My unspayed cat has e-collar and brown vulva discharge. What's wrong?

As your cat is spayed, it is possible that the discharge you are seeing is coming from the urethra rather than the vagina as both open up into a common vestibule in the body. Dark brown secretions may indicate blood or infection in the urine, and bringing in a sample of your cat's urine to your local vet can be used to determine if this is the case. You may see other signs of illness such as more frequent trips to the bathroom, attempting to go without success, yowling, or pain and irritation. Infections are usually treated with a round of antibiotics as well as switching to a urinary friendly diet. Increasing your cats water consumption will also help reduce further infections. In some very rare cases, part of the uterus can be left behind during a spay which may become infected. Signs of infection include swelling of the abdomen, extreme pain and lethargy, and greenish or yellow discharge in addition to other possible discharge. This is a serious condition which should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.

Cats are little stinkers! You may have to try a longer than normal rigid e-collar, or you can look for the bowl style that are used in cats. You could try a large tube sock as a dress (cut holes for head and arms). You could attach string or elastic to make "stirrups" that pull the shirt down. As for cleaning, a warm wet washcloth is all that is needed. Though, since it appears red and swollen, I would recommend taking her to the vet for evaluation and possibly to start antibiotics.

I'm glad to hear that Bree is feeling well after her spay surgery. However, the single most important thing you can do during her recovery is preventing her from licking at the incision for at least 10-14 days after surgery. The best way to achieve this is by putting an e-collar (cone) on her. These are typically available through veterinarians or most pet stores. The blood and yellow discharge could indicate a sign of incisional infection from her licking, or could be irritation caused from her jumping and activity. Since you are seeing blood and yellow discharge, I do recommend taking Bree back to her vet for an exam to determine if an infection is present. If her incision has become infected, topical antibiotic sprays are not typically very effective and oral antibiotics are often needed. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

This is likely a uterine infection and the milky substance would be pus. In these cases it's best to have her evaluated by a veterinarian, because these infections can get worse if left untreated. It's not an emergency, but best to have her seen within 24 hours. The vet can give the necessary medications and spay her to keep it from happening again. I hope that helps and Scarlet gets better soon.

In an unspayed cat I would worry about pyometra, an infection in the uterus. This can be a very serious, life threatening condition that needs to be evaluated and treated by your veterinarian as soon as possible. If there is an emergency clinic near your home I would consider bringing Ellie in to be examined. If there is no way to get to a veterinarian before Monday I would watch Ellie very closely for any changes in activity level, appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, water intake, urination, etc. so you can give your veterinarian as much helpful information as possible when you arrive. There are, of course, other reasons for discharge around the hind end (such as dried diarrhea, expressed anal gland discharge, flea "dirt", among other things), I cannot rule any of these out without diagnostic tests. Your vet will likely recommend blood work, a urinalysis, abdominal radiographs or an abdominal ultrasound, or possibly a fecal examination. I hope this is helpful for you and Ellie!

We do not normally see a bloody discharge in cats with heat cycles like we do in dogs. For this reason I would recommend an exam by your veterinarian. We could have blood coming from the reproductive tract from infection or a tumor, or we could have blood from the urinary tract which could be due to infection, inflammation, bladder stones, bladder tumors. The vet will do an exam and may recommend a urine test and an x-ray or ultrasound of the abdomen to help determine the cause of the blood.

Discharge from the vulva of an unspayed female is always very concerning. Your cat may have a urinary tract infection or may have a more serious condition called a pyometra. This is where the uterus becomes infected. Pyometra can be life threatening. If this is what is going on with Panda she will need surgery to have her uterus removed. She will also need to be on antibiotics. I would recommend taking Panda in to see your vet as soon as possible so she can be evaluated and treatment can be initiated. I hope this helps. Best of luck. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!