Try to determine if Gary has been spayed before putting her through another operation. I have experienced first hand irreparable damage to a cat's personality after "spaying" a second time. I've heard a horror story about another cat that was thought to be intact, and the operation weakened her existing condition (turned out her behavior was caused by a kidney or liver problem), and she died a couple of days after the operation. Also, if she is in heat, in my opinion, it's better to wait it out before you operate. Vets will tell you different things about this, but it just makes sense that it's harder to operate and to heal afterward if she's swollen from being in heat. I had my cat Ursula spayed while she was in heat, (on the recommendation of my vet at the time), and she had a hard recovery. The stupid vet even told me that he had a harder time and had to use more stitches because of it. If Gary is in heat, it's pretty hard to miss. Is she yowling and pacing? Is she trying to get outside? Does her vagina appear to be swollen?
Jill Poe wrote:
Thanks for your response, Nina.
She was, sadly, just in an extra-large (medium dog
size) carrier with a small litter pan and her food. Last night my boyfriend (we don't live together so
this may sound confusing sometimes) let her out of
that into her normal area of confinement (his bedroom
and a guest room that is downstairs and separated from
the rest of the house with a door. This is where she
is normally when he's not at home. We have only
witnessed her spraying upstairs but she looks like she
wants to mark downstairs when we are there which is
why we put her in the big carrier over the weekend.
There is new information on her situation: Her bladder x-ray was fine but when my boyfriend finally had a chance to speak directly to the vet (he dropped her off yesterday morning) to explain her behavior - uncharacteristic meowing, running around, walking kind of low to the ground, occassional tail quiver and spraying everywhere she can - the vet said it sounded a lot like heat. Which is what we thought but she's spayed! At least that's what the rescue group told us. Of course, they also told us she was FeLV-.
Our vet shaved her belly and could not find a scar. She said the only test she could give would be to
check her hormone levels and is around $150. Is this
really the ONLY way veterinarians have to find out if
a cat is intact?!(barring ultrasound)
So, because our vet is so expensive, our plan right now is to take Gary to another vet (this one does western and eastern medicine - homeopathy, acupuncture, etc.) We can get a 2nd opinion and if she needs to be spayed, they will be cheaper. Then we'll have a 2nd vet available when she inevitably gets sick with something else. I think it would be nice to have a homeopathic vet anyway, in addition to her regular vet.
My b/f is calling the rescue group to get a number for the OWNER (the voicemail only gives numbers for the adoption volunteers - one of whom never called us again after we told her the cat was FeLV+ and she confirmed it with our vet!) I think he is going to ask them to #1 pay a portion of the FeLV+ vet bills (more than $1,000 in 2 months) and #2 to pay 100% of the bill to have her spayed, if she turns out to need it. If they won't, I need to figure out who to complain to about a bad rescue group. I know they have limited funds and are run by volunteers but this is really ridiculous! The incompetence is staggering!
It's frustrating because now Gary seems to be healthy but now we have this new problem - either she's in heat or has some serious behavior issues.
BTW, there are no other cats in the house, or people for that matter. The only thing we can think of is separation anxiety so my b/f plans to spend more time at home. He has always spent 100% of his time at home with her - they are inseparable when they are together.
Jill
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