Your pet will need to stay quiet and rested for the next few weeks, avoiding too much exercise and excitement. Monitor feeding and drinking carefully. For some animals a canned type of pet food is more easily consumed, but for others, dry food is fine. Be prepared to experiment to see what works best for your pet.

In the case of a congenital soft palate defect, break down of sutures may occur. This normally takes place around three to five days following surgery. If nasal discharge occurs around this time, or you happen to see a break down, perhaps when your pet yawns, consult your veterinarian.

Recheck with your vet in 10 to 14 days following surgery, so that he or she can try to evaluate the surgical site, or at least check that your pet's recovery is on track.

Prevention

Most puppies and kittens with a cleft soft palate are put to sleep or they die instead of receiving surgery. It is uncommon to purchase a puppy with this defect and then want to nurse the pet to a point at which surgery can be performed. Then, too, the procedure itself is costly.

Some less than scrupulous breeders may euthanize the affected animals before selling the remaining animals in a litter and not alter their breeding program to avoid breeding from the dam and sire of affected offspring.

Because untreated elongated soft palate can contribute to other airway disorders, in particular laryngeal collapse, early surgical intervention with elongated soft palate is recommended. The prognosis for this surgery is good, when undertaken before two years of age.