# Pain Relief for Feline Spay?



## Sededl (Jan 14, 2011)

I am taking my 7 month old female indoor cat in to be spayed thursday. 

They asked me about a 12 hour pain shot that runs a hefty chunk for me. 

Are there any other pain relief options?

I dont want her to be uncomfortable, but just getting her spayed has been a stretch.

Anyone had their cats done w/o pain control? 

Were they horribly uncomfortable?

Im also considering maybe asking about a light sedative, instead of pain shot?

Advice?


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## farmmom (Jan 4, 2009)

Mine never seemed to be extremely uncomfortable the day after. There is an oral med, Metacam, that cost me $12 when I got the last one spayed about a year ago. You could ask about that. It's a liquid, and the dose is so small it's not hard to give.


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## eyore (Jan 7, 2011)

My female cats were never given anything for pain after I brought them home. I just kept them away from the other cats for a few days.


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

farmmom said:


> Mine never seemed to be extremely uncomfortable the day after. There is an oral med, Metacam, that cost me $12 when I got the last one spayed about a year ago. You could ask about that. It's a liquid, and the dose is so small it's not hard to give.


Yup, when Jinx had her tumor removal this is what they gave her. Twice a day, tiny little dose. Just my extremely EXTREMELY humble opinion, but I wouldn't just bring her home with nothing; that's a surgery and it is painful. I couldn't stand the thought of an animal suffering if I could give her something to ease it a bit, but then again, I am a huge old softy. :spinsmiley:


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

There should be an oral option for pain meds. Just ask for a more affordable option.


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## DamnearaFarm (Sep 27, 2007)

Thirding the metacam. My girl had a spay and a tumor removal done at the same time. She LOVED her med. Would open her mouth for it and then chew on the end after the teeny dose. It was pretty cheap too.


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## SunsetSonata (Nov 23, 2006)

I'm a bit irritated thinking that pain management is an OPTIONAL SERVICE with something as invasive as a spay. They usually get a shot of pain medication while waking up for the surgery - are you saying this is elective? Or are they keeping her overnight and offering additional pain medication before she goes home?

I would call and find out. Think human hysterectomy - I highly doubt anyone wants to wake up without some pain meds on board! Any ethical vet would package pain medication with the surgery to make sure the pets recover well... to think they would leave it as an option that pet owners could refuse... glad to hear from others that there is an effective, affordable pill out there as an alternative.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I was never asked about a pain med. I think most vets just give the animal what it needs.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

The vet clinic gives metacam here for all small animal spays on animals around 15lbs and under.


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

SunsetSonata said:


> I'm a bit irritated thinking that pain management is an OPTIONAL SERVICE with something as invasive as a spay. They usually get a shot of pain medication while waking up for the surgery - are you saying this is elective? Or are they keeping her overnight and offering additional pain medication before she goes home?
> 
> I would call and find out. Think human hysterectomy - I highly doubt anyone wants to wake up without some pain meds on board! Any ethical vet would package pain medication with the surgery to make sure the pets recover well... to think they would leave it as an option that pet owners could refuse... glad to hear from others that there is an effective, affordable pill out there as an alternative.


I agree totally. My vet doesn't give the option of pain meds -- it is included in the spaying. She said one time someone asked her to leave it off to save money, and she told them she had one price, and that included the pain med. Frankly, I think its unethical for a vet to not give a pain shot for a spay (or any other major surgery).


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## eyore (Jan 7, 2011)

I know I replied earlier but I just got back from the vet. I asked him about it just for the heck of it. He said he automatically gives a pain medicine while they are still under anesthesia. It usually last at least 24 hours but sometimes up to 36 hours. I mentioned it to him about the extra you would have to pay. He said he knows some vets mark up the medicine 3 or 4 times the cost. He said depending on what they use it could cost more. He said the opiate pain meds are more expensive. 
He told me what he uses, but I forget what it was I think it started with a M.
The cost was included in the cost when I got my cats fixed.


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## Sededl (Jan 14, 2011)

Im changing vets. Called this morning, they told me the pain shot is exyra and its the only painrelief they will give. Asked about the Mitacam. Said they couldnt give it to me. : (. Ugh. But I cant watch her in pain, so there will just be alittle less grocery money this week : )


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## HilltopDaisy (Feb 26, 2003)

I'm just thinking out loud as I type this....

I'm 54 years old. I have had 5 dogs spayed in my lifetime. It was about ten years ago when the vet's paperwork said "you have no choice", we are charging you $x for pain meds. I'm OK with that. I got the feeling that they didn't give pain meds prior to that?


