Having had a hysterectomy myself, I couldn't *imagine* not giving my cats
pain medication after spaying.  However, that was an "option" that my vet
gave that cost extra (of course I paid it, along with the extra charge for
IV fluids, etc.).  For three weeks after my surgery I hobbled around barely
moving, moaning the whole while.  Sammy, on the other hand, ran around the
day after her surgery, jumping on things and playing, and pretty much acted
as if nothing were wrong.

Hugs,

CatNipped

"Phil P." <phil@maxshouse.com> wrote in message

Certainly my experience has always been that cats recover more quickly
when they have pain medication. Why some vets don't automatically give
it is beyond me.

Helen M

--

I picked Tiger up around 5:30 tonight.  She was happy to see me, butting her
head against my hand.  I know she was dying to get out of there.  I asked
the vet about pain medication and he said he wouldn't recommend it.  He said
that the incision isn't really deep and said that she was probably still
groggy from the anesthesia.  I may have confused some people - Tiger wasn't
spayed today (she's 14 years old!), I just mentioned that when the cats at
worked were spayed, they didn't get any medication.

Anyway, when I got Tiger home I opened the carrier and she took a tour of
the apartment, going into every room a couple of times before she decided
that she was thirsty.  She took a long drink at the fountain, and then I
opened a can of food.  She ate a little food, but was mostly interested in
drinking.  She went to the fountain about 4 times during her first couple of
hours back home.  I gave her a little bit of ham, which is her (and Otto's)
favorite treat.

Otto has been freaked out since Tiger came home.  He growls & hisses
whenever he sees her.  It's really weird, because I've heard Otto growl only
once in his life, when he heard some loud noise in the hallway outside the
apartment.  But for the past 6 hours he's been making some awful noises.
Tiger has completely ignored him.  He was hiding under a chair in the
kitchen, making noises, and she decided she'd walk right by him.  He hasn't
made any moves toward her, so I'm not too worried.  He'll forget about her
and be fine, but once he actually sees her again the noises start.

Tiger & I lay down on the couch to watch a movie, and she was very happy to
be able to lay on top of me for a few hours.  She always wants to lay on me
when I watch TV, but I tend to move a lot and will push her off me after a
short time.  For her happiness I lay still the whole time, and she was in
heaven.  She's sleeping by herself on the couch now, curled up in a blanket.

I have to call the vets again on Friday to update them on her recovery.
She'll have to go to have her stitches out early next week.  She's got
medication in her ears, and I have an antibiotic pill to give her for the
next 5 days.  The vet said they should have the reports back next week on
the tumor and the gunk in her ears.  Her blood work came back completely
normal in every way.

--
Liz