Tess was 5 years old and had a litter before she was spayed, was ready to leave my vet's office within a few hours, and healed probably faster than I gave her credit for. (I was being very careful. She wasn't.) The only thing that might have been of interest to me would be if there was enough hormonal activity after the ovariectomy to prevent spay incontinence, and from what I've heard, there isn't.