My spayed cat is lethargic and vomiting days after surgery. What now?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I am sorry to hear that Stella is not feeling well. It is common for animals to experience nausea post-surgery, especially if it is an abdominal surgery or strong pain medications are used. If you are giving any medications, I would stop for 24 hours and notify the veterinarian that you are stopping the medications to see if Stella improves. If you are giving something such as Buprenex for post operative pain control, this particular drug can cause nausea, vomiting, shaking, lethargy, etc. If she is not improved within 24 hours, then I would recommend having her examined by your veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope Stella feels better soon! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Great to hear you are choosing to spay and neuter your kitties! Some cats definitely do recover more quickly than others. This could depend on the choice of anesthetic, recovery time, other health issues, and nutrition. 15 hours is definitely a pretty long time and I would have expected a almost full recovery from any anesthetic at that point. Extremely lethargy and unsteadiness could be an indication of a post-op complication, infection, or something different entirely. If Tortilla appears to be stable to you, this isn't necessarily an emergency. However, if you think she is deteriorating, you may want to go ahead and get the emergency hospital on alert to tell them you might be coming in at some point. I would go ahead and check her gums for good color (pinkish and moist) and try to obtain a rectal temperature (over 102.5-103.0 would be considered a fever). If any of these are troubling to you, get her checked out some time soon. Also, I would flip her over and take a good look at her incision to see if it looks inflammed, red, or painful. Hope this helps!

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Boo. Poor girl! While you can see a decrease in appetite and potentially drinking after a spay, her appetite should have been back to normal or close to normal by now. It's very serious she hasn't eaten or drank in 48 hours, and that suggests something is quite wrong. I would take her into a vet immediately, as she may have a post-surgical complication. I hope this helps!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If she was bright and happy, and is now lethargic again, one concern is an infection within the abdomen. This is rare after a spay but can happen as a potential complication of any abdominal surgery. I recommend you have Molly back to your vet ASAP, or to an emergency clinic if your vet is closed. They will check her abdomen with an ultrasound to see if any free fluid is present, and will test this fluid if present. They might also do a blood test to look at her white and red blood cell levels. It might just be that Molly needs more pain medications, however we must rule out a 'peritonitis' (infection in the abdominal cavity) first. Best of luck with Molly, I hope she feels better soon!

The incision looks normal. Her behavior is not. I recommend a recheck exam. She could be painful or could have a urinary infection. If the doxycycline is causing a stomach upset they may be able to switch antibiotics. They can put her on pain medication also to make her more comfortable. I recommend feeding wet food with added water in it so she doesn't get dehydrated. Again most dogs are back to normal in a day or two after the surgery so please bring her in for a recheck to make sure there is no complication. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Luna.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. What they used to sedate her with may cause her to be lethargic and weak for the next 24 hours. I would monitor her for the next 24 hours and if the vomiting worsens I would take her back in but if she does not vomit but is lethargic and weak, this should resolve. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. It might also help to contact the veterinarian who did the sedation to find out what drugs were used and why she is still sedated.

After 3 days, the recovery from anesthesia should be gone and she should be feeling like her old self and normal. For her to not have an appetite at this point is concerning something else is going on and it is not part of the surgery recovery. I would recommend taking her to a vet for a check up. They can take her temperature and make sure she is not dehydrated. They can see if there is an infection or a virus that is making her feel bad. Continue to do broth or you can try tuna or the juice to encourage her to keep fluids in until you get her seen. I would also try to keep the other cats away from her so she can rest.