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## derm (Aug 6, 2009)

Plenty of vets dont give pain relief to pets after surgery. They are the ones that have the cheapest prices. If you call around and someone has the cheapest price to spay your pet or declaw your pet, it is because they dont do all of the things to a pet that you would like done if you are the surgical candidate. Pain relief is not expensive, but when you look for the cheapest it is not included. Torbugesic or Buprenorphine are cheap and oral and will help. Ditch the cheapest vet and find one with a heart that has pain relief. Your pet will thank you.


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Where I work the pain meds are included in the price for feline spay and feline declaw only. dog spay/neuter and cat neuter are optional. We always ask if pain meds are wanted on those and it really depends on the pet. We will send home pain meds when requested no problem. Most cat neuters don't get pain meds...but I do mine when I have them neutered! I'm all for pain meds...but, sometimes a little pain will help keep them from over doing it and causing problems.


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## derm (Aug 6, 2009)

The pain a dog has after being spayed is tremendous. No mandatory pain relief for a dog that had an open abdomen ovariohysterectomy is borderline criminal.


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

All the vets I've dealt with for dog, cat, rabbit, horse... a shot of pain meds was just in the price. Often it's not even itemized so you wouldn't know. It's been that way since we had our cats neutered when we lived in town probably 20 years ago now. I only deal with one vet who really itemizes absolutely everything down to the amount of anesthesia used and suture material. 

An oral med will be cheaper but is not going to work as well or as long. Think about the last time you took pain relievers and the gap between doses. You hurt like hell for a few hours as one dose wears off and another kicks in unless they really dose it heavy and then you are quite out of it all day. The injections last constantly and then if necessary you can put oral meds on top of that. 

The other problem is animals don't have the forethought of humans. You can reason with a human that they need to eat and drink while uncomfortable. You can't reason with a cat and they will start having problems like vomiting foam after not eating for so long followed by organs shutting down if they haven't received enough food and water. Next you'll be spending a few $100-$1000 on kidney problems and all wet food diets. I've seen it happen with cats who were just stressed by moves and didn't eat or drink well for a few days. My sister spent several $1000 in the ER vet with a cat because she broke up with her boyfriend who usually fed the cats and one couldn't handle the change.

Personally if I couldn't afford pain meds and it couldn't be left on the farm unaltered (1 cat turns in to 20 cats real quick if outdoors) I first look for local programs that help cover the cost, then try to rehome, and then I would just pts before putting them through surgery with no aftercare. If you don't have the money to do it right you don't have the money to keep another animal. That's why we had a big territorial male cat altered late kept on the farm for awhile. He ran off everything but a few younger or female cats which we rehomed. We've had to rehome a few more a year since he suffered a heart problem.


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## wanda1950 (Jan 18, 2009)

Our vets asked if we wanted a pain shot. I think it should be included in the spay/neuter cost for the sake of humane behavior--I can't believe a one time dose of medicine should be that expensive. They quote a price when called but when I went in, numerous other things had to be done in order to get the spay.


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## redroving (Sep 28, 2005)

Over my lifetime (I am 54) we have had lots of cats and dogs (8 dogs and 15 cats) spayed and neutered and none came home with any pain meds whether done at a vets or a spay/neuter clinic. Not one ever showed signs of distress and recovered in the normal days. I have always taken out the stitches myself instead of trucking them back to the vets which is a trauma in itself for all our animals confined to crates and a car ride.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

I don't think any of our animals got pain meds with their spay or neuter either and none of them seemed particularly bothered by it. Mostly keeping them from racing around and damaging stitches was the worst problem I had. Now when we had Suzi's cancer surgery, which was pretty extensive, she got pain meds for several days.


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## SunsetSonata (Nov 23, 2006)

Neutered pets don't need to go home with pain pills if they received a good shot for pain when they were waking up. Spays especially SHOULD receive such a shot, whether or not the owner knows about it. 

I do think it's reprehensible for a vet to "cut costs" by allowing a spay to recover without any pain medication at all. Male neutering is quite a bit less invasive.


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## TJN66 (Aug 29, 2004)

I know when I had my last cat spayed she came home all dopey and slept for about 8 hours. I got really concerned (she's the cat of my heart), called the vet and they said it was because of the pain med they gave her right when she woke up. And they sent home pain meds for me to give to her for two more days. Now with my boy cat he didnt get any pain meds for home but was given a shot as he woke up too. I love my vet!


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## mawalla (Oct 28, 2002)

A pain package is not optional for a spay done at our clinic. If I had my ovaries and uterus removed I know that I would hurt, so do our pets.


