Hi! My name is Shiv!!( Short for Siobhan)

[shivvyxoxo]

My sweet shivvy was born in october 2023, I got her in January. Since she has entered our life, she’s been the sweetest bundle of joy and helped me so much during the grieving process of losing my 16 year old maltese. im thankful they got to know each other for a short while before my angel baby claire crossed the rainbow bridge. shiv is very full of personality and i swear, she’s just a few words short of being fluent in english. LOL. she’s a talker!!! right now we are eating purina kitten dry but are slowly transitioning off and into stella and chewys freeze dried and tiki cat wet food. drop any tips below please!!! also i think it’s time to get her spayed. she has an appt today to discuss this with our vet. what are some tips for the spay after care or questions i should ask my vet?

 

[Yoda mom]

@shivvyxoxo ,welcome to the lair family. Soo happyvtpu and your baby girl joined us. Please confirm NO ketamine anesthesia for surgery. It can have a rebound effect on heart if unknown underlying heart conditions. Some member use a soft flower cone or recovery suit after surgery. My girl went home with no cone and som3 pain meds. I monitored for excess kicking surgery area and tried to keep from jumping
She recovered quickly no cone or suit. Please keep us updated, all paws are family. Hugs n head smooches
Hope you are active with pics n tales. I joined here over a decade ago and never looked back. Truly an amazing caring down to earth bunch.

 

[shivvyxoxo]

@shivvyxoxo ,welcome to the lair family. Soo happyvtpu and your baby girl joined us. Please confirm NO ketamine anesthesia for surgery. It can have a rebound effect on heart if unknown underlying heart conditions. Some member use a soft flower cone or recovery suit after surgery. My girl went home with no cone and som3 pain meds. I monitored for excess kicking surgery area and tried to keep from jumping
She recovered quickly no cone or suit. Please keep us updated, all paws are family. Hugs n head smooches
Hope you are active with pics n tales. I joined here over a decade ago and never looked back. Truly an amazing caring down to earth bunch.

I took her to her vet yesterday and unfortunately he said he typically does use a mix of ketamine( and something else (waiting on a response from my friend who is a tech there to confirm what medicines he uses). this made me super nervous because prior to getting Shiv, I did a lot of research on the breed and I distinctly remembered that ketamine was a no go. he could tell I was uncomfortable and my partner questioned, if we wanted to opt for NO ketamine PERIOD would he agree to do so? and our vet said he had no issue accommodating but now I am questioning whether I want him to proceed with the spay or go to someone who already does not use ketamine/ has more sphynx experience. we LOVE our vet and clinic but he is fairly new to the sphynx breed, you do not see them much in my neck of the woods. he did really well taking care of my senior maltese and of my mothers poodles but I worry about him not seeing many sphynx. is this a big deal or do we think he's still a valid option for the surgery he recommended us to a vet nearby who can perform an echo and make sure her heart is okay and he said he will do blood work before the surgery, one being a cardiac work up and waiting on confirmation from my vet tech friend onh what the other test was he mentioned because I failed to take notes yesterday/ was overwhelmed and forgot. Thank you for the cone and suit rec. I have them in my amazon cart waiting ) <3 where are some sources I can read regarding ketamine and other anesthesias/ spay in general. doing as much research as possible.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Welcome! I look forward to seeing you active in the community. We had our girl spayed recently and thought you might appreciate some of the info I shared.

How Martooni’s spay went today and some info on what to expect

Thought I would share a bit about Martooni’s spay and will update with pics so future members will know what to expect etc. I dropped her off bright and early and reminded them again not to use Ketamine as the anesthesia (even thought they had already said they do not use it). I had her in a...

sphynxlair.com

 

[shivvyxoxo]

Welcome! I look forward to seeing you active in the community. We had our girl spayed recently and thought you might appreciate some of the info I shared.

How Martooni’s spay went today and some info on what to expect

Thought I would share a bit about Martooni’s spay and will update with pics so future members will know what to expect etc. I dropped her off bright and early and reminded them again not to use Ketamine as the anesthesia (even thought they had already said they do not use it). I had her in a...

sphynxlair.com

Thank you so much I will read this now!!

 

[Yoda mom]

@shivvyxoxo , Glad you are asking questions for an informed decision. I live in a very small town and not many sphynx here. My vet marked all my pets charts No Ketamine at my request. I asked what anesthesia she uses, she said there are various ones , she uses isoflurane and said there are others she has in office she uses on exoctics too. always need to have a good working relationship with your vet, same page, same book. I always go with my gut and have heart to heart chats with my vet for my crews specific needs.

tagging @Catzzzmeow , @Sheldon13 , have you heard of spay/neuter using a ketamine anesthesia?
what tests did you do with your babies before spay/neuter surgery?

 

[Yoda mom]

@shivvyxoxo from the info center (top right search box main page)

Should I spay or neuter my sphynx cat?

