Expert: Jessica - 11/24/2009

Question
My 6 month old kitten got spayed about a week and half back, she had a bit of a fever 2 days later and I took her back to the vet and she has been fine since then. Her wound seemed to healing fine as well. Yesterday, I noticed a small red dot on one side of her wound and it was a little wet. I came home today and found out that the area around her cut is now oozing clear liquid slightly. She is not in pain cos she lets me touch her tummy, and she's eating and behaving the same. Are there any homemade remedies for this or do I need to take her to the vet ASAP?

Thanks.

Afreen

Answer
Hi Afreen.  If there is a small amount of clear liquid oozing from her incision, it is usually considered normal.  This is serum, the liquid component of blood, which is left to drain after blood begins to clot.  Vets often leave a very small drainage hole at the end of the surgical incision to allow serum to drain out, reducing swelling and chances of infection.  It's generally best to leave the area alone and not use any kind of treatments to help the process.

I've fostered almost 100 cats after they've been spayed over the years, and of all those, I've only seen one incision become infected.  These incisions become much more swollen than the average marble-sized swelling you can expect, they are dark red to purple, and there is a thick discharge of pus rather than a clear discharge.  If any of these signs arise, then you should definitely get your kitty to the vet.  She will need antibiotics.  Sometimes a warm wet compress will encourage the infection to drain out as well, but if your vet used dissolvable stitches, too much water may compromise their integrity.  So always check with the vet before getting them wet.

Best wishes!

Jessica