Is it normal for my cat to not wake up hours after spay anesthesia?

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!

That is definitively possible as they may take even 24-36 hours to come fully out from anesthetic (side effects), but it is as well possible that she is experiencing pain/discomfort. I would just monitor her at this stage for the next 12 hours and if signs persist have her checked at your local veterinarian as a physical examination would be essential to understand properly the underlying cause. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Some cats can experience mild lingering effects from anesthesia up to 24 hours after the procedure. Try to let Coix sleep today and keep him confined to a large crate or very small room to prevent him from running, jumping and playing, as this could delay healing of his surgical site. It is also not uncommon for animals to skip a meal or two after anesthesia, so do not be alarmed if he does not eat today. If his third eye lid is still raised by tomorrow morning and he has not generally returned to normal, give your vet a call to determine if he needs to be examined. I hope that he recovers well!

I would not worry too much at this point. Zoii has just undergone major surgery and it can take up to 48 hours for her to fully recover. She is probably still processing some of the anesthesia that is in her system. She also was probably very stressed and did not get much rest while at the vet so she is making up for that now. Just keep an eye on her tonight and if you are still not comfortable with how she is acting in the morning you can take her in for a recheck. My guess is that she was just more sensitive to the drugs used and it is taking her a bit more time to recover than some cats. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! While I am unclear what you are specifically referring to in terms of his behavior, it is fairly common for cats and dogs to feel differently and show signs such as lethargy and sedation for 24-36 hours following anesthesia. The fact that he ate is a good sign. Best of luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sometimes it can take some time for cats to recover from anesthesia and administration of these medications together so that could be a reason why it has been taking him longer than expected to recover. If he is eating and otherwise doing well, it may be ok to monitor him for a bit longer. However, if he worsens or by tomorrow he has not improved, he should be evaluated by his veterinarian for reevaluation. Good luck and have a great day!

I think Lovely is still under the influence of the anesthetics, this type of awakening is typical to anesthesia with ketamine, she will very soon come out of it, in a few hours she should be back to her normal self.