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## Sededl (Jan 14, 2011)

Binker Received her pain shot and came thru w flying colors. Had a little reaction from the internal suturing, but other than that, is her happy normal self


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Glad Binker is doing good.


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## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

derm said:


> The pain a dog has after being spayed is tremendous. No mandatory pain relief for a dog that had an open abdomen ovariohysterectomy is borderline criminal.


Giving pain meds to dogs and cats after spay is a relatively new thing--when I first started working at vet hospitals in the late 80s, they would give an injection before the surgery that lasted about 12 hours, and that was it. Boy, if those animals were in pain, you could have fooled me. All of mine, and all the animals I ever saw, were up and about after the anesthesia wore off and acted like nothing was wrong. In fact, I had to give one of my dogs a sedative to stop her from tearing around the place at top speed--2 days after her spay--she was running around and playing so hard she popped a couple of sutures. So I think the pain meds are really more for the owner than for the animal.


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## derm (Aug 6, 2009)

Wolf Flower said:


> Giving pain meds to dogs and cats after spay is a relatively new thing--when I first started working at vet hospitals in the late 80s, they would give an injection before the surgery that lasted about 12 hours, and that was it. Boy, if those animals were in pain, you could have fooled me. All of mine, and all the animals I ever saw, were up and about after the anesthesia wore off and acted like nothing was wrong. In fact, I had to give one of my dogs a sedative to stop her from tearing around the place at top speed--2 days after her spay--she was running around and playing so hard she popped a couple of sutures. So I think the pain meds are really more for the owner than for the animal.


In the late eighties, there were not any pain options for pets. Most opiods were not tested in pets, Rimadyl and Deramaxx had not been invented. People used aspirin or bute until they puked blood. Dogs were routinely euthanized with arthritis that now live pain free. 

There were also no ultrasound machines, no laser declaws, few radiograph machines. Heartworms were treated with intravenous arsenic, HW prevention was not invented unless you gave a toxic once a day pill, there was no such thing as Frontline, Advantage and Revolution. Remember what flea season was like?

Here is what I would try if I were you. Next surgery or painful incident you have. Go without any pain relief. If medicating your pets really is only a benefit to the owner, then by your logic, medicating an owner is really only for the pet. You should be fine.


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## lasergrl (Nov 24, 2007)

Its different for a four legged animal to have abdominal surgery then an upright walking human. The muscles and attachments are different in that it would be alot more pain full for a human. Everything where I work gets a pain injection, but I'll tell you they never acted like they needed it before that was common.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

I'm glad there is pain relief available for our pets, but in the many years I've had pets, I know many of them were spayed without a pain shot and frankly I never saw it bothered them particularly. The main problem I had was to keep them quiet for a few days to get the sutures to heal, they were up, around and playful. 

BTW, I had a hysterectomy and reacted poorly to the morphine pump - I kept using it for the terrible headache I had. Turned out the morphine was giving me the terrible headache. When I quit that, I did take Tylenol, but I felt better than I did before the surgery, except for that strange feeling that, if I were too active, I might fall apart. I was tender, but not in a lot of pain.

I had a laproscopic gall bladder surgery and I felt great coming out of anesthesia, until they gave me Demerol and started throwing up. The pain med kept me in the hospital overnight.


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## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

derm said:


> If medicating your pets really is only a benefit to the owner, then by your logic, medicating an owner is really only for the pet. You should be fine.


How does that follow?

You can see when animals are in pain, and when they are not. When an animal is running across the yard at top speed 2 days after major surgery, WITHOUT pain meds, I don't know how you can draw the conclusion that they are in pain.


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## MK78 (May 15, 2018)

Sededl said:


> I am taking my 7 month old female indoor cat in to be spayed thursday.
> 
> They asked me about a 12 hour pain shot that runs a hefty chunk for me.
> 
> ...


I really have to say this... I’m probably too late in posting my opinion. However if you can’t afford to pay for the pain medication to provide your kitty with during the spaying procedure or after, please, please, wait until you can. Your kitty is in serious pain after this procedure and will need this medicine to recover. I really hope I’m in time. Please don’t make your kitty suffer unnecessarily. Really, it’s like a women getting a hysterectomy... can you imagine getting this procedure done on yourself without something for pain? I really hope you take my advise. Thank you so much!


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## MK78 (May 15, 2018)

I’m sorry but I can’t believe that people are ok with the fact that their animals don’t get pain meds after a major surgery or really any surgery at all for that matter.... Please think of yourself when getting a surgery... Are you ok without pain meds after a surgery? When someone has to fix anything inside your body it’s painful! Come on people!! Please, please don’t make your animals suffer unnecessarily


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