getting fixed

[ellietoo]

Poor Charlie. I'm so glad you took the cone off him. Here they usually keep them 24 hours to let the anesthetic wear off and make sure they come out of it OK. Dew claws can catch on things when dogs run outside. Many breeders have them taken off at 3 days after birth.
They use self absorbing stitches here. The stitches just absorb into the body and don't have to be removed. As I have said I have never had an animal harm it's stitches except one cat many years ago. She was kind of nutty though.
I don't understand the pain medication thing. Some people insist on pain meds for their animals after this type of surgery but I have seen so many recover very well without them. I have watched them for pain or discomfort and not found any evidence of it at all. I have had to deal with newly spayed cats begging to go outside when I have been instructed to keep them inside for 24 hours and dogs that would insist on jumping on the furniture when they were not supposed to jump after surgery. I guess they just didn't realize they were not supposed to feel so good!
I'm sure Charlie will be back to his old self real soon. He must have had some big ancestors!

[Traceyred]

Lol! Yes cats can be a bit nutty. Here is my view on cats and dogs:- A dog will think to himself, gosh - I'm so lucky, you feed me, clean me, keep me warm and love me. You must be god! A cat will think to himself gosh - I'm so lucky, you feed me, clean me, keep me warm and love me. "I" must be god!

[raleysmom]

Where I live we have used 2 different vets for spay/neuter.  One of them is an older gentleman and he kept our pets overnight following their surgery.  He used stitches that had to be removed.  The other vet that we use also keeps them overnight but she uses dissolvable sutures.  She is about 20 years younger than the other vet. She gives a 24 hour pain med. Both vets gave antibiotics through an IV during surgery.  No cones from either.  I don't think there is a right way or a wrong way...it is whatever is the norm in the area.  The vet my mother uses likes to keep your pet the night prior to and the night following surgery.  That doesn't make sense to me. 

I will say that prior to Raley being neutered I was on another forum and the ladies over there told me that he would come out in a cone and that if the vet didn't offer pain meds for me to insist that I get them, antibiotics, etc...and that Raley would be in severe pain.  Much to my surprise when I went to pick him up he came out wagging his little tail and acting nothing like I had been told he would.  My point is, there are people out there that think they know better than a vet and insist on certain things.  Thank the good Lord I didn't fall in that trap!!

[ellietoo]

I know. I have read those forums. I think they are trying to place the type of pain maybe they have experienced at some time on their pets. Why medicate an animal that feels fine?
I know years ago there was a vet that wanted the animals to stay the night before the surgery but it was because he wanted to make sure the pet had nothing to eat or drink for at least 12 hours before surgery. I guess there is a choking danger if they have consumed anything.
Tracey: I know what you mean about the cats. You gotta love them. They do believe they are far superior to other species and in lots of ways I think they are!
Once I insisted on taking my dog home after anesthetic because I didn't want him to be afraid at the vets office. Never will do that again. It's really hard to control a dog that is still under the influence. They have uncontrolled movements and need to be left alone to sleep it off.

[KateB]

We dropped Charlie off at 10 and they said they try to get all the surgeries done by 12, and we picked him up at 3:30, so thats probably normal. We also stopped giving him the pain meds after a couple days, he started to feel a lot better and we thought it probably wasn't necessary.
Unfortunately the edge of the cone caused a cut on the inside of his leg, from trying to lick himself. So we're still waiting for that to heal. We went to the vet today and he said it looked like its healing but just to keep it dry. So hopefully that heals up soon!

[ellietoo]

Those cones are the thing I have a real problem with. It just seems cruel. They make the soft collar and that is what I would use if I had an animal that was trying to pull it's stitches. Thankfully I have never had to do that.