A well-informed cat owner
had his cat spayed only after she had stopped caterwauling.
She started being noisy the whole day and night at 8th month
of age.
"Was there any sound of male cats fighting downstairs?" I
asked him.
"No sounds can be heard," the owner said as he posed the
spayed cat for a picture for this research. "We live on the
19th floor."
Probably the female cat could hear the sounds, came on heat. So,
she caterwauled and wanted to go downstairs. This would be her
first heat.
As you can see from the pictures, the ovaries and uterine horns
are NOT so enlarged and fragile. The blood vessels have shrunken
and are not so fragile.
The cat was given an injectable general anaesthetic. The left
ovary and uterine horn were hooked out first. The cat's paws were
released from the loops tying her up for surgery.
Then the cat's cervical spinal area was lifted upwards by an
assistant from under the surgical drape.
This method seemed to enable the vet to access the right uterine
horn as follows:
The
left uterine horn was stretched out so that the end of the right
uterine horn could be seen and hooked up. The right ovary and
uterine horn were exposed. The ovaries were removed first. Then
the uterine body was ligated and both the right and left uterine
horns were removed.
A plaster was put over the
wound to prevent the cat licking off the stitches for 10-14
days. Replace the plaster bandage in 3 days if necessary or if
it comes off the cat. Usually, there are no problems.
This spay was safely done because the owner was knowledgeable in
getting a cat that was no longer caterwauling to be spayed. The
reproductive organs had subsided in size and had were less
fragile. So there was much less bleeding.
However, in reality, such Singapore's cat owners are rare. Most
cat owners want a cat in heat or caterwauling to be spayed
immediately.
I have tried to educate such owners. Usually they go to another
vet who can spay on the spot. No questions asked.
No antibiotics or Elizabeth collar were given to the cat.
The owner held the cat for me as I took a picture of such a
beautiful tiger-like Singapore cat.
He did not phone me at all. So I presumed that the cat was all
right and much loved at her home. When a cat is spayed when
she is not in heat, the surgery is so much easier and safer for
the cat.
Sunday Sep 9, 2007, Toa
Payoh Community Library computer. Report written on same day as
spay, in case I don't have time to write.
"Queenie is a dominant cat," the young man in
his early thirties folded his tanned muscular arms and said.
"For the last 2 months, she started urine-marking. She pees on
clothing and furniture. Since you can do spay on a Sunday unlike
the other clinic, I want her spayed today."
"I do operate on one or two cases on a Sunday," I said. My cases
are by appointment and it is much more pleasant for me to see a
smaller of clients who don't have to wait long, rather than a
big crowd. There are disadvantages in the appointment
system as some clients just don't turn up for appointments.
Obviously, no appointment walk-in is still the preferred method
of Singaporeans.
Cat's urine can be particularly strong in smell, stinking the
whole apartment.
"Why does this cat start urine-marking after a few months with
you?" I asked. "Is there a new cat?"
The young man said: "I believe that she started urine marking
when I brought in a young local male cat. This domestic short
haired cat is growing up and will be 6 months old. So, it is
best to get Queenie spayed before she gets pregnant."
"Was she caterwauling? Making a lot of noises and wanting to go
out?"
"No," the young man said. He had made an appointment for Queenie
to be spayed today, a Sunday.
"That is good," I said. The only sign of caterwauling
(noisy meows) was some 3 months ago according to the young man's
lady friend who came later with him to pick up Queenie. As
I write, I think that Queenie needed not caterwaul. After all,
the young man had an intact male Ragdoll of 1 year old in the
apartment.
Why didn't Queenie get pregnant by this Ragdoll?
I don't have the right answers. Probably the Ragdoll still has
not matured yet. He could be intimated by Queenie's behaviour of
being the alpha cat in the colony. I palpated Queenie's
abdomen after she had been anaesthesized to confirm. I did
not want to mess around with examination of Queenie earlier as
she could scratch and escape.