Reasons for spaying/neutering Greatly reduces behavioral problems like spraying in both male and female cats. Cats that are altered live longer lives according to statistics. Neutered male cats live 40% longer lives than those not neutered. Female cats if not spayed and not bred can develop...

sphynxlair.com

Many many years My Yoda girl, my first nakid, had a bad heart , bad heart murmur, when I got her at 8 mos old and needed to spay her.
she was spayed using Isoflurane (gas inhalant not an injectable anesthesia) and did great.

sharing from the web:

Inhalant Anesthesia​

Inhalant anesthesia is administered via a mask or tracheal tube. Isoflurane is one drug commonly used in veterinary practices. It’s considered very safe, typically has a quick recovery time, and has even been used in animals with heart problems.

keep us updated on the answer you receive.
hugs n head smooches. kudos to you for doing your research, always go with your gut

 

[Catzzzmeow]

I would definitely tell my vet NO Ketamine at all. Our vet moved to another veterinary hospital a few years ago so when I scheduled the spay I called to make sure the new place does not use Ketamine. The tech shared that they only use Ketamine on feral cats that they spay/neuter. My assumption is because it is cheaper etc. and feral cats are often just turned back out to the wild. As far as tests…I always get the pre-surgery full bloodwork done.

 

[Yoda mom]

@shivvyxoxo , please read catzzzmeow's reply above:

would definitely tell vet NO ketamine at all.

 

[shivvyxoxo]

@shivvyxoxo , please read catzzzmeow's reply above:

would definitely tell vet NO ketamine at all.

definitely gonna stick to NO ketamine at all. my vet seemed okay with not using it but I am still debating whether we will schedule with him or a vet with more sphynx experience. I will happily keep the community posted) so thankful to have come across this wonderful bunch!

 

[shivvyxoxo]

I would definitely tell my vet NO Ketamine at all. Our vet moved to another veterinary hospital a few years ago so when I scheduled the spay I called to make sure the new place does not use Ketamine. The tech shared that they only use Ketamine on feral cats that they spay/neuter. My assumption is because it is cheaper etc. and feral cats are often just turned back out to the wild. As far as tests…I always get the pre-surgery full bloodwork done.

I mentioned that to my boyfriend yesterday during the discussion of ketamine. I mentioned I wondered if it was a cheaper option... sounds scary. I would not want my baby on it..

 

[shivvyxoxo]

@shivvyxoxo from the info center (top right search box main page)

Should I spay or neuter my sphynx cat?

Reasons for spaying/neutering Greatly reduces behavioral problems like spraying in both male and female cats. Cats that are altered live longer lives according to statistics. Neutered male cats live 40% longer lives than those not neutered. Female cats if not spayed and not bred can develop...

sphynxlair.com

Many many years My Yoda girl, my first nakid, had a bad heart , bad heart murmur, when I got her at 8 mos old and needed to spay her.
she was spayed using Isoflurane (gas inhalant not an injectable anesthesia) and did great.

sharing from the web:

Inhalant Anesthesia​

Inhalant anesthesia is administered via a mask or tracheal tube. Isoflurane is one drug commonly used in veterinary practices. It’s considered very safe, typically has a quick recovery time, and has even been used in animals with heart problems.

keep us updated on the answer you receive.
hugs n head smooches. kudos to you for doing your research, always go with your gut

I am going to mention this to my vet. sounds much safer. thank you sooo much!!!

 

[Yoda mom]

@shivvyxoxo , kudos to you to be baby Shivvy's advocate! I absolutely would not have any ketamine or mix of used personally.

yes, from my understanding ketamine and even mixed ketamine injectables have a more prolonged recovery time and is less expensive than isoflurane ( info on colorado university denver vet site - my dad took his dog there for surgery)

keep us updated, hugs n head smooches.

ps: it was not the first time I have switched vets for the purrfect fit to be on same page, same book so to speak. the vet I have now for over a decade has been amazing with my crew. *** I got a copy of my crew's records from prior vet for "my records" so I could include in new vet's files.

if you are microchipping, during spay/neuter time is often suggested. ** note the microchipping sometimes is just the cost of it not the actual one time lifetime registration fee I pay separately and enter and confirm info. (one time it was included and staff typo'd my info! ). I also ask what brand microchip... the AKC chip that my adoptee pup had did not scan at the shelter (did a practice run) nor 2 other vets scanners when I asked to drop by to scan, akc uses a different frequency that some scanners dont read).

I have been happy with Homeagain microchip on my crew, I like its a onetime lifetime registration fee (dont pay anything annual unless I wanted the extra perks of some money travel insurance if pet found out of state, and lost flyers. I manage my account online and add photos and details, vet info

 

[Sheldon13]

Such interesting markings! Reminds me of the chimera cat called “Venus.”


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