Spay/Neuter Procedures for Fostered Kittens

Spay/Neuter Surgery Visit and Final Drop-Off

Kittens are big enough to be spayed or neutered once they reach a weight 2 pounds. We will try to predict the timeframe that your fosters will reach two pounds so they can come back to OPHS for their surgery (kittens are usually two pounds when they reach eight weeks of age). However, some kittens may take longer to reach that weight, so surgery will likely be rescheduled if your fosters are taking longer to reach a minimum of two pounds.

Once we have a solid date for spay/neuter surgery, you can drop kittens off at OPHS the evening before or the morning of their surgery date. If you choose to bring them in the morning, a drop-off time is between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

In preparation for their surgery, please take away food first thing in the morning before bringing the kittens to OPHS. The kittens can keep water and a small amount of food overnight before surgery.

Please be sure your kitten/cat is contained inside an enclosed carrying crate and that you do not at any time allow your foster kitten to touch the ground or floor inside or outside on OPHS grounds.

Your foster kitten is ready to go up for adoption after spay/neuter surgery and so will remain at OPHS after surgery until adopted. If you are planning to adopt your foster kitten, please let OPHS staff know when you make your appointment to bring kitten in for spay/neuter surgery.

General Surgery Discharge Instructions

Usually, kittens will stay at OPHS after surgery so they can go up for adoption. However, if you are asked to take the kittens back for a short period of time, or if you are adopting one of your fosters after they get fixed, this section will apply to you.

The anesthesia from surgery can make animals super sleepy and maybe a little nauseous for the first night. You can feed your kittens normally, but be prepared if they don’t want to each as much as usual (you can offer canned food to entice them to eat) or if they vomit in their kennel overnight.

By the next morning, most kittens are acting like nothing ever happened, so if one of your kittens is still acting lethargic, painful, or not eating more than 24 hours after surgery, please let OPHS know right away!

Male Kittens

The kitten neuter procedure is very simple, minimally invasive, and there are no sutures placed in scrotum. There may be a small amount of dried blood present around their scrotal area the night after surgery, but it should NOT be actively bleeding. Usually, their incisions heal very quickly with no complications, so if there is still blood present around the area of their incision more than 24 hours after surgery, let OPHS know as soon as possible. Male kittens have no confinement restrictions after surgery.

Female Kittens

The kitten spay procedure is also relatively simple, but much more invasive than just a neuter. Female kittens will have a small incision on their abdomen as well as a green line (tattoo) to signify that they have been spayed. It is suggested that kittens are kept “quiet” after their spay surgery, but staying confined to a kennel sized environment should be enough to diminish any risk of post-surgical complications. There “might” be an external suture on their abdomen, but this will dissolve/fall out in a couple weeks. The majority of the time, the sutures will be buried and will not be seen on the outside of the body.

If kittens are too active after their spay, their incision can get a little bit swollen and red. Kittens are also prone to “suture reactions” where their body reacts to the foreign material and causes redness and/or inflammation and a small bump to form under the incision. Usually, these reactions are nothing to worry about, and they will slowly go away, but if there is noticeable discharge from the incision (either clear fluid, pus, or blood), please let OPHS Kitty City know because the kitten might need antibiotics.

General Incision Care

If you notice that the kitten’s incision is starting to look inflamed or wet, you can apply a small amount of Neosporin over the top of the incision, once a day for 3-5 days. If the Neosporin does not help the incision to dry up and heal, please let OPHS Kitty City know because the kitten may need oral antibiotics.