FAQs

We generally recommend post-op rechecks at 3-5 days post-op, and again at 10-14 days post-op. The first check is to make sure your pet is healing well and doesn't need additional medication or intervention. The second is to do a final wound check and remove the sutures. If your pet requires additional revisits, these will

Some animals are more tolerant of elizabethan cone collars than others. Keeping your pet away from their surgical wounds is absolutely critical to the success of their wound healing, so if you're struggling to keep the cone on, please seek assistance IMMEDIATELY, don't leave it until you see the vet at your post-op check. We

Each procedure will have specific exercise limitations. For routine surgery like desexing, lump removal or wound treatments, we expect your pet to be rested from standard exercise until their sutures are removed. You can take your pet out to the toilet on a lead several times per day to allow them to gently move around. In the

If it's a routine surgical wound, the only job you have is to check it every day for swelling, discharge or smell, and MAKE SURE YOU KEEP YOUR PET'S CONE ON. Pets heal wounds really well, and need limited intervention. Please do not bathe your pet while the sutures are in place. If your pet has

Every procedure comes with its own set of possible complications. The most common are listed below: Wound infection or breakdown - this occurs where a wound becomes infected (usually through your pet licking in spite of the elizabethan collar), or excessive wound tension puts strain on the sutures and they become loose, broken or damaged. A

Every pet demonstrates pain differently. Some, particularly cats, will simply hide away in a small dark space and avoid all contact. Others will whine and become very clingy. Otherwise will simply tough it out. Generally, the symptoms of pain include rapid heart rate and breathing rate, panting excessively, drooling, vomiting, yelping or flinching when touched

Please do not administer medications that recommend being given with food unless your pet has eaten at least a few tablespoons of food - they can cause gut upset and worsen a low appetite. Please contact the clinic if your pet hasn't eaten in time for a medication dosage, as we may need to organise

If your pet has had a routine sedation or anaesthetic, you can continue to feed their normal diet. We recommend feeding a small amount of food when you get your pet home. If they keep that down and still seem hungry, try feeding the rest of a normal meal 30-60 minutes later. Water should be made available

Many of the anaesthetic drugs we use have an impact on the gastrointestinal tract. Many animals can take up to 72 hours after anaesthetic to pass stool, especially if they have had opiate medication prescribed. Many animals will not eat dinner the night of their procedure, or if they do, their appetite may be impaired.

If your pet demonstrates any of the following, we suggest you seek advice from the clinic (or from an emergency centre if your concern is after hours): - A deep sleep from which they cannot be easily roused - Inability to walk at all, extreme wobbliness on their feet or seeming dizzy or disoriented -