step that vets take is sanitizing and sterilizing all of their surgical instruments. Once the equipment is sterilized with heat, it will only be touched with gloved hands. This prevents the introduction of bacteria to the surgical site, again helping to prevent infection.
Smaller incisions
The smaller the incision, the faster your cat will heal after spaying. So, most vets aim to make the incision as small as possible when spaying a cat. They will only cut as much tissue as they need to cut in order to expose and remove the uterus.
Pain relievers
After your cat wakes up from surgery, the vet will begin giving them pain relievers. This keeps your cat comfortable after spaying, but that's not all it does. It also helps keep your cat from scratching or biting at their incision, which reduces the risk of infection and helps promote faster healing. Cats bounce back from spaying really quickly when pain relievers are prescribed.
Spaying does come with some risk, but vets do their very best to minimize that risk with the processes above. Now that you know a bit more about these processes, you can feel more confident about having your cat spayed.
For more information, contact a local pet hospital, like Sunshine Pet Hospital.
Did you know that in order to become a veterinarian, a person needs to earn a four-year degree, and then spend an additional four years in veterinary school? By the time they are finished with all of this education, they are well prepared to offer your animals the best care. You can count on vets to treat your pets with kindness and compassion. They'll provide preventative care like vaccines, make recommendations for food and other products to keep your pet in good health, and offer treatment when your pet becomes ill. We are thankful for the work of vets, and we discuss that work in more depth throughout this blog.