There was indeed a lump about the size of a fish-ball.
"She is pregnant" I said to myself. The most posterior two
breast tissues were swollen. Queenie was a bit on the plump
side. She had been pregnant before. Yet her nipple development
typical of a pregnant cat was nil. So, this fish-ball
could just be a full bladder. Some urine spilled out while
I palpated this fish ball. So, it was a full bladder after all.
The young man had 5 cats during the last 2 years as follows:
1. Norweigian, female, spayed, 1.5 years old.
2. Ragdoll, female, spayed, 1 year old.
3. Ragdoll, male, intact. 1 year old.
4. Domestic short haired local, male, 6 months old.
5. Queenie, female, intact, 2 years old. Had a litter before
adoption. Had never been pregnant. She would eat first from the
two- feed bowl-in-one tray.
Another cat would feed from the other ball.
The owner put sufficient quantities so that the other 3 cats can eat
after Queenie had her fill.
"How many times do you feed a day?" I asked the owner.
"3 times a day I will fill up the feed bowls.
No cats go hungry. "
"Do the cats need to wait for Queenie to drink first?" I asked.
"No, the water bowl is available at all times. There seemed to be no
fighting over the water bowl."
Queenie had her litter box since she pees outside the first litter
box shared with the other cats.
2 scratching posts were provided.
"I guess all your wardrobe and furniture had been scratched by
Queenie," I said.
"Yes," the owner nodded. "I buy furniture that would be OK with me
if the cat scratches it. "
"Queenie want to put
her scent mark on the your furniture to warn off the other feline
occupants!"
The young man had not thought of it this way.
I wonder whether spaying at this late stage would resolve the
urine marking problem.
It was surprising that Queenie did not get pregnant with the male
Ragdoll being intact. Maybe he was too young or intimidated by her
looks?
TECHNICAL DETAILS OF SPAY
Queenie, weighing 4.5 kg looked matronly. She was quiet when taken
out of the cage and given the injectable anaesthetic. In this
case, xylazine 20 + ketamine 100 at 0.2 ml + 0.8 ml in one syringe
IM. Onset of anaesthesia 5 minutes and duration more than
sufficient for the 15-minute spay.
Incise at 1.5 cm from umbilicus. Skin incision 1 cm long. Remove
white fat of 1 cm thick from subcutaneous tissue. Midline
incision. This incision was sufficient to expose ovaries, ovarian
blood vessels of over 1.5 cm so that ligation of double sutures
was easily done.
Hook up left uterine horn. Left ovary ligated. Repeat with right
uterine horn and ovary. In this cat, there was no need to tilt the
cat's chest upright from ventrally as the uterine horns were
easily retracted at the uterine body junction, unlike another case
I described earlier (young female cat spayed). 2 simple
interrupted sutures close muscles. 1 horizontal mattress suture
closed the skin.
Ovaries golden yellow and granular of 0.5 cm. Ovarian vein 50X
thicker than a cat not on heat. Uterine horns thick 0.5 cm
diameter but firm, not fragile like some cats in the middle of
heat. However, ovarian veins were 50X thicker and needed careful
ligation otherwise the cat would die of bleeding.
It would have been better if the cat was spayed when not on heat.
However, with 2 males in the apartment, she was probably on
frequent heat without the loud caterwauling except at one time 3
months ago.
ADVICES TO OWNER.
1. Feed Queenie separately and in measured amounts. No more dual
feed bowl. She must have had eaten more than her fair share to put
on so much weight. Otherwise, after spay, she may become obese.
The cats liked salmon from Science Diet and Proplan but not Royal
Canin.
2. Remove plaster covering wound in 10 days.
3. No need to return for stitch removal.
4. No antibiotics given or necessary.
It would be good to follow up on this case as to whether spaying
at late stage would abolish urine marking in the alpha female cat.
TOA
PAYOH VETS
