What's the best suture material for my cat's spay operation?

I am not sure if you are spaying your cat or if you vet it. I would recommend only have a vet who went through the proper schooling do the cat spay. Even though we consider spays routine they are intra-abdominal surgeries and have a risk associated with them. I would recommend having your vet decide what suture they want to use. The best suture will be one that the vet is familiar working with. hope that helps

I would leave the remaining suture alone unless it seems to be bothering Kloe. Depending on what type of suture your veterinarian uses, it may disintegrate and come out on its own over the next few weeks, or it may be a type of non-absorbable suture that is designed to stay in place permanently. If the area around the suture looks red or irritated, or if it seems to be bothering her, I would suggest taking her back to your vet to have this checked - he/she can safely remove it if needed.

It’s actually fairly common for cats to have a suture reaction in the subcutaneous layer of tissue but not the muscle and linea alba. While it’s impossible to know exactly how everything looked I too would have left body wall sutures in place if there seemed to be normal healing since reopening the abdominal incision could increase risk for contamination in the abdomen. I hope Pixel recovers well!

No, I don't recommend you remove any sutures without talking to your vet first. It is possible they are irritating him but you should have your vet check it prior to removal. Sutures dissolve at different rates depending on the type of suture used - ex: Monosorb only lasts weeks at most whereas PDS lasts months, up to a year in some cases. In cases where we are making a new opening and we want to make sure it stays open (like a PU surgery), we would want to use PDS. My guess is that is what your vet used and that is why there are still some present. Regardless, it should be up to your vet if he/she wants to remove them. I suggest you use more than water wipes to clean the area. Medicated wipes would probably be best. Something like this: ( https://www.allivet.com/p-8167-vetraseb-ck-antiseptic-wipes-ps-for-dogs-and-cats-60-wipes.aspx ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hello. I am so sorry that this has been so stressful. Most surgeries go off without a hitch, sometimes there are complications. This looks like a piece of suture, that may have been in the underlying muscle layer, may be trying to or has already migrated out. For now, just gently clean the area with a skin antiseptic like Hibiclens ( available at any pharmacy ) twice a day. Just dab it on & leave it. If the area seems to be worsening, do have her seen as soon as possible, but for now, just keep it cleaned. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Usually there three layers of stitches. One layer holds the body wall together, the next closes the subcuticular layer and the third layer closed the skin. The skin stitches can be put into the back of the skin so there are none showing. Sometimes skin stitches are on the outside of the skin and will need to be removed in ten to fourteen days. The buried stitches will dissolve over one to three months depending on the size and type of suture used. There will be some swelling as they dissolve and you often can feel them for a few months if you are feeling closely. Over time the scar will heal and you should no longer feel anything but the spay scar itself. The scar also will become softer and smoother over time so that often it is difficult to find. Since she’s a very small dog the sutures will be thinner and will be less noticeable sooner than on a big dog. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Precious.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Gita. Six days is quite early to have her sutures removed. However, maybe it was suspected that she was having a reaction to the suture material or that they were contributing to the infection. It is possible for her wound to heal, but it will be more difficult without the sutures. She must be kept from licking the surgical site and her movements need to limited. No running, jumping or playing. I hope this information helps!