Pain signs vary. They can range from vocalizing or making growling or screaming when being touched to things like limping. Sometimes a limp is subtle. Typically, if a dog's limping, there's a reason it's limping, and pain is almost always involved. Sometimes they'll lick or bite at the injured area, or their pupils will dilate. Sometimes their behavior completely changes. They don't interact with their owner, don't want to eat very well, and don't want to play anymore. They may have difficulty getting up and down the stairs, things like that.

He'll have a lesser chance. Some behaviors are learned. So especially in older male cats, it may become a pattern, which is why we recommend neutering younger ones before these have a chance to become a pattern. By removing the testosterone, they will not want to chase a female or at least not be hormonally directed to chase a female or mark with urine because we'll be removing that influence. But if you wait too long and they've already learned that it's not guaranteed. Sometimes it does get better, but it doesn't always go back to zero if you have a 10-year-old tomcat who's outdoors and used to doing his thing. Although, it certainly doesn't hurt. I still recommend it for numerous other health reasons. Behavior is always one of those things, but it's not guaranteed to fix all problems. He may be adventurous, and he'll stay that way.

Usually no. We get this question from two angles. Some people have very sweet, loving cats, and they worry that will change, and it doesn't. Or, they have a little more rambunctious animals that they're hoping will change after the surgery. While some behaviors can change, a lot of the ones people want to change, like hyperactivity and those attributes, are not affected by the procedure. Some of those behaviors are learned and not affected by the lack of hormones. So it's not a cure-all for behavioral problems. It doesn't hurt, but it may not help.

It's possible. Usually, that has less to do with the spay and neuter itself and more that we tend to do those procedures around the same time their metabolism is slowing down anyway. They're maturing and becoming an adult. It's kind of like hitting your thirties. It's the same thing in our cats. We do watch their diet, but we do that regardless of their age, making sure they don't put on too much weight.

We give pain medication before, during, and after the procedure, and we give a long-acting pain medication after surgery so that you guys don't have to worry about pills or liquid or anything, especially with outdoor cats. We don't send you home with anything unless you feel they need it.

Since neuters are a little bit less invasive, they tend to heal a little bit quicker. We don't put stitches in the male, so it's just keeping them a little quiet. It's usually about five to seven days of keeping them quiet. We will get them back to normal. Sometimes they act like nothing happened the second they wake up, but I recommend treating them with kid gloves for a couple of days since they did have surgery. They deserve to be spoiled. In females, since we do go into the abdomen to take out the uterus, it's a little bit more invasive. It's about a week to 10 days of just keeping them quiet and comfortable. We do a good job managing pain, so they tend to stay comfortable. Again, it's more about keeping them from being too active. That's the problem more than anything else.