Our little cat is getting fixed today.

[NaturalHigh]

This is the first time we've had a female cat fixed. Is there much of a recovery period?

Also, my wife is concerned about how much her personality will change. She's spoiled and a it of a hellion. What should we expect?

[shenmue]

1. Awww

Good luck to the little critter.

[NaturalHigh]

3. Thanks Shenmue.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. They bounce back amazingly quickly.

The day you get her back from the vet she'll probably be a bit sleepy from the anesthetic. The next day she will seem about back to normal, but you should try to discourage her from running around too much so she doesn't pull out any stitches. She will be fine and she will still be a hellion.

[NaturalHigh]

4. Thanks for the info.

Do you think there will be any restrictions on food or water when she comes home? Will she even have an appetite?

[CurtEastPoint]

5. Do leave water out, and a little food but not where she can feed and feed.

By day 2 she should be back to normal. Ditto comments about keeping her quiet and not jumping. Females you have to pay a bit more attention to.

[NaturalHigh]

6. Great. Thanks for the info.

I'm sure she will want to sleep with "Mama" (my wife) tonight.

[47of74]

7. My fur niece TK had her womanhood removed

She had the stitches in for a little while but was soon back to her naughty self.

[NaturalHigh]

8. Cool.

I think I'm just a little stressed because she was stressed going to the vet this morning. I'll be glad when she gets home today and we can pamper her a little bit.

[Curmudgeoness]

9. The vet will probably give you instructions

for what to do post-surgery. She will be sleeping a lot today, but will be back to normal soon. I find that they tell me not to give any food, in case they get sick from the anesthesia, but I couldn't withhold food any longer since it was already a long time, and I would just give tiny amounts at intervals to make sure that she doesn't eat too much too fast and get sick.

I have never noticed a change in personality, either in males or females, after a neuter or spay. Any changes I have ever noticed seem to be due to age.

[NaturalHigh]

10. Yes, we had to hold back food and water starting at 9:00 last night.

I'm glad to read from posters here that it won't affect her personality. She's a fun little cat. We just have to be careful to keep her away from the gerbils.

[Curmudgeoness]

11. Yummy, gerbils!

Cats and gerbils cannot play together.

By the way, in more recent years, all of my vets have told me not to withhold water the night before the surgeries, since it could cause dehydration. Just for next time, don't worry about leaving water out.

[NaturalHigh]

12. LOL...the funny thing is the gerbils are kind of interested in her too.

They come up to the top of their box and kind of sniff at her. I don't think they realize how tasty she thinks they would be!

[eridani]

16. She could probably be trained to accept the gerbils as family members

Many bird-hunting cats leave the house canary alone. And dogs who will shred a trespassing cat can get along fine with cats in their household.

[Curmudgeoness]

17. That is probably true

because I have seen things like this before....but I wouldn't want to be the one to try this at home. Not unless I was really tired of cleaning the gerbil cage.

[NaturalHigh]

13. She's home!

She's pretty groggy and still a little nervous from the ordeal, but they said the procedure went fine. Mama is pampering her right now.

Thanks for all the advice everybody!

[applegrove]

14. It is a big operation for a girl cat. Let her have some quiet time for a few days.

She'll let you know when she wants to be a hellion again. Fixing my Sam didn't quiet her down.

[NaturalHigh]

15. Thanks Applegrove.

She's pretty subdued tonight, but she seems like she's feeling good.