Question about Spaying

[SolomonFinch]

good evening!
our local animal shelter has limited Sunday hours, so we let our daughter visit. she adopted 2(!) adorable female kitties. policy dictates that before animals come home to new families they must be spayed or neutered.
they are coming home with us tomorrow or tuesday after their surgeries.
my question... one cat has been at the shelter awhile, has long hair and REALLY needs a bath. since we couldnt give her one before surgery (she didnt leave with us today)....how soon can we bathe her POST surgery? she had feces caked into her tail...so I know she will need bathed as soon as possible.
thanks!

[aemaki09]

You can give her a sponge bath, or use a wet wash cloth to get as much as you can off until the stitches heap up. I would honestly call the shelter and ask if they can bathe them or give flea baths before surgery so you don't need I worry about it.

[SolomonFinch]

i hope i can catch the admin in office before the shelter transport to the hospital tomorrow... i am glad you suggested this...i am very passive and have a hard time asking anyone for anything, honest to goodness NEVER would have occurred to me to ask.
in case i am too late, how long do stitches take to heal? i havent had a kitty since i was a child myself.

[Mandykinz2008]

If they can't clean her any pet store sells pre-moistened wipes FOR cats. I've used them on my cats since they HATE baths and that way you can wipe everything other than the incision area :)

[Olympia]

If there are feces caked into her fur, it'll generally be easier to just clip the hair.
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[aemaki09]

It generally takes about 3 weeks before the stitches as healed

[Skyewillow]

I second what Olympia said. One of our longhaired rabbits kept getting a caked up behind, and in the long run, it was less trauma to just trim the hair up.

[pittipuppylove]

I third the trimming idea. It looks a bit ugly for a couple weeks, but it can be way less stressful for the kitty and you can be sure that all of the caked in nasties are removed.

[aemaki09]

How did everything go?
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[Oldfishlady]

Usually 7-10 days for the incision to approximate and unless dissolving type sutures are used-the stitches are generally removed in 7-10 days. However, I would wait at least 2 weeks before you bath-since it can sometimes be a big fight. Most cats are not fun to bath...lol....be sure and clip her nails before you bath to limit her hooking her claws into your flesh. Some cats are easier than other-but most totally freak-especially when they hear running water....lol....

What I do for a couple of my long haired females that are too fat or old to clean themselves up proper-I use a medium-to-wide tooth comb and comb the fecal matter out of the fur on a regular basis and spot clean with a wash cloth and/or waterless type shampoo. I rarely if ever bath any of my cats(I have over 30 rescue spay/neuter cats).

Good luck and hope to see some pics of your new rescue kitties.....