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How to prepare for a spay

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Helen42

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My Bonnie is having a spay/ovariectomy (hopefully the latter) next week. I want to be as prepared for the day and aftercare as I can be, so does anyone have any tips for us to get through it. The vet said he doesn’t give antibiotics as it can mess around with her gut. Her sister is going in with her as Bonnie will be there all day. I’ll bring some hay for them and other treats. Thank you.
 
Hope all goes well.

The forum guides on post op care are excellent and helped me a lot.
I’ve had girls spayed and they have all recovered well.
I tried to keep the first girl temporarily separated by blocking part of the cage with C&C grids - that didn’t work and she broke through to be with others very quickly.
I’ve given Critical Care as needed and added a small dish into the cage to encou eating.
I’ve given grated veggies and oats as well.
The one thing I had to keep reminding myself was that it takes a day or so for the anaesthetic to work out the system so she may be a bit woozy and wobbly.
 
This guide will help you.

Make sure she has appropriate pain relief post op.
Ensure you weigh her daily and step in with syringe feeding if her hay intake and therefore weight isn’t stable (the vet shouldn’t send her home until she is alert and eating)

Best wishes for the surgery

Tips For Post-operative Care
 
I’ve had several sows spayed over the years. Only one has needed to be kept separate from her friends. Just make sure she has a lovely comfy bed set up with close access to water, hay and pellets as she may not want to move around much for a day or so.
Pain relief is absolutely vital. Please give it religiously to help with pain and inflammation.
Don’t be alarmed if she sounds clicky/grunty for the first 24 hours. We expect them to look dazed but the clicking noise from where they’ve been under anaesthetic can be alarming if you aren’t used to it.
Your vet will advise on bedding but I always keep them on plain fleece and puppy pads for the first week to help keep worlds clean and make it easy to check for bleeding etc.
I always offer a bedtime syringe top up before I go to bed the first night even if I have seen them eating. And for the first 24 hours I offer regular syringe top ups. But I take my cue from them - if they don’t want it and prefer to fed themself, that is fine as long as weight remains stable.
Ask your vet for some recovery food for syringe feeding (and some syringes) but if needed, you can just feed their own pellets mushed in water to help keep them going.
We are here to support you - just keep adding to this thread.
 
Thank you, that’s really helpful. She’s not a great fan of critical care. I have the oxbow one. Will try mashed up pellets before the op to see if that goes down better.
 
Helen42 said:
Thank you, that’s really helpful. She’s not a great fan of critical care. I have the oxbow one. Will try mashed up pellets before the op to see if that goes down better.
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Mine weren't really fans of critical care until I found Emeraid back when we were still in the UK. They wolfed that down like there was no tomorrow. I think that one generally goes down well with piggies! Just as an option :)
 
Helen42 said:
Thank you, that’s really helpful. She’s not a great fan of critical care. I have the oxbow one. Will try mashed up pellets before the op to see if that goes down better.
Click to expand...
Mine would be more interested in recovery formulas if I mixed in some mashed banana or unsweetened apple purée :nod:
 
stef.trg said:
Mine weren't really fans of critical care until I found Emeraid back when we were still in the UK. They wolfed that down like there was no tomorrow. I think that one generally goes down well with piggies! Just as an option :)
Click to expand...
I actually ordered this last night after reading through the different options on the above thread. Good to hear yours loved it!
 
Helen42 said:
I actually ordered this last night after reading through the different options on the above thread. Good to hear yours loved it!
Click to expand...
Fingers crossed yours will love it too! All the best for the spay, I have my girl booked in for 20th July so I‘ll likely be following your story very closely to hopefully calm my nerves a little. I wish your girl a very swift recovery x
 
stef.trg said:
Fingers crossed yours will love it too! All the best for the spay, I have my girl booked in for 20th July so I‘ll likely be following your story very closely to hopefully calm my nerves a little. I wish your girl a very swift recovery x
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I missed your post 😔 wishing your girl a successful op on 20th and that she makes a full recovery. I can’t believe Bonnie’s op is tomorrow 😩 x
 
Update….My Bonnie is now home from her op. She had two very large ovarian cysts removed and also a foreign object (the vet didn’t know what it was). He also found a small cyst on her liver but didn’t remove as it would cause too much bleeding. Her liver looked fine though. Her kidneys were also fine which was a relief. Her uterus was found a so he left that in. The vet had to do the surgery from her tummy as opposed to her sides as the cysts were so large.
 
Now I’m worried sick. She’s barely moved since we got home an hour ago. I gave her some critical care (they gave her some around 2pm) and water which she took a little of. She’s so wobbly she couldn’t turn herself around in her house so we had to turn her around so she can reach the hay and water. Her sister is now lying beside her in her house. Apparently she has been eating but I’ve not seen her eating. Is it normal for them to be wobbly? I’ve read all the post op things on this forum. Due to give her pain relief at 8.
 
Don’t panic yet.
It takes time to recover from surgery.
Humans aren’t up and eating or moving much immediately either.

When Phoebe had GA she looked and acted as if she’d had a hard night out on the town for a couple of days..

I often put a small dish of their favourite critical care in the cage, easily accessible to the recovering piggy. For my lot it’s Oxbow Aniseed CC with a bit of banana mashed in.
A dish of grated carrot or sweet potato mixed with raw oats also helps.

It’s an anxious time but you are doing everything right. Just keep an eye on her.
If you are worried then don’t hesitate to call the vet.

Hugs :hug:
 
Helen42 said:
She keeps twitching. The video won’t upload .
Click to expand...

we can’t host video directly on the forum, it needs to be uploaded to YouTube and then a link to it posted here.

we can certainly look at a video, but honestly, the safest thing is to just call the vet
 
I am so very sorry to read this as you tried so hard for her up to the build up and afterwards. We all understand the pain of loss and my heart goes out to you. Please look after yourself as you grieve and know that she knew how much you loved her.
Run free over the rainbow bridge little brave girl 🌈
 
Oh my goodness. I am so very sorry for your loss. Please go gently with yourself. It’s a terrible shock when this happens. Big hugs. Sleep tight gorgeous girl x
 
Thank you. I can’t stop crying. I feel like I did the absolute best for her. She saw so many vets. Her sister Betty is acting fine now. She was with her when she passed and we put Bonnie in their cage for a bit. Betty licked her then went on as normal. I will keep a close eye on her and will look to get her a companion. I have put a teddy in there for her.
 
I'm so very sorry, I also lost Pol last Friday after a spay op. I'm still feeling broken but know that like you I was giving her the best chance. Sending you a big hug.xx

Sleep tight little one.💕🌈🐾
 
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