Whether your pet has had emergency surgery (after a medical emergency, or injury in a fight or accident) or an elective procedure (like a spay or neuter), they will need time to return to relative normal after being under anaesthesia and for their wounds to heal. It’s imperative to support their healing process in an optimal way. The vet will monitor your pet for a short time after the operation, but the post-operative care at home is your responsibility – to manage your pet’s recovery and healing to ensure they are healthy and thriving once again.
When your pet is discharged from the vet
Managing your pet’s post-operative care begins the moment you take them home from the vet. Whether the vet gives you a post-operative care sheet or verbal instructions, make sure you understand what is expected of you in terms of providing medication, monitoring your pet’s appetite and elimination habits, inspecting their wounds, and keeping them comfortable. If you are uncertain or you simply listen to the vet and think you’ll remember everything later, please ask the vet to provide written instructions, or ensure you take written notes when your pet is being discharged. 
This is also your opportunity to ask the vet any questions you may have, especially around feeding intervals, what kind of exercise you should and shouldn’t allow, and specific protocols relating to your pet’s condition and recovery. If you get home and realise you aren’t sure about something, phone the vet or send an email, especially if you need to enquire about signs and symptoms that can be better described with a photo.
Prepare a warm, quiet, comfortable spot for your pet
When placed under anaesthesia, animals experience a rapid drop in their core body temperature, which takes a while to return to normal after surgery. It’s important to keep your pet warm after surgery, which is not only more comfortable for them, but will help them to regain full consciousness and start to heal properly.
After surgery, your pet may still be ‘out of it’ for a while and under the influence of their anti-inflammatories and pain medication. It’s best to keep visual and audio stimulation to a minimum, so ensure their resting area is in a warm, calm and quiet area indoors. They must not be exposed to draughts. Keep other pets away and make sure toddlers and young children behave quietly and calmly around your post-op pet.
Eating after surgery
Pets can only undergo surgery in a fasted state (no food for 12 hours). After surgery and waking up, you might expect them to be ravenous, but it’s important that they not be overfed, especially in the first 24 to 48 hours after surgery. Their body will be working hard to recover and start healing, so if they eat a large meal, their gastrointestinal tract may be unnecessarily overloaded. Only feed them small amounts of good nutrition every few hours, or as the vet has instructed you to do. High-quality nutrition (with a 1:1 ratio of lean protein and complex carbohydrates, along with vitamins and minerals) will help their body to heal quickly.
If your pet has had surgery of or relating to their digestive tract, the vet will provide very specific instructions that will practically assist with their recovery. An intestinal diet or digestive supplements may be included in your pet’s post-op protocol. If you are uncertain of what or when your pet should eat after surgery, contact the vet and follow their advice closely.
Pets may experience nausea or feel ill when recovering after surgery. This should only last for a day or two. However, if they are not eating, not finishing their meal, or their appetite has not returned to normal after three days post-op, contact the vet and take your pet for a check-up to see what’s causing them to not want to eat. Low or no appetite could be caused by an illness or by pain. A vet check-up can help to solve your pet’s appetite problems.
Ensure your pet has 24/7 access to fresh water. Proper hydration is important for all aspects of their healing.
Elimination after surgery
Similarly, your pet’s elimination habits may be disrupted by their surgery, so be vigilant about when they ‘go’. Dogs and cats should be urinating as normal after surgery. If their mobility is impaired, provide puppy pads or a safe place for them to urinate that also offers an easy clean-up. Provide cats with an easily-accessible litter tray filled with litter that won’t stick to their wounds. After a day or two, their bowels should be working again.
In general, take note of when your pet has their first poop after surgery and how long things take to return to normal. They may be a bit constipated because of the small intake of food, being sedentary, and/or a side effect of anaesthesia and pain medication. If you have any concerns, contact the vet to get advice or go for a check-up.
