What and how you can feed a sterilized cat, before and after the operation. How to Feed a Spayed Cat Feeding a Spayed Cat

Neutered pets need a strictly balanced diet that maintains good health. If you are wondering what is better to feed a sterilized cat, then it is better to choose super premium ready-made foods, because. it is impossible to achieve the perfect balance of useful components at home. If you are still an adherent of the natural type of feeding, be sure to discuss the diet with your veterinarian. He will tell you which products will be useful and recommend an additional vitamin and mineral complex.

As for ready-made feeds, preference should be given to premium and super premium lines. The main advantage of such diets is a perfectly balanced composition, developed taking into account the daily needs of the pet and the characteristics of his body. Ready-made food for sterilized cats (for example, Monge Sterilized Cat) not only saturates the body with vitamins, macro- and microelements necessary for proper development, but also effectively prevents weight gain.

What characteristics should food for sterilized cats have?

• Ingredient #1 meat.

You should start with the main one. Cats, no matter how pampered and tame they may be, still remain predators, the basis of the diet of which is meat. Thus, it will always be the main ingredient in a quality balanced cat food.

• Reduced calorie content.

Reduced calorie content in the feed helps prevent obesity.

• Moderate fat content.

When choosing what food to feed a neutered cat, look for diets that are moderate in fat. They not only contribute to weight loss in a specific period of time, but also prevent the accumulation of excess body weight in the future.

• Fiber enrichment.

Enriching the diet with fiber improves metabolism in the body and allows you to control the weight of the animal.

• Enriched with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are effective aids in nutrient absorption. They support proper digestion, maintain the natural balance of the intestinal microflora, strengthen the immune system, and also improve the condition of the skin and coat.

• The content of antioxidants.

The composition of food for a sterilized cat must necessarily include antioxidants (vitamin E), which strengthen the immune system and maintain body tone.

• Contents of X.O.S.

Xylo-oligosaccharides support the proper functioning of the digestive system and effectively strengthen the immune system.

• palatability and safety.

What is the best food for a spayed cat?

Of course, food should be not only useful, but also tasty. In order not to disappoint your pet, purchase diets made from fresh meat, without the use of artificial preservatives, colors and flavor enhancers.

Do not be lazy to carefully study the composition of the feed before buying, this really requires a serious approach. Based on our recommendations, you can easily make the right choice in the matter of what is the best to feed a sterilized cat. And your pet will definitely appreciate it!

Related video on our YouTube channel:

Instruction

A healthy, balanced diet is essential for a pet recovering from surgery. For cats after surgery, weakness and drowsiness are characteristic, the pet becomes inactive. This condition during the recovery period is the norm. In order for the cat to return to its normal state as soon as possible, to become active and cheerful, it is necessary to carefully monitor its diet. Proper diet speeds up the healing process and prevents the development of complications.

Within 1-2 days after the operation, the cat may refuse to eat. Poor appetite after surgery is normal, but if you regularly refuse food, it is recommended to consult a veterinarian. The day after the operation, the cat should not receive solid food. 5-6 hours after the procedure, you can offer your pet clean water. On the second day, soft food and puree-like food should be given in small portions 3-4 times a day.

The task of postoperative nutrition is to compensate for the lack of nutrients that the cat has lost during the period of illness and treatment. Food should be rich in minerals, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The cat's body is extremely sensitive, so it is recommended to buy specialized veterinary food with a suitable consistency, high nutritional value and a balanced composition. These feeds contain all the necessary vitamins, minerals and trace elements.

High-quality veterinary food is produced by Royal Canine (Recovery canned food for postoperative animals). In addition, baby food is an excellent food for recovering cats. Meat and vegetable purees without salt and sugar are made from high quality natural ingredients, so they can be safely given to a cat after surgery. Spices and strong-smelling foods (eg sardines) should be avoided. A weak digestive system after an illness may not be able to cope with such food. If the cat was fed dry food before the illness, it is not recommended to give it after the operation. Many veterinarians offer dry food, however prepared canned meats or mashed meats will be more beneficial during the recovery period.

Food for cats should not be hot, and cold foods should also be avoided. Before feeding your cat, make sure the food is at a comfortable body temperature.

