Wound Changes That Cannot Wait for the Recheck
Look at the surgical site in good light at least twice a day, and phone the same day if you see fresh bleeding, a wound edge gaping open, fluid leaking, or a smell coming from the area. Swelling that grows after the first day or two, rather than steadily settling, belongs on the same call, as does redness spreading outward from the incision instead of fading.
Tell the clinic exactly what has changed since you last looked and when. A wound that was neat at breakfast and is open by evening suggests she has been licking or has caught it on something, and the vet will want to know whether her collar has been on continuously.
Eating, Drinking, and Toileting Warning Signs
A quiet first evening with little appetite is common, but refusal of food stretching beyond the first day, repeated vomiting, or drinking nothing at all should be phoned in the same day. Surgery and its drugs unsettle the stomach briefly; they should not shut it down.
Toileting signs rank even higher. Straining to pass urine with little or nothing produced is urgent in any cat and especially after an anaesthetic, and it should be reported immediately rather than watched overnight. Note also if she has produced no stool for far longer than the clinic said to expect, or has diarrhoea that keeps recurring.
Behaviour That Says She Is Not Coping
You know her normal. A cat who was improving and then becomes withdrawn, hides, growls when approached, or cries out is telling you something has changed, and that reversal deserves a same-day call even if the wound looks fine. Pain often announces itself this way in cats, not through obvious limping or wailing.
Restlessness can signal trouble too: pacing, inability to settle, or constant attention to the wound despite the collar. Describe what she is doing and for how long, rather than summarising it as seeming unwell — the detail is what lets the nurse triage your call accurately.
Signs That Are an Emergency, Not a Phone Call
Some developments skip the queue entirely. Laboured or open-mouth breathing, collapse or inability to stand, gums that look pale or grey rather than pink, uncontrolled bleeding, or a seizure mean she needs emergency care now, with a call made on the way rather than first. If your own clinic is closed, use the out-of-hours service named on your discharge sheet.
Keep that discharge sheet somewhere findable from the moment she comes home. In a midnight worry, hunting for the emergency number wastes the minutes you should spend travelling.
When in Doubt, Describe and Ask
Plenty of normal recovery looks alarming to a first-time owner: bruising that deepens before it fades, sleepiness that lingers into the second day, a shaved patch with slightly irritated skin. Clinics expect these calls and far prefer a five-minute reassurance to a cat presented late with a wound infection well established.
When you ring, have the surgery date, what was done, and her current state ready to describe, and write down the advice you are given so everyone at home follows the same instruction.
Keeping that advice straight is easier with KinsLe through KinsLe Messenger, which holds every conversation about your cat in one per-pet hub, so the clinic's guidance, family updates, and your follow-up questions stay in a single thread.