What You Need to Know Before
Your Cat'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 Chestnut Hill Cat Clinic, we do a thorough physical exam on your cat 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 pet.  The handout on anesthesia explains this in greater detail.

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 support the anesthetic. This is hospital policy.  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.

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 the 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 need to 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?

We are proactive with pain management.  Anything that causes pain in people can be expected to cause pain in animals, but they may not show symptoms.  They usually don't wimper or cry; this is the nature of self-protection.  Pain medications will depend on the surgery performed.  Major procedures require more pain relief than things like minor lacerations.

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 long acting pain injection during surgery.  After surgery, pain medication is given on a case by case basis.  Any animal that appears painful will receive additional pain medication.

We use pain patches for some surgeries in cats as well.  Providing whatever pain relief is appropriate is a humane and caring thing to do for your cat.

What other decisions do I need to make?

While your pet is under anesthesia, it is the ideal time to perform other minor procedures, such as dentistry, ear cleaning, or implanting an identification microchip.  If you would like an estimate for these extra services, please call ahead of time.  This is especially important if the person dropping the pet off for surgery is not the primary decision maker for the pet's care.

When you bring your pet in for surgery, we will need to 5 to 10 minutes of time to fill out paperwork and make decisions on the blood testing and other options available.  We will ask you to leave a valid phone number and be available should we need to reach you while your cat is here with us. When you pick your cat up 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 night 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.