Post-Operative Care
Activity: Take care not to put pressure on the incision as you lift your dog into and out of the car. Jumping could tear internal sutures. Let us know if you need help loading your pet. Keep your pet from romping, running, and jumping for 7 days while incision tissues mend. Dogs should be leash-walked only, and cats kept indoors (with the exception of unsocialized, outdoor cats which should be released the morning after surgery).
Environment: Your pet had major surgery. Keep your pet quiet in an indoor area (bathroom/laundry) while anesthesia wears off over the next 24 hours. Pets must be kept calm, warm and clean (but no baths). Care during the next 7 days is the key to a smooth recovery.
Pain Medication Dogs: Please begin post-op pain medication the evening of surgery. It is important to continue and finish the pain medicine as directed to prevent pain at the incision site. Failure to give pain medication encourages incision licking and delays healing and can cause infection. DO NOT give human pain medications (Ibuprofen, NSAIDs, Aspirin, Midol, Tylenol, Aleve, etc.) These may be toxic and may kill your pet.
Pain Medication for Cats: Extended-release (over 3 days) pain medication was given to your cat at the time of surgery. No further pain medication is needed. DO NOT give human pain medications (Ibuprofen, NSAIDs, Aspirin, Midol, Tylenol, Aleve etc.) These may be toxic and may kill your pet.
Incision: Check the surgical incision carefully each morning and evening for 7 days. There should be very little drainage, redness or swelling. Text us if you see swelling, redness or drainage. Too much activity causes increased drainage which increases the recovery period and can lead to another surgery. A small green ½” line tattoo near the incision signifies that your pet has been spayed/neutered. Remember that the incision should not get wet (from baths, pools or ponds) for four weeks after surgery.
Cones: The veterinarian MAY recommend your dog wear a protective cone for 7 days to prevent your dog from licking and chewing the incision site. Licking and chewing will cause an infection and another trip to our clinic. If we do not send you home with a cone, please monitor your dog and report excessive licking to us so we can provide you with one. Lots of licking can cause infection.
Feeding: No gorging. No new foods. Offer your pet only ¼ of a normal meal around 5pm tonight along his usual amount of water. Over the next few hours, you can gradually feed more, if your pet is interested in eating. Appetite will return to normal during the first 24 hours after surgery. When this happens, resume the type and amount of food/treats that your pet normally receives.
In-Heat or Pregnant: Females that were in-heat or pregnant may also have a small amount of blood in the urine for 3-4 days after surgery. This is normal. Females in-heat or pregnant at the time of surgery may continue to attract males for up to 10 days and males can impregnate a female up to 3 days after he is neutered. During this time, attempted breeding may cause internal bleeding.
Vaccinations: If your animal received a vaccine at our clinic other than rabies, please discuss a “booster” vaccine with us. Canine distemper/parvo and feline distemper vaccines both need to be “boostered” three to four weeks after the first vaccine for maximum effectiveness.
Emergencies: Please TEXT Brooke (832) 953-6212 for surgery-related questions during your pet’s 7-10 day recovery. Texting with photos is encouraged. You may also want to contact a local emergency veterinarian if we are not available at the time of the emergency. Emergencies include pale gums, depression, unsteady gate, loss of appetite or decreased water intake, vomiting, diarrhea, discharge or bleeding from the incision, difficulty urinating and or defecating, labored breathing. DO NOT GIVE HUMAN MEDICATIONS- THIS CAN BE FATAL.
We provide you with these recommendations to avoid an expensive and painful post-op veterinary visit. The cost of any emergency visit is your responsibility. We cannot be held responsible for complications resulting from failure to follow our post-operative instructions. We will make every reasonable effort to treat your animal at OUR CLINIC, at a minimal cost. We are happy to examine your pet’s incision at no charge, though costs of re-suturing, re-stapling or re-gluing and/or antibiotics are your responsibility.
We are thrilled you trusted us to provide quality care to your pet. We now consider you to be part of the Fix West Texas family and hope you will consider a donation to Fix West Texas, as you are able. Fix West Texas relies on your support to help ensure local pets in need have access to affordable, preventive pet care.
Positive feedback and suggestions for improvement are very important to us. Please feel free to email us at re**********@fi**********.org or consider leaving a review of your experience and a photograph of your pet on our Facebook page.
