Is spaying safe for my senior chihuahua with a seizure history?

I know how stressful surgery can be. It is true that spaying your pets will prevent any future pyometra event. This is key to your pets health moving forward. I think that the pros outweigh the cons when you are considering spaying your fur babies. As long as their bloodwork looks good, your vet is experienced spaying older pets, and your vet has a safe senior protocol to use for the pre-anesthetic drugs (i.e. Midazolam + Butorphanol), then they will have minimal risks involved with surgery. Best wishes with your fur babies moving forward and I hope that their surgeries go as planned with no complications. Take care!

You should really have her spayed at the clinic where Gracie's medical history is known. That said, it is important that the vet who does the spay knows about her epilepsy, since it might influence which anesthesia the vet will use. We have many different ways of anesthetizing dogs, so there is a way to individualize the procedure according to need. I would insist on having a talk with the surgeon.

While any anesthesia carries a risk, spaying is generally a very safe procedure. The risks of anesthesia increase as a dog ages (I'm specifically referencing senior dogs like 10 years and older), but there are few risks for a young and healthy puppy. Your vet is right she could be ill in the future if you don't spay her. Not spaying her leaves her at risk of developing a pyometra in the future. This is an infection of the uterus that is fatal without treatment, and spaying the dog is part of the treatment of a pyometra. That surgery is high risk due to the severity of the illness in the dog from the infection, and it costs thousands to perform. In addition, dogs who are spayed are at an increased risk of developing mammary tumors. Of these mammary tumors, 50% of them are malignant. For her health, it is best to spay her now. I would speak with your vet about getting it done. I hope this helps!

I am so sorry that you are exeoeriencing these problems with Wiggles I am sure it's very upsetting. Because mammary tumours are Hormone linked I would advise spaying her when she has the tumours removed. The last thing you would want is for Wiggles to have another mammary tumour in the future and therefore another surgery. For anaesthetics for older dogs many precautions are taken. Your veterinarian will discuss these with you to help put your mind at ease. They include blood pressure monitoring and intravenous fluid treatment before, during and after the surgery. I believe this is the best course of action and I send you the best of luck.

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.

Yes, pets can be safely spayed at this age. As long as her heart and internal organs are functioning normally, complications are not expected (but just like anything, there is always a small risk with any procedure). Minnie is still in her prime and will not be considered a senior until 9 years of age. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Just as in people, anesthetic procedures are not without risk. However, if she is deemed healthy and will be adequately monitored during the procedure, the risk is minimized. She should have a full blood panel performed beforehand to make sure she is healthy to undergo the procedure. Your vet should also do a good physical exam to ensure she does not have a heart murmur or other health concerns. Wishing you both the best!