Monthly Archives: April 2018

Spaying Your Cat: What To Expect Before, During, And After The Procedure

Read about what to expect before and after you spay your cat on the AZPAWS blog.

Spaying Your Cat: What To Expect Before, During, And After The Procedure

It’s important to spay your pet before their first heat for a number of reasons. The first is that is can help prevent uterine infections. The second is that is can help prevent cancerous tumors, which affect up to 90% of cats. It’s essential that a cat is spayed before their first heat because they can become pregnant as soon as they’re five months old.

Therefore, to ensure you’re properly prepared for your feline’s spaying, here’s what you need to know about the process of spaying a cat.

Preparing your Cat
Similar to human surgery, it’s often recommended that a cat doesn’t consume food or water for up to 12 hours prior to their surgery. This is to help prevent vomiting during surgery, which could complicate the procedure.

It’s also a good idea to prepare for the morning of the surgery based on your cat’s known behavior. For instance, if your cat is likely to hide at the sight of their carrier, keep them in the guest bedroom over night so they’ll be easier to catch the next day. Additionally, keep your cat indoors the night before the surgery to ensure they’re not drinking or eating for 12 hours prior to the surgery.

During the Surgery
During the surgery, a veterinarian will be assisted by either one or two technicians. The veterinarian may choose to use an intravenous catheter on your pet to provide them with drugs or fluids. However, this isn’t always the case.

Should the catheter be used, one of the technicians will shave applied area either on the back foot of your cat or the front leg. Your cat will be anesthetized and sedated during the procedure. The procedure will take up to 30 minutes at most.

A small incision is made in the stomach area of your cat during the surgery. Be sure to pay close attention to this area after the procedure for signs of infection, swelling, or bleeding.

After the surgery
After the surgery, you’ll want to keep your cat indoors for at least a week. Keep him or her safe and comfortable.

Many cats are often back to their normal behavior within 24 hours. If your feline is still behaving oddly or groggy after more than two days be sure to check in with your veterinarian.

As a pet owner, it’s essential that you understand the importance of spaying or neutering your pet when it comes to pet healthcare. Spaying your pet means caring for your pet. For more information on the benefits of spaying your pet and caring for your cat after spaying or neutering, contact AZPaws today.

What You Might See After Your Dog Has Been Spayed

After your do has been spayed, read more about the signs you need to watch for to ensure your pet is healing properly.

What You Might See After Your Dog Has Been Spayed

Putting your dog through surgery, no matter how minor the procedure may be, can be a lot to handle. It can be overwhelming as you may be worried about what’s going to happen. However, if your dog is about to get spayed, there isn’t much to worry about!

Taking your dog to get spayed is one of the most common procedures you can put them through. However, there are some potential symptoms you should be aware of. Some of these symptoms must be addressed by a vet immediately. Let’s take a look at a few things you might notice.

Their Incision
Since the procedure does involve the vet cutting into your pet, they will have an incision that needs to heal over time. The incision will be sewed up by the vet and will need to stay intact. In order to do this, the dog needs to avoid chewing on the stitches or disturbing the wound. If they do, you’ll notice an infection starting to form. Keeping them away from that area will prevent any serious problem they might develop in the future.

Bleeding
Heavy bleeding is not normal for a dog following the procedure. There is a chance that the dog might experience a bit of bleeding where their incision is sewed up, which is expected. However, if you notice severe bleeding or bleeding from other areas of the body, you need to contact your vet office immediately.

Long-Term Symptoms
There are a few symptoms that a dog might experience well after the procedure was completed. You might notice that your dog has some weight gain or has trouble holding their urine at times. All of these things can be normal, but a visit to AZ PAWS for a follow up may be important.

Spaying and neutering is the only thing that is 100% effective as a form of birth control for cats and dogs. Keep the things listed above in mind for after the procedure, and reach out if you have any questions.

Exploring the Benefits of Getting Your Dog Spayed

Getting your dog spayed is essential for the health and well being of your dog. Read more about why on the AZ PAWS blog.

Exploring the Benefits of Getting Your Dog Spayed

If you’re a dog owner, you’re probably familiar with spay and neuter procedures. It’s an extremely common procedure, and getting your female dog spayed is crucial for both their health and your peace of mind. Along with preventing pregnancy, there are many other benefits of having your dog spayed. You might not have even thought about these potential benefits before.

Spaying is actually a really easy way to prevent potential illnesses.
Much like humans are, dogs are subject to potentially life-threatening diseases like cancer. This terrible disease can have the same impact on a dog that it does on humans. Fortunately, mammary gland cancer is one of the illnesses that can be prevented by getting your dog spayed.

Female dogs do not menstruate like humans do, but they have an estrous cycle.
It’s more commonly known as a “heat cycle,” and it lasts throughout a dog’s life. Unfortunately, it can result in some messes as well. To prevent messes from being made all over the home, owners typically will put down sanitary pads or put the dog in a diaper. If you don’t want to have to deal with your dog being uncomfortable or with the fear of an accidental pregnancy, getting your dog spayed is the perfect thing to do. Since the procedure itself will prevent your dog from becoming pregnant, it will also keep your dog from entering their heat cycle.

Overpopulation is an unfortunate truth when it comes to dogs in the United States.
Considering the average number of puppies in a litter ranges between six and ten, it’s not surprising that non-spayed dogs are becoming a problem. By spaying your dog, you’re helping to keep the population down. They will not be able to reproduce, which means there will be fewer dogs added to the world. You won’t have to worry about what happens to your dog’s puppies, as there won’t be any.

Getting your dog spayed is actually more beneficial than just preventing pregnancy. The procedure can help control the dog population in the United States, prevent lifelong heat cycles, and prevent any potential life-threatening illnesses. If these are things that you’re passionate about, get your dog spayed today at AZPAWS!