Your pet has had a major surgery under a general anesthesia. Your pet was given a sedative, an anti-inflammatory injection and a pain injection to help with recovery and to help lessen the post operative pain. Therefore, your pet’s behavior may be slightly altered for the next 24 hours. For example, your pet may be glassy-eyed, wobbly, shivering, sleepy, nauseous, and irritable. They may cry or whine as well. Listed below are a few helpful tips to make your pet’s recovery easier for both of you:
1. Let your pet rest in a quiet comfortable area.
2. Offer a small amount of water when you get home and a small amount of food in the evening. Many pets do not want to eat the first night. That is normal after a general anesthesia.
3. The morning after surgery you can feed as usual.
4. Keep your pet inside for the next 3 or 4 days- dogs may go outside to go potty or for a small walk. The goal is to keep the surgery site clean to avoid infection. Cats need to be kept inside at all times during recovery.
5. Your pet needs to have limited activity for 10 days-no jumping, jogging, hiking or rough housing with other pets. For larger male dogs we highly recommend icing the surgery site for the first couple of days and cage rest for the first four days. Please cover the ice pack with a clean towel prior to placing it on the skin.
6. Check the surgery site daily for 7 days. If there are any signs of infection (pus, oozing, redness)please call our office or the after hour mobile phone right away.
7. Do not let your pet lick or chew at the incision. This can cause infection and delay healing for your pet. If they are licking you can get an Elizabethan collar/cone at your local pet store, or from our office. No bathing or swimming for 10 days. We do not recommend or endorse the use of a surgical suit or a blow up e-collar. These are not effective products and can lead to your pet having access to their incision.
8. The sutures/stitches are internal and will dissolve. They will go away on their own and do not need to be removed. It can take 60-90 days for sutures to dissolve. There is a layer of glue over the incision that will flake off over the first week after surgery.
9. DO NOT give your pet aspirin or Ibuprofen. It can be toxic or fatal. Pain medication that was sent home with you should be started the evening after surgery, with food. DO NOT give if your pet is not eating as it can irritate the stomach. For large male dogs, start medication the following morning after surgery as they have had a dose of the medication the day of surgery.
10. If more than 24 hours after surgery your pet is not eating, is lethargic or is vomiting please call our office. Simi Valley Spay and Neuter Clinic (open Mon-Thu 8-4pm for calls): 805-584-3823
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