Spay/Neuter Question

Question
I have 2 four month old kittens (male and female) that are scheduled to be spayed and neutered next week.
When I called for the appointment I was told that after the procedures I will have to keep them seperated for a full week.  I am a bit concerned about this as the kittens are very attached to each other and also my house is not that big.  It is going to be very difficult to keep them apart for that long.
Is this normal procedure?  I could understand a day or 2, but a week just seemed excessive to me.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Answer
First of all, I am not a proponent of neutering a 4 month old male cat. Females are fine at that age, but males do not reach full growth until 6 months and their bone structure can suffer if not allowed to grow to full size before neutering.

Secondly, a week is too long but they are probably concerned about them getting rambunctious. The male it won't bother but she should be kept calm for at least 3 days to allow her inner sutures to heal up some. We have never told anyone to keep cats separated but to watch the female for suture pulling etc.

So keep an eye on them for a few days or separated for a couple of days but going a week is a bit extreme. However, ask the vet why and then decide what you want to do.