Care of Your Post-Operative PetPlease Read the Following Instructions CarefullyDIET: Do not feed your pet for the first couple of hours after arriving home. After this short wait, a small meal (about 1/2 of a normal-sized meal) may be offered. The regular diet may resume the next day. WATER: Only small sips of water or ice cubes should be allowed at first upon arriving home. Too much liquid intake at first may cause vomiting. After a couple of hours normal drinking may resume. EXERCISE: Mild activity is allowable, but in no case should your pet be allowed to run unrestrained until after the sutures are removed. No running, jumping, playing or stairs for 2 weeks. Short leash walks only for eliminations. ELIMINATION: Many patients do not have bowel movements for one, or even two, days after surgery. This is normal if the pet is acting normally in all other respects. WEAKNESS: Weakness after the anesthesia and surgery may last for a few to as long as 24 hours. After that, normal strength and activity should begin to be evident. SUTURES: Your pet may lick at the incision or attempt to chew at the sutures. Discourage this behavior since it may cause harm to the surgical site and your pet. Look at the surgical site several times daily for a week to make sure that it is healing without obvious complication. Check for redness, swelling, or discharge, and call if you notice any of these conditions. Please call if your pet is licking the incision, as an Elizabethan collar may be required. Schedule a suture removal appointment if indicated. FOR FELINE DECLAWS: Please use the "Yesterday's News" litter we provide for 1 week following surgery. Regular cat litter can become entrapped in the incisions and cause infection and delay healing. Notify us if there are any apparent complications of direct healing or patient comfort or any sign you note that may seem out of place! ¨ Suture removal in _____ days. Please schedule an appointment in advance. ¨ Suture removal NOT required. Notes: ____________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________
|
