Can't a Vet tell if a cat has already been spayed???

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catfuzzies - 01 Dec 2005 03:58 GMT

I took into my home a lovely affectionate malnourished cat that I found on
a walking path down by the river in the woods. I took her to the vet for
an exam. She was found to have whipworms and I got medicine to take care
of that. I asked the vet if he could tell if she had been spayed. There
was a green line on her stomach, he said he had never seen that before,
and there was no visible sign that she had been spayed. So after getting
her healthy and meat on her bones, I took her back in to be spayed. Come
to find out, she had already BEEN spayed. I cannot believe in this day
and age that there is not a less invasive procedure to find out if a cat
has been spayed other than cutting them open to find out! My cat just had
an unnecessary surgery, and I am out bucks because my vet does not have
the technology or there IS no technology that can identify if a cat has
been previously neutered. I am so mad at my vet who incidently, let me
take the cat home and no one at the office EVER told me she had been
previously spayed. I found out the next day by accident when I called to
see where some blood might be coming from, and the office girl told me
that! However that is another story!

Please would a vet or vet tech respond to my question??? Do you have to
surgically open up a cat to tell if it has been spayed??? Thanks in
advance for the info!

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Judy - 01 Dec 2005 04:43 GMT

>I took into my home a lovely affectionate malnourished cat that I found on
> a walking path down by the river in the woods. I took her to the vet for
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> surgically open up a cat to tell if it has been spayed??? Thanks in
> advance for the info!

I'm not a vet or a vet tech, but seeing as a "well done" procedure will
leave no scar, my readings told me that the best way to determine whether or
not a cat has been spayed is to allow about six months of time to pass.

If during this time the cat doesn't exhibit signs of being in "heat" it's
save to assume that she's been spayed.

How long was she with you prior to your taking her to the vet to be spayed?

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carola - 01 Dec 2005 05:10 GMT

:I took into my home a lovely affectionate malnourished cat that I found on
: a walking path down by the river in the woods. I took her to the vet for
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
: surgically open up a cat to tell if it has been spayed??? Thanks in
: advance for the info!

Make sure you don't have to pay for the spaying! Only for the rest.
Calm down, take, if necessary, a friend with you and make an appointment
to speak calmly to the vet.
Show your concern, ask your questions, show your disappointment.
If he is wise he'll listen to you and also give you a reduction.

I really hope your cat recovers well, give her a cuddle!

carola

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surabaya.nospam@optusnet.com.au - 01 Dec 2005 05:31 GMT

> :I took into my home a lovely affectionate malnourished cat that I found on
> : a walking path down by the river in the woods. I took her to the vet for
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
> I really hope your cat recovers well, give her a cuddle!

A lot of vets have an ultrasound machine - it would take 2 minutes to
have a look and discover the absence of the uterus... on the other
hand, my vet would charge more for that than he would for an actual
spay! ($65 vs $60)...

Cat

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ingridellen.anderson@gmail.com - 01 Dec 2005 05:18 GMT

I work at a vet and we will get people bringing in feral cats the way
that we find out if they are spayed or not is on the operating table
because these are sort of catch and release thing where the cats get
shots and spay/neuter so there is not enough time to wait for them to
go into heat (if they are not altered). I know it sounds horrible and
unfortuneate that this is the way that it happens. I don't know for
sure that it is the only way but it is what has happened while I have
been working. It would be interesting to find out if there is another
way.

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Dan M - 01 Dec 2005 23:06 GMT

On Wed, 30 Nov 2005 21:18:18 -0800, ingridellen.anderson wrote:

> I work at a vet and we will get people bringing in feral cats the way
> that we find out if they are spayed or not is on the operating table
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> been working. It would be interesting to find out if there is another
> way.

A fair number of trap/neuter/release places will cut a notch in the cat's
ear when it's spayed/neutered. That way you can tell from a distance if a
cat has been fixed already. Of course with ferals it's never a sure thing
since they are prone to ear damage through fighting.

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MarAzul - 01 Dec 2005 05:40 GMT

Even the most well done spay should leave a scar, either visual or tactile,
behind. Some animals just heal well though and it may be hard to tell. If
the vet had the supplies on hand, he could have run an LH test to detect the
presence or lack of horomones in the body. I'm not sure how common place or
expensive the tests are though. But in general it can be difficult to tell.

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Monique - 01 Dec 2005 07:40 GMT

"catfuzzies"

> Do you have to
> surgically open up a cat to tell if it has been spayed??? Thanks in
> advance for the info!

er..nope. At least, not in Tasmania, Australia. All girl cats have thier
left ear tattooed when they are desexed. As far as I know, this has been the
common practice for many years. Ok, I admit that sometimes the ear tattoo
may be hard to see, and sometimes I wager it is skipped altogether. But for
the most part anyone can see some identification that the cat has been
desexed.

The boys don't. Presumably because the vet or owner can feel whether the
testes are there or not.

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Jason James - 01 Dec 2005 16:33 GMT

> I took into my home a lovely affectionate malnourished cat that I found on
> a walking path down by the river in the woods. I took her to the vet for
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> surgically open up a cat to tell if it has been spayed??? Thanks in
> advance for the info!

I also am alarmed at what happened to your puss. When they neuter a female,
they remove both ovaries and uterus according to info I've read. Now an
Ultra-sound scan (they use a hand-held transponder, like when you have a
baby) is not an expensive procedure,..so I can only wonder why they didnt
use this analytical tool. To pick-up kidney stones, I paid a very small bill
compared to a Cat-scan. It was in-line with a plain X-ray price.

Jason

hope she's doing well.

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