sterilisation, elizabethan collar

Sterilisation and Your Cat

Surgical sterilisation, ovariohysterectomy and castration are the most common surgical procedures performed on cats today. Female sterilisation involves removal of the ovaries and uterus. This is done through a small incision just behind the umbilicus (belly button) or on the left flank (side of abdomen). Castration involves removal of both testicles through an incision just over the scrotal area in cats. Both procedures require a complete sterile surgical approach. Cats undergoing castration do not have sutures placed in the skin in the scrotal area.

Pain Relief

Pain management in our hospital is of utmost importance and studies have shown that by controlling pain efficiently, recovery and healing are faster and improved. All cats undergoing sterilisation surgery will receive a premedication injection (given prior to anaesthetic) which contains a morphine-like drug called methadone.

The duration of action of the methadone is approximately 4-6 hours. Because drugs belonging to the morphine group are one of the most effective at controlling pain and in cats, the safety range of these drugs is so much higher than their use in human medicine, they make an ideal choice for controlling pain before and after surgery. We also administer a second injection of methadone prior to discharge. Using a combination of pain medications is considered the gold standard for controlling pain, and so we will also use a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug given as an injection after surgery.

Price

The price of our sterilisations includes:

  • A full clinical exam prior to anaesthetic
  • Premedication drugs and administration
  • Anaesthetic induction and maintenance on gas anaesthesia throughout
  • Intubation with V-Gel airway device
  • Full anaesthetic monitoring including respiration, heart, ECG, capnograph, SPO2 (pulse oximetry), blood pressure and temperature
  • Placement of an intravenous catheter to allow administration of drugs and fluids if required
  • Surgical sterilisation procedure
  • Intra-operative pain relief
  • Sterilisation tattoo placement (if requested)
  • Intradermal self-dissolving sutures
  • Suture removal if required and post-operative check-up for female sterilisations

The price does not include:

  • Intra-operative intravenous fluid therapy
  • Pre-anaesthetic blood tests
  • Extended pain relief
  • Microchipping or vaccinations
  • Other conditions requiring treatment at the time of sterilisation

Admission

On the day of your cat’s surgery, they will need to be admitted into hospital for the day.  This process generally takes 10-15 minutes and is done by one of our nursing staff. We do require a consent form to be filled out and signed for each surgical procedure.  It is vital that the correct contact details for the day are checked and filled in.  The nurse will take some time to go through the procedure and any other items that may accompany the surgery.  These include:

Pre-anaesthetic Blood Testing

A full physical exam is performed on your cat by one of our vets, prior to anaesthesia. There is always a possibility that a physical exam alone will not identify all of your cat’s health problems, so we recommend a pre-anaesthetic profile for all cats to be performed prior to anaesthesia.  These blood tests are very similar to what your own doctor would run if you were to undergo anaesthesia yourself. We generally can run these on the same day your cat’s anaesthetic is scheduled.

Reasons to test:

  1. To assure proper kidney and liver function; as they are primarily responsible for anaesthetic metabolism in the body
  2. To assure adequate oxygen carrying capacity of the red blood cells
  3. To ensure adequate platelet levels for blood clotting
  4. To identify “early warning” signs of major blood and organ dysfunction

It is important to understand that a pre-anaesthetic profile does not guarantee the absence of anaesthetic complications.  It will however reduce the risk of complications as well as identify medical conditions at an earlier stage. 

Intra-operative intravenous fluid therapy

In addition to performing pre-anaesthetic tests, we also recommend administration of intravenous fluids for the procedure

Reasons for intravenous fluid therapy

  1. Supporting the liver and the kidneys by preventing a fall in regular blood pressure, this can be more common in an older patient
  2. Maintains blood pressure throughout the anaesthetic. Up to 80% of all patients undergoing a general anaesthetic will experience a significant drop in blood pressure that could be detrimental to organ function.

Discharge

Your cat will be discharged on the same day, later in the afternoon. Recovery from newer generation anaesthetics is far quicker, and in all likelihood, your cat will be walking about and hopefully purring! It is imperative that you try and keep him/ her as quiet as possible to prevent problems occurring at the wound site.

Complete discharge instructions will be given in written form when you pick your cat up from our hospital.

We do request that an Elizabethan collar is placed on your cat to prevent self-trauma to the wound and sutures.

Should there be any problems, please do not hesitate to contact one of our team.

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