Its nearly time to neuter - how to make this as stress free as possible?

poconnor16

Hey all,

its almost time to neuter my little female kitty (oh how time has flown by!). I have a sneaking suspision that she could be FHV positive. She had a bad time with conjuntivitis and upper resp. infection over xmas. She has since recovered very well, but has been left with a slighlty weeping eye. I keep it clean though and there is no infection, redness etc. Also had check done for ulcers and got the all clear.
Because I suspect FHV, I try everything to keep her immune system nice and strong i.e. minmal stress and lysine in her food. I cant really afford the blood test to confirm if the virus is present right now. But I am wondering if this is something that would have to be addressed prior to her surgery?
And as the thread title suggests, I am worried that the stress of all this could cause a relapse. She will be due for surgery start of March. I am taking a few days vacation mid feb which means she will be staying at the cattery for three days. She has been before but seemed quite stressed out when we picked her up (rolling around the carrier, crying etc). So the cattery visit followed by surgery has me concerned.

Sorry for the long post guys, its a lot of info. Please let me know if there is anything I can clarify. I just want to protect her, she's my little Angel.

Wisco

What about getting someone in to mind her at your house? This is often far less stressful to your kitty. Also, it has the bonus of not allowing her to spread herpes virus (btw, I'm assuming you mean feline herpes virus by FHV and not feline immunodeficiency virus/FIV) to any other cats in the cattery.

Alternatively, what about booking her spay a little earlier? Spaying is often done a couple weeks before the 6 month age if she's well developed. Then you could get your vet to hang on to her for a few days (assuming they have facilities/staff for that). Many clinics will do it and not charge you a full hospitalisation rate, especially if you're an established client or have concerns about her general health postop.

poconnor16

Wisco wrote: »

What about getting someone in to mind her at your house? This is often far less stressful to your kitty. Also, it has the bonus of not allowing her to spread herpes virus (btw, I'm assuming you mean feline herpes virus by FHV and not feline immunodeficiency virus/FIV) to any other cats in the cattery.

Alternatively, what about booking her spay a little earlier? Spaying is often done a couple weeks before the 6 month age if she's well developed. Then you could get your vet to hang on to her for a few days (assuming they have facilities/staff for that). Many clinics will do it and not charge you a full hospitalisation rate, especially if you're an established client or have concerns about her general health postop.

I dont have any 'relatives' etc that would be able to stop in and check on them and I wouldn't trust anyone else. The owner of the cattery is second to none. She actually kept my two in a room in her house over xmas because they were quite young. It's also a comfort to know that if either of them do fall ill, she will spot it quicker than anyone and off to the vet they will go.
I spoke to my vet about her neutering and the vet suggested I wait till I am back from hols. I guess he feels that that is when she will be ready

An interesting point you raise though about FHV ....is the runny eye a sign that the virus is still present? She is fully vac, but from reading about the FHV vaccine, this doesn't mean that a cat wont get it, a vaccine just lessens the severity of the symptoms. So can she now spread this to others in a cattery??

As for the dreaded FIV.....it is a possible underlying reason. Any ideas on how much a test for this costs?

Wisco

poconnor16 wrote: »

An interesting point you raise though about FHV ....is the runny eye a sign that the virus is still present? She is fully vac, but from reading about the FHV vaccine, this doesn't mean that a cat wont get it, a vaccine just lessens the severity of the symptoms. So can she now spread this to others in a cattery??

As for the dreaded FIV.....it is a possible underlying reason. Any ideas on how much a test for this costs?

I'd imagine that if you just tell the cattery lady about your concerns she'll have some sort of isolation protocol in place as it's pretty common for cats to have this, or at least display similar symptoms.
As to the price for an FIV test I'd say you're looking at around 40 euro for the combined FIV/FeLV test although all vet clinics will vary. I do know that one of the common 'in house' tests many clinics use is often around that price anyway. No harm to ask for it when she's due a vaccine or something- that way you can avoid paying an extra consultation fee.

poconnor16

Wisco wrote: »

I'd imagine that if you just tell the cattery lady about your concerns she'll have some sort of isolation protocol in place as it's pretty common for cats to have this, or at least display similar symptoms.
As to the price for an FIV test I'd say you're looking at around 40 euro for the combined FIV/FeLV test although all vet clinics will vary. I do know that one of the common 'in house' tests many clinics use is often around that price anyway. No harm to ask for it when she's due a vaccine or something- that way you can avoid paying an extra consultation fee.

I've contacted a recommened vet (The Cat Hospital, Glanmire. Cork) and they have really gone through the details with me. First things first, I am bringing her for a blood test for FIV, cost is 55 euro. Hopefully that can be eliminated. Other causes of her eye problem could be Chlamydia of FHV, both of which are best detected at the start of an infection. So if it flares up again, we can get it tested properly.
I will speak to these guys re-neutering and 'stress' also when I go. The facilities look amazing, the place is completely dedicated to kitties.

Wisco

Glad to hear you've got a good vet. Fingers crossed for you that the tests all come back negative- let me know how you get on!