Sterilization Discharge Instructions

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Activity

Please keep your pet indoors or closely confined for the next 7- 10 days so the incision can stay clean and dry. Excessive activity often leads to tearing of tissue or opening of sutures which can delay healing and may necessitate re-operation. Please keep your pet on a leash in open spaces.

Anaesthesia

When your pet is discharged, they may still be groggy from the anaesthesia. Some anaesthetics can also make your pet feel nauseous.

Food and Water

Some pets may not want anything at all the first night. If your pet vomits, withhold food until the next morning. If vomiting persists, please contact the clinic. By the morning after surgery, your pet should be alert, have a normal appetite and can be fed the normal volume of food. After sterilization, your pet’s metabolic rate may decrease slightly. Please feed your pet slightly less food daily to maintain their weight.

Bathing

Do not bathe your pet for 10 days. The incision site must stay clean and dry. Make sure the sleeping area is clean, warm, and free of draughts.

Monitoring:

With castrations, it is normal for the scrotum to swell; with spays, a mild swelling at the incision site is to be expected. Check the incision daily for signs of excessive redness, swelling, or discharge. If any of these are noted, please contact us immediately. If your pet is licking or chewing at the incision line, please contact us for placement of an Elizabethan/Buster collar. We cannot be held responsible for sutures removed by the patient or other pets.

Keep spayed female dogs away from male dogs for at least 7 days post-surgery.

Keep castrated males away from intact female dogs for at least a month, as sperm can remain viable inside the spermatic duct for 3 weeks to 3 months.

Follow all labelled instructions for dispensed medication carefully. Please do not administer any human medication to the patient as this may prove severely harmful. Every pet handles discomfort differently. If you feel that your pet requires additional pain medication, we will dispense it on request.

Routine check-up is 3 days post-surgery.

Sutures are removed 10-14 days post-surgery.