My cat is weak, breathing fast after spay. When will antibiotics work?

Thank you for posting more information on Vegas! I'm sorry your veterinarian wasn't able to tell you if her breathing problems were caused by a [respiratory infection](https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-things-you-should-know-about-feline-respiratory-infections) or [cancer](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/cancer). A [second opinion](https://www.petcoach.co/article/when-is-it-time-to-seek-a-second-veterinary-opinion) with a different veterinarian, veterinary oncologist or an internal medicine specialist may provide a more definitive diagnosis. That said, with antibiotics, you should start to see some relief from symptoms as early as 24 hours after starting treatment, and should see significant improvement within 72 hours. If you aren't seeing any improvement in Vegas's symptoms after 3-4 days of taking antibiotics, then I would be more inclined to think her symptoms are related to cancer. I hope the antibiotics do help her :-)

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would say that occasional episodes of rapid breathing are not necessarily a cause to panic. Do take note of the timing though. Does it seem to be when the pain medication is wearing off or has it started since stopping pain medication? If so, talk to your vet. Some cats just need a few extra days of pain medication. Certain medications are also ok to give more often but ALWAYS ask your vet first as some of them are very UNSAFE to give more often. Of course, always watch attitude and appetite and if anything else seems amiss (coughing, difficulty breathing, etc), head to the vet right away. Best of luck to you and Sophie!

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!

Hi. The tube that go down the throat for anesthesia can cause irritation to the throat area for a few days, but not this bad. It may be something totally unrelated. She could have an upper respiratory infection, allergies, hair ball, cardiac disease, and more. If it has been 4 days, i recommend that you see your veterinarian as soon as you can. If they aren't open, I would recommend the ER

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. It sounds as if her pain is not well controlled. I would contact your vet about this and have additional pain medications prescribed. Rapid breathing and trouble urinating could be signs of pain especially after a spay procedure. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Perfect, you should give the medication some time to work, up to 10 days. As long as he is getting better within this time then he should be ok and his voice will return. However, if he is not doing better or if he is doing worse, then make sure you bring him back to his veterinarian immediately.

Usually at least 48hours are needed to see a substantial improvement with the treatment that was given. As far as you are reporting there is already an improvement though, so resolution of the signs it is expected.