"Defabergerization" is the veterinary slang term for this delicate procedure. One of the simplest from a professional point of view, but at the same time very serious in terms of the impact on the health of the animal.

You will need

• - stimulant or anti-stress drug
• - warm and soft lining
• - a spacious carrying basket where the cat can lie horizontally

Instruction

Not 14 hours before the procedure. Animals are usually given general anesthesia, which induces vomiting, and undigested pieces of food can enter the respiratory tract. Therefore, the optimal time for - before 11 am. You can feed a cat in the evening, he will spend a good night with a full stomach, and in the morning he will empty his intestines. And there will be no embarrassment on the veterinarian's examination table.

Make an injection of a biostimulant the day before (for example, "Gamavit", in case of stress associated with transportation or castration, indicated in the instructions) or give an anti-stress drug. Do not "distract" the animal with valerian, it excites the nervous system. It is especially important to support the day before if the animal is aged or has recently been ill.

Be next to the cat when he comes out. Animals in this state behave inappropriately: they climb up, fall, cannot land correctly, this turns into fractures, bruises, and even death. After the operation, the cat should be put in a warm place, provide access to fresh air (but not put in a draft). It is best to close in a portable basket. When the cat comes to his senses and wants to drink, you need to bring him warm and clean water (milk is not needed, its usefulness for cats is doubtful, and it can provoke an emetic reaction). You can feed the animal at least ten hours later. Veterinarians advise to communicate with the cat affectionately, calmly and patiently.

Diet and supportive care. In cats, after castration, the hormonal background changes, the metabolism slows down. This means that the problem of obesity and diseases of the liver and kidneys is increasing. Therefore, it is worth taking care of the diet in advance: choose ready-made food for neutered cats, or build a balanced diet from natural products.

note

The optimal age for castration of a cat or cat is 7-9 months. It is advisable to do the operation before the sexual instinct wakes up.

Useful advice

If the owner thinks that after castration the cat will stop tearing furniture and marking the owner's boots, then this is not so. The quantity of "hormonal" outrages can decrease. But deviations in behavior, psychological problems and banal revenge on the owner are not solved by castration. In order for the animal to learn to go to the toilet where necessary, there are special sprays with pheromones.

Sources:

• Castration and urolithiasis, the opinion of veterinarians.

Castration inevitably becomes an ordeal for a cat. If the owners decide to do this, it is their direct responsibility to make sure that the operation is as painless as possible for the animal.

The cat must be properly prepared. During the operation, the bladder and digestive tract of the animal must be empty, therefore, 12 hours before the cat, you can’t, and even drink an hour before.

Wound treatment

If the doctor after the operation treated the wound with Terramycin or Alumazol spray, they remain on the skin for some time, in this case it is not necessary to treat the wound. If there was no such treatment, the wound must be washed with 3% peroxide or furatsilin solution, dissolving one tablet in a glass of water. It is not recommended to treat the wound with brilliant green or an alcohol solution of iodine, they can dry out the skin.

So that the cat does not disturb the wound by licking it, he needs to put on a special collar around his neck, which will prevent him from reaching the back of the body. The collar is taken off only when eating. It is necessary to ensure that the cat does not rub against the floor with the back of the body.

The filler used at this time should be soft so as not to disturb the wound. It is better if it is white or at least a light shade, in which case the owners will be able to immediately notice the bleeding that has begun.

Possible Complications

The owners should be alerted by the increase in body temperature of the animal. The normal temperature for a cat is 38-39°C. In the first three days, it will inevitably be elevated, but if the temperature has not decreased on the fourth day, this is an occasion for an urgent appeal to the veterinarian. Moreover, you need to show the animal to the doctor if the wound began to fester. In this case, the veterinarian will prescribe an antibiotic.

On the first day after the operation, a decrease in temperature (less than 37 degrees) can also be observed, while the animal is sleeping. The cat needs to be warmed up by applying a heating pad and rubbing its paws. If this does not help, the cat still does not move and does not wake up, it is urgent to call a veterinarian or take the cat to the clinic.

It is also necessary to take the cat to the clinic if the suture begins to bleed.

