Luna gets spayed! + My new cat stroller!

Luna gets spayed!

On Wednesday, I took Luna to get spayed. She’s recovering well but it was a stressful journey!

Luna is eight months now. Early November, she went into her first heat cycle. Now people have different opinions as to when a cat should get spayed or neutered — some say immediately, at only three months; some say wait until they’re adults. Personally I think you should wait until the female first goes into heat so that way they are mostly grown, but young enough to recover easily. I can’t say for sure with males, as I don’t have as much experience.

A female cat in heat is a nightmare though, so unless you’re prepared to deal with that, you might want to spay closer to six months or earlier. When Luna was in heat, she was yowling to the point that it was keeping me up at night. She would rub up against me and require constant attention, even more than normal. Worst of all, she peed on absolutely everything — my blankets, my clothes, my beanbag chair that I had to throw out, everything!!! (When cats are trying to mate, they’ll “mark their scent” by peeing everywhere… Basically Luna’s way of saying, “hey boys! I’m ready!”)

I did acupuncture on her to relieve some of her heat stress which only lasted a couple hours at most until I had to do it again. When a cat in heat is yowling with her butt in the air, you place your finger on the side of her tail bone until she basically screams (normal response, not painful!) You do NOT touch any part of her “area,” literally just the side of her tail. Interesting technique, but can only help so much…

To back up, I don’t think this was technically her first heat. She seemed to go through a “mini heat” in mid October just as it was getting colder. I didn’t notice this as much, there was a little bit of yowling, but mild. And everything got peed on. I first called the vet at this point, but they were closed for the week of Halloween. So by the time I was able to get an appointment, she was already full blown in heat.

I was told she would have to get a regular check-up first. So early November she had her first appointment. (Aside from her very first vet trip that my friend’s parents took her to before I adopted her.) Then they told me she’d need a second appointment to check her stool sample and do pre-spay blood work — that was early December. And then, finally, last Wednesday she had the actual procedure. With covid, you’re not allowed inside the vet hospital — you have to drop off your pet at the door and wait in the car — making the whole process extra stressful!

The vet called me later on to inform me that the surgery went well. [Warning: yucky medical stuff ahead!] However, the vet told me that they noticed Luna’s vulva is very large — so there is essentially no separation between the opening of her vagina and anus. This is very rare, but possible, in cats. Otherwise her health is fine and all her tests had come back normal. All this means is that she is prone is UTIs, as it’s easier for bacteria to get mixed around. So I’m going to look into natural ways I can prevent UTIs for her. I heard that broth is helpful. Please let me know if you have any experience with UTIs in cats.

Anyway…

Luna was supposed to stay overnight, but there was a huge snow storm that day, so they called me again that afternoon to pick her up because they’d be closing. I was so happy to see her again (the speration anxiety is real!) But it was heartbreaking to see her in pain and all loopy from the medicine. It wasn’t til I got home when I saw they forgot her e-collar (cone of shame) so I called them. The snow was really bad at that point, so the woman on the phone was nice enough to stop by my place and drop it off since it was on her way home.

Sadly Luna freaked out when I put her e-collar on, flailing around like a maniac trying to get it off. It seemed like the e-collar was doing more damage with it on than without it, so I took it off and kept a careful eye on her. Luna barely touched her incision, so I think she’s safe without it.

The first night, she stayed locked up in her cage. She was very sleepy and hardly ate. I was extremely anxious for her. The next day, I was off work, so I was able to stay with her the entire time. I let her roam the apartment but kept the door to the spare bedroom closed. She mainly stayed in my bedroom, very sleepy, but slowly getting back to herself. That night, she cuddled with me in bed, purring loudly. I felt much better.

Seems like just yesterday little Venus was getting spayed!

My new cat stroller!

In other news, I have officially reached a new level of “crazy cat lady!”

As a Christmas presents for Venus & Luna, I bought them a pet stroller! It has two compartments for two cats or small dogs. I think it’s really important to give your cats outdoor time and fresh air, but of course that’s not always safe or ideal, especially depending where you live. When I visit my parents, I’ll let Venus run around the backyard because she’s smart and always comes back. But I don’t think I’ll be letting Luna outside, at least not until I’m living somewhere that allows me to do so safely. So I thought this would be a great way to give both myself and my cats some good outdoor time.

I’ve tried the leash with Venus. But this only works when I’m in a secluded area with no other people or loud noises around. I used to live in an apartment complex that was just down the block from the woods. This was the perfect place to go on walks with Venus, as it was a very private area and very rarely would other people be walking by, and if they did then I’d have enough time to get away. But now I’m living somewhere else. I’ve tried taking Venus around my apartment area with a leash on (there’s a lot of space to walk around) but it’s quite crowded so there’s people everywhere and loud cars driving all around. I took her out, and the second she saw someone walking her way, she flipped out and managed to escape from her harness and run away. Thank goodness I caught her, but not chancing that again — very stressful.

So with the stroller, I know she can’t run away. Plus, I can do both cats at once. Even though they aren’t necessarily getting the exercise, they still get fresh air, a change of scenery, and some boredom relief.

Yes, I know it’s kind of crazy. But it’s better than keeping your pets locked up all the time. Cats need their outdoor time, they are wild animals at heart. Also it’s hard to tell from a distance what’s inside the stroller. But I think most people will realize it’s a cat or dog. I certainly feel slightly awkward, but I’m hoping the more I use it, the better I’ll feel about it. I love pushing around a stroller, it’s fun! Sure, I’ll admit that I’ve reached a new level of “crazy cat lady” with this one. But I’ll also tell you I’m ahead of the trends and you’re going to be seeing these a lot more. I actually got the idea from my dad’s neighbor who takes her cats on stroller walks! And I have several friends who do stroller walks with their small dogs! You’ll see, this is going to be the new thing one day! So don’t laugh!

I’ll end the post with this cute pic of Venus & her stuffies. Happy Caturday!!!