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SURGERY

1. When should I get my pet spayed/neutered?
We generally recommend spaying female cats at 6 months of age and dogs at about 7 months of age. This gives them time for their adult teeth to come in. If there are any dental problems we can take care of them at the same time. We generally neuter male cats at 6 months and dogs at about 9 months of age. This lets the male dogs begin to go through puberty and develop a little more muscle. These ages are suggestions, but we can perform spay or neuter procedures as early as 3 months of age if needed.

2. My pet had surgery, what should I watch for with the incision?
The incision should be clean and dry with no discharge. There will be a slight amount of swelling, but not so much that the skin has swollen around the sutures. The area around the sutures should be pink and possibly a bit bruised, but not beet red. Please call or make an appointment to come in if you still have concerns or questions about the incision.

3. Does my pet need pain control when he has surgery?
The advent of providing pain control for pets is a recent development in veterinary medicine. Studies have shown that pets given pain medication post operatively heal faster, eat sooner, have fewer infections, and are much less stressed than pets that don't receive pain medication. Ask us about pain control options for your pet.

4. Why does the hospital recommend blood testing before procedures requiring anesthesia?
Pre-anesthetic blood testing allows us to evaluate your pet's basic physiologic condition and will let us know if we need to take extra precautions with your pet. It may indicate that we should avoid a procedure altogether until a discovered problem can be corrected.

5. How long should I fast my pet before surgery?
We recommend a 12 hour fast before your dog or cat is admitted for surgery. Since we admit most of our patients between 7:30-8:00 am, you should take up all food and water about 8:00 pm the night before.

6. Should I give my pet its regular medication on the morning of surgery?
Diabetics should be given ½ of their normal insulin dose on the morning of surgery. If your pet is taking antibiotics, pain medications or other daily drugs, go ahead and give them, and bring the medications with them so we can administer it while they are here in the hospital. Do not give any drugs that can prolong bleeding such as aspirin.