On December 27, Freya and Siggy go to the vet for the dreaded spaying operation. I know all about spaying and why it is important, especially since the neighbor’s big old male cat keeps showing up at our picture window and waiting for us to open the garage door so he can bolt inside. He has his laser eyes on Siggy, of course.

The cats are not experiencing apprehension as their vet date looms closer. I am.

In the past we have spayed and neutered cats and dogs and all went well. But we also had never raised a pet from kittenhood–in Siggy’s case, 6 weeks. So they literally become your babies.

My apprehension is not that anything will go wrong during the operation. It is exceedingly rare for that to happen. I’m concerned about their personality, especially Freya’s. She’s very sensitive, cautious, timid actually; and she eats very little (which is why Siggy is now 1 1/2 pounds bigger).

My vet has told me not to worry but to keep an eye out for any redness of seeping of the incision. We don’t want an infection to develop.

The more cats lick the incision, the higher the chances of infection.

My biggest concern remains appetite. Siggy’s will return. But a side-effect of spaying is reduced appetite, and Freya may stop eating altogether. If that happens, I’m supposed to contact the vet again.

The vet says both kittens should be back to normal after a few days. Some may take a week.

The upside seems to be that spayed cats may become more affectionate. That would be great, because both of our female Maine Coons are independent and not very affectionate. We delight when they do cuddle us.

In any case, I will keep everyone posted about their surgery and my/their recovery. Thanks for following the adventures of Freya and Siggy.