I'm afraid to spay my cat. What are the risks of the surgery?

I don't have a number for you - but the risk is very, very low (less than 1%). A spay is a common, everyday, low-risk surgery and the complication rate is extremely low. To provide one anecdotal example: I've been practicing for 7 years, have performed spays weekly, and have never had a spay patient die.

No, that is not true. Spaying is a very common procedure, and it's typically safe. As with any surgery, there are risks (i.e. infection, bleeding), but dying from the surgery is rare. It won't affect Lily's physical abilities, although she will need a few weeks of rest to heal up from it. And she will be happy. I highly recommend getting it done.

The chances of something happening to Princess under anesthesia is very minute. That doesn't mean there is no chance. She is a living, breathing being and just like in humans, anything can happen. Veterinarians use very safe anesthetic drugs that are often what is used in humans despite all the safety precautions adverse reactions can still happen. While no one can give you a guarantee, I can tell you that the benefits of having her spayed far outweigh the risks of the procedure. Unspayed animals have an extremely high instance of mammary cancer which is often life threatening. Here is a link to an article that reviews the benefits of spaying. ( https://www.petcoach.co/article/spaying-ovariohysterectomy-the-benefits-in-cats/ ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I am sorry to hear about your kitty! We do routinely do surgery in many pets that have seizures, and as long as we are aware ahead of time we can prepare for this concern by doing things such as selecting certain drugs for anesthesia and having an IV catheter in place in case a seizure occurs so we have quick access to a vein to administer medication. I would say that the risk of not being spayed is a greater health risk than the risk of being spayed. I would, however, recommend having your cat examined/have work-up done which may involve bloodwork and ultrasound to ensure there isn't a cause for seizures such as a liver shunt that needs to be addressed if your cat hasn't already been examined for the seizures. I would also recommend you have your cat spayed at a full service vet clinic and not a spay/neuter low cost clinic because of her issues she is going to need more intensive monitoring than they can offer. The risks involved in spaying are the same for any surgical procedure and include adverse reaction to the anesthetic drugs, bleeding during surgery, and infection of the surgical site. These complications are extremely rare.

You should get her spayed, no questions about it, there is no high risk in having that surgery done at her age, she is still very young and it is a very simple surgery. cats are in very high risks of mammary gland tumors if they are not spayed and this condition is almost always fatal.

The only way to spay a cat is with surgery. They are working on non-surgical sterilization options for cats but right now those are only available for dogs. Your best option is to contact a vet in your area and ask about the procedure. The rate of infection after spay surgery is very low but if that is a concern of yours you can ask the veterinarian to dispense some antibiotics that you can give Lovely after the procedure as a preventive.

No, it's not dangerous for her to be spayed at this point in time. I have personally spayed cats who are in heat or approaching heat, and they have been just fine. There can be increased blood flow to the uterus if she is approaching her heat, but the vet will take precautions during surgery to prevent any problems. In addition, it's very difficult to predict exactly when a cat is going into heat next, so it may be Lucy isn't close to going into heat at this time. Any surgery does carry risks, even spaying when a cat isn't in heat, but your vet is aware of those risks and will do everything possible to minimize them. I hope this helps you, and best of luck for Lucy's surgery tomorrow!