Venus in surgery

Yesterday, Venus went to the vet to get spayed. She was dropped off at 8am. I was worried sick the whole day about the procedure. I was terrified that something might go wrong during surgery and there would be a health complication. And even if surgery went fine (which it did), I felt so sad for Venus. I knew she must’ve been petrified, lonely, and confused the whole time.

So luckily the surgery was okay. She was ready to get picked up around 4:30 PM. She seemed completely out of it, and kept trying to rip off her E-collar (AKA, the cone). I kept her in my room for the night. At first, she looked terribly weak (and also pretty pissed off). She had no energy, but refused to lay in bed and cuddle. Instead, she sat on the floor very awkwardly as if she could not get comfortable. She did not seem like herself at all, which was so hard for me to see. After a few hours I finally got her to eat. Then finally, late that night, she laid in bed with me and we fell asleep together.

This morning I let her roam the house a bit as her energy came back. With her cone on, she tends to bump into things and lose her balance. Unfortunately she will have to wear the cone for at least a few more days so that she doesn’t lick open her stitches. Now, she is laying peacefully on my bed. She is beginning to show more affection towards me again.

I’m looking forward to a week or so when Venus is healed and I can take her outside. Spaying and neutering is an important way of preventing overpopulation in cats and dogs. However, it is no “quick fix.” It is an invasive surgery that causes extreme stress for animals. According to the research I did in college, spaying/neutering is linked to a higher risk of developing several diseases (cancers, bone-related, and obesity-related). Sadly there are not really any other alternatives to keeping our pets sterile. I was considering other options for Venus but this seemed like her only option for now if I want to let her outside. I hope that in the future, we will have much safer/humane methods.