Out for 3 weeks: neuter before or after?
Find a Conversation
| Mon, 08-23-2004 - 11:26am |
I am happy to report that Poni (new kittie in the house, cute little girl who loves to play and purrrrrrrrrrr) and Artemis (resident cat, tough guy - been around/done that kinda fella' but really sweet inside; neutered) are getting along much better for the last 3-4 days. I picked up Poni from the side of the road 3 weeks ago, and after some initial hissing, growling, neck biting, and chasing, the two now seem to have worked it out for the most part. I think Poni realized that Artemis just wants to play, and that well, he plays a little rough....So, she is adapting...playing a bit rough too...But almost no more hissing or growling. Mostly just play :) Artemis is still a bit obsessed with her: follows her around, looks for her everywhere when I put her in her safe room if I feel Artemis is playing a bit too rough. But overall, things seems to be going rather well between them (I saw Artemis licking her coat the other day; couldn't quite tell if he realized it wasn't his own fur he was licking ;) was cute to watch though)
My husband and I are leaving town for 3 weeks in November. The kitties are staying home. Our upstair neighbors, who have two grown up kids (sweet, responsible teenagers) in a too-small appartment, have agreed to take care of our babies. They have done it in the past, and since this time we are leaving for a longer period, we arranged that their teenage kids would actually move in our place for those 3 weeks, so they could all have a bit more space and the kitties wouldn't be alone too much. The kids and kitties know each other perfectly well, so no problem there. Kind of the perfect arrangement actually: kids get away from Mom and Dad upstairs, get to watch DVDs anytime, Parents upstairs get some peace and quiet while still knowing exactly where their kids are, and the cats are happy too :)
My question: Poni is about 5 months old. I want to have her neutered but I am not sure if I should do it before we go or after we go. If we do it now, well, Artemis is still a bit rough, and I wonder about her healing time. Worried that Artemis will want to play too much, too hard. She is still very new to the house too. Don't want her to be traumatized right at the beginning. Also, the 'bonding' with Artemis is just now starting to happen. If she is operated, I will have to keep them separated for a few days/weeks, so she can heal properly. Won't that disturb the bonding process?
On the other hand, if we wait til after we come back, she might have gone in heat by then and it could be a problem while we are away. What would you recommend? do it now so she has time to fully recover before we go, and just keep Artemis away from her for 1 week or so, so she can recover? How long does a normal healing process take for a girl kitty after neutering?
Thanks!
Christine

I think I would go ahead and get Poni spayed in