The room buzzed with nervous excitement as third-year DVM students at the College of Veterinary Medicine assembled around surgical tables. Beneath blue drapes covering each table lay anesthetized rescue cats ready to help the students complete a very important milestone in their educational journey.

For many students, the spay and neuter procedures—also known as gonadectomies— they performed this past fall marked the first surgery of their veterinary careers. Under the direction of Dr. Raye Taylor, ’11 DVM, a clinical instructor with CVM, students teamed up to prepare for and perform four procedures during their gonadectomy lab—two as surgeons and two managing anesthesia. They were joined by veterinary volunteers from the Twin Cities community and veterinary technicians from the College’s teaching hospitals.  

Over the course of six days throughout October and November, student teams sterilized 126 cats in the Student Surgery Suite, located in the lower level of the Lewis Small Animal Hospital on campus. 

Valuable experience 

A lot of training and practice leads up to surgeries, including reviewing guides and practicing on animal models. Live surgery doesn’t follow a script, and students learn the value of preparation when they encounter challenges. 

During DVM student Kayla Sawchak’s turn as surgeon, her cat became light under anesthesia, meaning the patient entered a more shallow level of anesthesia during which spontaneous movement is possible. Under advisement from the team’s veterinarian volunteer, Sawchak kept a sterile gloved hand over the incision site while her teammates worked to bring the cat back under sedation. Once the patient was under again, she removed her hand only to find some of its small intestines had crept out of the incision.

“My veterinarian that was guiding us through the surgery said, ‘Oh yeah, that’s fine. Just pick up both sides of your incision, give the body wall a little shake, and they will fall right back into place,’’ she recalls. “Sure enough that worked, and the rest of the procedure went on without a hitch.”

Moments like that can be stressful, but provide valuable learning experiences and support for students that prepare them for clinical practice after graduation. 

Volunteer support

During the October and November surgery days, student teams were accompanied by veterinary technicians, faculty, and 19 volunteer veterinarians—many of whom are CVM alums.

The volunteers are on hand to answer questions, provide guidance, and offer support. In prior years, only faculty, residents, and interns were present to help students with challenges during the surgeries, but bringing in volunteers alleviates pressure on faculty and staff to be present while relieving stress for students who may be nervous around their teachers. 

“It’s like they’re working with a colleague instead of an instructor,” Taylor says. “The volunteers can be a calming presence and provide support throughout. They’re another part of the surgery team.”

The experience also lets volunteers reconnect with their alma mater. It was only a couple of years ago that Dr. Tess Schaefer, ’24 DVM, was in the students’ shoes. Now an intern at the Animal Humane Society, spay and neuter procedures are a routine part of her workday.

“Participating as a volunteer doctor not only helped me in realizing how far I have come since my own junior surgery two years ago but also allowed me to see how prepared and well-equipped the students are,” Schaefer says. “At that point in vet school, I was still very nervous about surgery and anesthesia, much like the students I was supervising, but they were more than prepared for the day and needed very little guidance. I was very impressed, to say the least.”

Going home

Once the surgeries are complete, it’s off to recovery for the cats. They come to the hospital from rescue organizations across Minnesota, Tribal communities, and Wisconsin. Some head back to those organizations to await adoption, but others leave the hospital with a new family. While on campus, members of the CVM community have the opportunity to visit the cats and apply to adopt them.

Sawchak was among more than a dozen students and staff members who adopted cats from the most recent spay and neuter lab. Cheese, a then 5-month-old male tabby cat, stole her heart from the operating table. 

“I had sent a joke text to my group members on the Monday of our surgery week saying, ‘What if I fall in love today?’” she says. “And lo and behold, I did.”

Cheese has since been renamed Seamus—or The Artist Formerly Known as Cheese if you ask Sawchak’s friends—and has settled into life with her. He accompanied her home for Thanksgiving, meeting her family’s other cats and dogs for the first time. Sawchak says he did wonderfully and noted he also was a great travel partner in the car. 

“I’m hoping he will become a little adventure kitty who won’t be afraid of car rides,” she says.