After castration, the cat may suffer from constipation. Stool retention is inevitable during the first two to three days after anesthesia, but if the cat has no stool for more than four days, it is necessary to start giving him a laxative. Of course, this cannot be done without first consulting with the veterinarian, only he can choose the appropriate drug, taking into account the state of health and the characteristics of the body of a particular animal.

Sources:

• Cat care after castration

Cat serenades and inappropriate behavior during hormonal surges cause a lot of trouble for owners. To prevent possible problems, the owners decide to sterilize the cat. Unfortunately, veterinarians rarely explain the nuances of caring for a pet after sterilization, this also applies to dietary changes. In this article, we will tell you how to feed a sterilized cat in order to preserve her health and help her live a full and long life.

Feeding in the postoperative period

Cats tolerate castration more easily, and within a day they return to their previous way of life. With cats it will be a little more difficult: lethargy and drowsiness can persist for 2-3 days. A special bandage is put on the cat so that it does not lick the seam. Your task is to monitor the general condition of the pet, process the seams and provide the most comfortable conditions.

Expert advice. If after 3-4 days the cat continues to refuse food, cannot lie on its stomach or behaves restlessly, be sure to contact your veterinarian!

After the operation, the animal may refuse to eat for a day or two; you cannot force feed it. Within 3-4 days after sterilization, feed the cat with soft semi-liquid food, suitable:

• Grated boiled or raw eggs.
• Chicken bouillon.
• Low-fat dairy products, cottage cheese.
• Baby formulas.

If you are feeding ready-made food, choose wet canned food labeled "for cats after surgery." A cat should always have clean water in a bowl; it is not necessary to artificially water the animal.

Natural food: we select a diet

The nutrition of a sterilized cat should be varied, but do not forget that this is a small domesticated, but still a predator, so 50% of the diet should be meat.

Natural food for cats after sterilization is:

• Low-fat meat and poultry (can be given boiled and raw, but after thoroughly freezing it).
• Boiled or steamed offal (liver, kidney, lung, etc.) - no more than 2 times a week.
• Meat broths.
• Boiled or steamed vegetables - these can be added to meals or mashed and served as a main "dish". Carrots, cabbage, zucchini, pumpkin are useful for cats, sometimes you can give a cucumber or tomatoes.
• Dairy products (kefir, cottage cheese, sour cream, fermented baked milk).
• Kashi (oatmeal, rice, wheat, sometimes corn).
• Wheatgrass or sprouted grass for cats.

If you have free time, prepare healthy canned food for your cat. Offal is desirable to pre-freeze or boil. We pass cartilage, chicken necks, pig ears, chicken or beef liver, heart through a meat grinder. Boil oatmeal or buckwheat without salt, mix with offal. To make the food more liquid, it can be diluted with broth. Packed in plastic containers or additionally boiled and rolled into jars.

What should be the finished feed

Every caring owner, before buying ready-made food for his pet, at least reads the label. In other words, cheap economy class food simply cannot be of high quality and complete. It is best to take food marked "for sterilized cats" of a class not lower than premium. The most common brands are Royal Canin, Proplan, Gourmet, Hills, etc.

Try to dose portions (there are always tables with norms on the packages). If your pet is prone to gaining excess weight, it is worth consulting with a veterinarian and choosing a low-calorie food. It is preferable to give canned food to sterilized cats, because they contain a lot of moisture. If you give dry food, make sure that there is always clean water next to the bowl. During the day, the cat should consume fluids at least twice as much as the weight of the food eaten.

"Human" food provokes obesity and metabolic disorders. Do not give cats legumes, a lot of milk, fish, starchy foods, because they cause indigestion and are not absorbed by the body, and fish also provokes the development of urolithiasis.

What to feed cats after sterilization? - important details:

• The food should be balanced and tasty: if it is a high-quality ready-made food, you do not need to give the animal additional vitamins without a veterinarian's prescription. Hypervitaminosis is no better than beriberi.
• The food should correspond to the age of the cat; a special menu is drawn up for young and old animals.
• Nutrition should control her weight, prevent the development of diabetes, urolithiasis, inflammatory processes and other diseases that sterilized cats are susceptible to.
• If you feed your pet with natural food and want to change the diet, this should be done gradually, over a month. Do not mix industrial feed and natural food.
• Many cats after spaying constantly beg for food. Often, animals do not have a sense of satiety: they can eat everything that is in their bowl. The result is overweight problems. Dose portions, if necessary, buy a less high-calorie food.

