I am planning my surgery for Jan '16. (Bangkok)  I will be testing my physical resources significantly for age 68.  I have a dog & a cat that I will have in a kennel while I am gone. When I return, I had hoped to bring them home, but after some reflection, I am wondering if caring for them will tax my system too much. I live alone so it will be just me caring for me & them.  Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation?   

This was a question that was in the back of my mind wondering too with my surgery next year. I know in my case a neighbor is going to come in a deal with things for me while my family will still be away for a  bit to let me heal some. Still the pets will be staying so as a result I'm very interested in this too.
Mariah

I don't know where you are but if you are in Ontario, I'll take them for a while:)

@typo - You are too sweet!  Thanks for caring.  Unfortunately, I'm not near you.  Much further S. near Houston, TX
Hugz,
Joi

I do, but I'm afraid my experience would be bad news for you. I was told a) no animals in the bedroom for three months and b) no lifting over ten pounds for the same 3 months. Plus I worried about cleaning litter boxes while still healing from surgery. So basically my wife did all the pet care (we have four cats, none of which weigh LESS than 10 lbs!) for the first 2 months or so post-op, and I took over litterboxes but still couldn't pick them up for the next month. I was also super exhausted for several months after. I suspect you *could* do it all if you really had to, but you might not like it... any chance of getting a petsitter to handle walks and litterbox at least? They can come even when you're actually home.

(I had GRS when I was 34, for reference.)

Thanks for the info Jenna. I suspected it was something like that. My dog will hate the restrictions, but they can't be helped. It will be interesting to see how I handle it when I will have turned 39 a month earlier than the procedure. Hugs
Mariah

OMG  This sndz like it's going to be a real challenge for me, but manageable.  10 # Cat and a 50# Dog.  Well, looks like I'm going to need help.    I want this to be as seamless as possible and even though it's 7 mos. away, I want to be prepared for all contingencies as I'm sure there will be issues that I did not forsee during my recovery which could be longer than I think. My pets will be a comfort to me as I'm sure yours are.
Hugz,
Joi

PS:  Thanks for you input!