Kittens gain about one pound a month the first year of their life so when Tippy reached
In the above photo, Tippy has received the beginning meds to cause drowsiness, then Ashley and Stephen insert a breathing tube down Tippy's throat.
She's placed on a clean towel, under which is a heating pad, and her legs are stretched out and tied. This prevents sudden movement which could result in something not so good happening. Note to self: never, ever have another operation!
A clean, sterilized paper drape is placed over Tippy and a hole cut over the uterus with sterilized tool at the ready.
Ashley, Daddy's John's wife, squeezes Tippy's bladder to drain it, after which the abdomen area will be cleaned and sterilized.
Dr. Anne has found the uterus and, prior to cutting and stitching, she's clamped it off to stem the flow of blood.
The point at the V is the uterus and the tubes on either side are where the kittens would grow. I was amazed at the small size!
Dr. Anne finishes suturing the wound, from the inside out, and the very last thing done before Tippy is removed from the table is
Tippy woke up on her own, on schedule and today, a week later, if you didn't know she'd been spayed, you'd be surprised. She's active, although I'm trying to keep her from rough housing too much, eating and drinking well and enjoying life. Tippy will enjoy life more, be happier and healthier because she won't be having litter after litter after litter of kittens every year.
Spaying reduces some types of cancer and there's no need for a cat to have a heat nor a littler of kittens ahem! prior to spaying. In fact, it's best if they don't. Yes, spaying is expensive, it costs about $100 to spay a feline, but it's part of the cost of having pets. There are some programs, such as Friends of Animals, that operate nationally, that provide financial assistance. Some vets will spay as young as eight weeks or two pounds of age but, thankfully, Dr. Anne waits until four pounds and four months of age. Generally, cats can have their first litter at around six months of age but some can be earlier.
Spaying and neutering is part of being a responsible pet owner. If people knew how many tax dollars went toward putting down animals, they would be shocked! Even when Dave and I would take barn cats to the shelter, we'd always hand them a donation of both food and money; it's the least we could do. We hated having someone else deal with our problems and with barn cats, it's always a problem of over-population. You might be surprised to know how feral cats are able to suss out where the food is located; that's how all of my barn cats came to live at the farm! At one time, I had only spayed or neutered barn cats, now I've got too many cats and am trying to catch them so I can take them to the county animal shelter. It's a sad fact of life but the good news is, Tippy was caught, brought to good health, spayed and will now live a longer, healthier, happier life.
Blessings ~ Dr. Anne ~ Ashley ~ Stephen ~ Tippy ~ Friends of Animals ~