Checking if your pet is prone to obesity is easy: stroke her on the back and hips. If the bones are palpable, do not worry. If they are swollen with fat, the condition of the coat has worsened, the behavior of the pet has changed - a diet is urgently needed.

For helpful tips and opinions from cat nutrition experts, watch the video below.

If you have made the decision to deprive your domestic cat of reproductive functions, keep in mind that now you will have to carefully monitor her diet. After such an operation, the animal begins to eat several times more, while moving less. To prevent your beloved pet from having to suffer from obesity, check out our article and learn about the features of feeding spayed cats.

And finally, I would like to remind you of two basic rules regarding feeding: the first - never mix industrial cat food with natural, choose one thing, and the second - do not give your fluffy pet food from the table, because what is tasty for you is for pet can cause dangerous diseases.

Cat owners often think about whether it is worth spaying their cat. The answer to this question is definitely yes, if the animal lives at home and it is not planned to let it out for a walk. The features of this operation and caring for a fluffy pet is a topic for another article, but you will learn when you can feed a cat after sterilization below.

Nutrition in the first days after surgery

After anesthesia, the animal will depart from 10 to 12 hours. During this period, feeding the pet is impractical, as it can provoke a gag reflex. The cat can be fed after spaying 6-8 hours after it has completely recovered from the sleepy state and can sit on its own. In general, whether to feed the cat after sterilization and when it is better to do it will be competently recommended by the veterinarian who performed the operation. He will orient himself according to the state of the animal, how quickly it will come to its senses.

It is better to feed the cat the first day with semi-liquid food. If the animal is accustomed to eating dry food, it is better to dilute it with water to a mushy state.

This is due to the fact that after surgery, the intestines slow down and constipation is possible. This is extremely harmful to the animal, since the seams can open during attempts. If the pet refuses food for the first 24 hours, then you should not worry - this is quite normal. But if you are on a hunger strike for more than 2-3 days, you need to contact the clinic.

Under no circumstances should you force-feed an animal. This may lead to vomiting. It is better to start feeding in small portions, gradually increasing the volume. This will help not to overload the stomach and improve its work.

Nutrition during the recovery period

After the operation, the animal is absolutely no different from the previous one. Therefore, the nutrition of a sterilized purr should not change dramatically. The only caveat is that after the procedure, the fluffy pet will be inclined to be overweight. This is due to the change in the national background. Therefore, you should be more scrupulous in your diet. It should be balanced and reduce portions by about 10-20%.

If the animal is accustomed to eating dry food, then within a month it must be transferred to a special food for sterilized cats.

If your furry pet prefers natural food, the following foods must be excluded from her diet:

• fatty,
• flour,
• salty;
• raw meat (give only after freezing);
• smoked meats;
• legumes other than asparagus.

It is better to forget about high-calorie delicacies. There are special canned food for sterilized cats of various companies that you can feed the animal after the operation. The most important thing is not to overeat.

In order for the figure of a sterilized animal to remain taut, the owner it is necessary to engage in sports and active games with the pet. This is extremely important for the health of your pet. Therefore, a loving owner will always find free time to work with a sterilized animal.

Choosing the right food

The choice of food for a sterilized cat is a responsible matter. Here you need to figure out what will be useful for the animal after the operation. The fact is that often sterilized purrs suffer from urolithiasis. To avoid this, special attention must be paid to the choice of food. Don't skimp here. Manufacturers of cheap feed are trying to minimize costs, reducing quality accordingly. The protein content in such food is extremely low, so the animal will not be able to get enough of a small portion.

In premium feed, on the contrary, the content of phosphorus and magnesium is reduced, but there are more vitamins A, C and E.

Pay attention to what is written on the packages, especially in small print. Never eat fish protein based food. Its use in the nutrition of a sterilized cat can provoke the appearance of a malignant tumor.

Don't skimp on neutered cat food. Proper nutrition is the key to the health of a fluffy pet!