Post-op medication
You will need to follow the vet’s instructions and medicate your pet with the correct painkillers, anti-inflammatories and (if prescribed) antibiotics at the correct intervals prescribed by the vet. You should receive this information at discharge, but if you have any doubts or questions about giving your pet their medication, always ask the vet first.
Often, pet owners don’t complete their pet’s course of antibiotics, which puts them at risk of infection or complications. Pet owners also assume anti-inflammatories only need to be given while their pet still has pain. However, anti-inflammatories reduce inflammation of tissues at the incision site and promote faster healing. Inflammation can trigger the animal to nibble or scratch at the wound, which can have dire consequences if it gets infected or is reopened.
Post-op observation
Be sure to keep the wound site/stitches clean and dry. No bathing, swimming or running around in wet grass until the wound has healed and the stitches are removed.
Symptoms
You are the observer – your vet’s eyes when it comes to your pet. It’s imperative that you remain alert to your pet’s condition when they return home from surgery, and take note of any redness, bleeding, oozing, heat or odour around the incision or wound site. These symptoms can indicate a problem with your pet’s healing, and the sooner you return them to the vet to look at a problematic wound, the better for your pet’s health.
Drains
If your pet comes home and still has drains in their wounds, it’s important to both ensure that there is fluid draining from the surgical site and that your pets don’t try to access and remove the drains. This is where an Elizabethan collar or ‘cone of shame’ is very effective.
Stitches
If your pet has had elective surgery, the incision site will have neat, firm stitches. If the surgery was the result of physical trauma like an accident or a fight, the stitches will likely be tight and the skin somewhat stretched to cover the wound. Stitches can irritate your pet’s skin, and this irritation will cause them to watch to lick, nibble at or even remove the stitches. An Elizabethan collar can help to prevent them from accessing the stitches, but it must be kept on for 10–14 days or until the stitches can be removed.
Post-op activity
Whether a minor procedure, a spay/neuter, emergency surgery or any operation that involves your pet’s mobility, it’s critical that you limit their movement and activity, especially in the first few days after the surgery. It can take up to two weeks before their stitches are ready to come out and, in that time, they should not do any vigorous or endurance exercise. There should be no jumping up on or down from furniture, especially if the pet has internal stitches, and no boisterous play with other pets.
Whether the surgery is a sterilisation or orthopaedic surgery, your pet must rest as much as possible and allow their wound/incision site to heal properly. We understand that this can be very difficult for high-energy breeds, so it’s best to confine them in a smaller area or room, and keep their busy brains occupied with puzzle games, scenting work or obedience exercises that do not involve a lot of movement.
The post-op check-up
In the case of an intense, life-saving surgery, the vet may want to see the animal again in 24 hours after the initial discharge. Usually, however, the post-op check-up is three days (72 hours) later. Where surgical drains need to be removed, this can be done at the 72-hour mark, when the vet will also check the wound to ensure it has begun to heal properly.
Be sure to keep the vet in the loop if they ask for feedback on how your pet is doing. Emails with photographs can suffice if recovery and healing are going smoothly.
Physical therapy
Where the pet needs to be kept confined during healing and recovery (such as after a spinal surgery or orthopaedic procedure), it’s critical that they undergo physical therapy. This is intensive treatment that can either be performed by a vet nurse, pet physiotherapist or by the pet owner at home. It’s necessary to ensure that the animal does not experience muscle atrophy (wasting), and can retain their full range of motion after recovery. An animal who is sedentary or lying down following an operation runs the risk of injury when they suddenly start to move again post-recovery. Physical therapy can help to keep their muscles and joints healthy, returning them to full motion when they feel better.
Physical rehabilitation needs to be done hourly and involves turning and repositioning the pet, changing their bedding, assisting them to eliminate their bowels, and retaining muscle mass. It’s a lot of hard work, but your pet will be all the better for it when their health is restored post-surgery.
When in doubt…
Considering all pets are unique individuals, each surgery is a unique surgery. Only trust the vet’s advice when it comes to your precious pet’s post-op recommendations, and don’t hesitate to ask for help or confirm any post-op care you want to provide.
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