Provide your cat with a light meal and remove all access to food the night before surgery. On the day of the operation, your cat should not be provided with any food, however it is acceptable to provide them with water.
Pre-operative Care
All animals must have food and water withdrawn the night before surgery at 12:00 midnight.
Your pet will need to stop eating prior to surgery. If your dog or cat eats prior to surgery then vomits, stomach contents can travel to the lungs and cause infections, pneumonia or respiratory distress syndrome. The exact time your pet must stop eating will vary depending on when the surgery is scheduled.
Adult dogs and cats should receive no food after 10 p.m. the night before surgery. Water all night is OK. Kittens under 4 pounds should be fed the night before and then receive a teaspoon of food by 7 a.m. on the day of surgery.
All pets can have water up until the time of surgery. Pets must be kept indoors or confined the night before surgery. This ensures that they are not eating unknown/foreign objects outside, which could potentially be dangerous during surgery.
Most pets will stay at the hospital the night after they are spayed or neutered for observation. However, some pets may be allowed to go home that evening. Remember, your pet had a major surgery with anesthetic and they may be drowsy or may try to hide. This is when the crate can be very handy.
Pets need to fast before surgery to prevent vomiting and aspiration during anaesthesia, which is fatal. Even eating or drinking small amounts during the fasting period can be dangerous, so it's essential your pet doesn't eat or drink before their surgery.
Your veterinarian will give you clear instructions for your pet's diet plan before surgery. The norm is to fast 12 hours beforehand, but there are a few exceptions. Puppies and kittens will be allowed a small meal to give them the energy to go through with the procedure.
Fasting for several hours prior to anesthesia, as directed by your veterinarian, is important to reduce your cat's risk. If your cat has not fasted prior to anesthesia, he could vomit and possibly aspirate food or fluid into his lungs, even with intubation (tube to keep the airway open).
Keep your cat in a crate or small room to sleep, and make sure he is comfortable and secure. On the day of surgery, the incision site on your cat might look minorly red and swollen. Check it once per day if your cat allows, and be on the lookout for any excessive redness, swelling, and discharge.
The best approach to keeping cats quiet after surgery is to keep recently spayed or neutered cats in one cat-proofed room for a few days. This effectively isolates them from others who might play or harass them during their recovery.
Food & Water – Please take away food after 10 PM the night before surgery. Please DO NOT withhold water. This can make a cat dehydrated prior to surgery and/or exaserbate any underlying liver or kidney issues.
A neuter surgery involves the complete removal of the testes, which removes the pet's ability to impregnate a female cat or dog and reduces the male pet's desire to search for a mate. Neutering male cats and dogs takes between two and 20 minutes.
Neutered cats are also easier to get along with. They tend to more gentle and affectionate. Neutered males tend to roam less and typically are not involved in as many fights with other animals. Neutering keeps your pet healthier.
Anesthetized patients lose the normal reflex ability to swallow. If there is food in the stomach, the cat could vomit while under anesthesia or in the early post-anesthetic period. If vomiting occurs in the absence of the swallowing reflex, vomited material can be aspirated or enter into the lungs.
The most important thing to remember is to restrict your pet from eating after midnight the night before surgery. You can leave their water bowl out until early the next morning, at which time you will need to remove it.
The most important thing you can do the morning of your dog's surgery is make sure he does not have access to food or water. Eating and drinking could cause your dog to aspirate during anesthesia, which is potentially life-threatening.
Before recent research, 12 hours was the appropriate time to fast your pet. Now, guidelines are aimed towards 6-8 hours before surgery.
FAQ: Why can't my pet eat prior to their procedure? Your pet's stomach needs to be empty before anesthesia. That's because anesthetic drugs can cause vomiting in some pets, and that can lead to aspiration pneumonia.
Anesthesia is like any medical procedure – there are benefits and risks, and death can occur under anesthesia. Approximately one in 1,000 healthy cats and one in 2,000 healthy dogs die under anesthesia each year. While any anesthetic-related deaths are unacceptable, these incidence rates are actually quite low.
Can Cats Pee Normally After Being Neutered? Your cat should be able to pee and poop after neuter surgery. Not urinating during the first 24 hours after surgery can be a very serious complication and needs an immediate examination by your veterinarian.
6. If your cat was neutered, it is important to use shredded newspaper, a dust free litter or a pellet litter in your cat's litter box for 1 week. A pellet litter can be found at the grocery or pet store. Please do not use sand as it can get into the incision site and can cause infection.
Post-op care for male cat castration
Male cats should be kept indoors overnight – they may go out and resume their normal lifestyle the following day. It's important to check the procedure site every day (for around 10 days) for any redness or swelling.