Getting Your Cat Neutered...

This is a different post from me today, but I'm a huge cat lover (a cat-aholic, i'll have you know) so I thought I'd do a little post sharing tips for when your male cat gets neutered. My little man, Prince, went to get neutered this morning, so I have some little tips for you, for when your cat is getting neutered, and what to expect when he's home.

This is just for male cats. My female cat was spayed before we got her, so I don't know what it's like to look after a female spayed cat, or what needs doing...Google is your friend!

This is my little man before his surgery...

Isn't he adorable? ♥ The vet loves him!

♥ When you book your cat in to be neutered, they will tell you not to feed him the night before. He must fast for at least 12 hours before the surgery. This minimises the chance of nausea and your cat vomiting. They should still have a bowl of water to drink during the fast.

♥ When you bring your little man home, lay down newpapers or old towels/sheets. Male cats can tend to have a little accident, so newspaper or towels/sheets are handy to help absorb the pee.

♥ Your cat may not want to eat, just sleep. Put out a small amount of food for him, preferably 'wet' food (soft food). A quarter of a pouch is plenty. Wet food is much easier to eat than dry food, especially when your cat is in the state he's in.

♥ If he does eat the food, put out a tiny bit more. If he doesn't want the food, don't force it. Leave it near him so it's there when he feels like eating it. When he's eating normally, give him his normal-sized portion.

♥ If you have other cats, put the neutered cat into a room on his own. Make sure he has his food, water, litter tray and a very comfortable bed. When he's more awake, you can try to introduce him to the other cat slowly, holding back the other cat. If it attacks or hisses, put it out of the room so the neutered cat is alone again.

♥ Your cat shouldn't lick his incisions. Your vet may or may not give you a plastic Elizabethan collar/cone to put on your cat. If you don't get one, keep an eye on your cat. If he licks the area, check to see if he's licking his incision or grooming himself. If he's grooming himself, it's fine. If he licks the incision, you should put a cone on him for a few days. 

♥ If you think your cat has a fur-ball, it may come up after surgery. A little coughing is normal.

♥ You might want to think about using litter that is not dusty. The dust can irritate the neuter site.

♥ Keep your cat inside for 5-10 days after neutering (different vets say different things, so ask yours). If he is an outdoor cat, keep him in. Venturing outdoors means the neuter site is more prone to infection.

♥ Your cat will probably wriggle around a lot when trying to get comfortable...don't force him to lie down. When he finds a position he's comfortable in, he will settle down.

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Now for Prince's little neutering story..

♥ Prince was booked in for 9.45am this morning, but he had to fast from 7pm last night. It was a bit of a nightmare because he was hungry during the night and kept mewling for food. I felt awful because I wasn't allowed to feed him! He did have his bowl of water, which he sipped at throughout the night. I dropped him into the vet at 9.30am, and collected him at 3pm. When I took him home in his cage, he was still sedated and half-asleep. When we bought him into the house, our other cat, Jess, was curious to see what was going on and why her little non-related-brother was away all day. The two cats aren't normally the best of friends (they will rub noses, but like to wind each other up too), but Jess wasn't too bothered. I think she missed him though! He wandered around for a few minutes, still groggy and falling around a bit. I let him go where he wanted and he finally settled in the kitchen, so I brought down his bed, water, food and litter so everything is near him. Jess is in the sitting room with us, so Prince is alone and has time to recover.

Earlier in the day, when he first got home, he went up the stairs. He sat in a corner in the bathroom, coughed a little and vomited a small bit. I cleaned it up and he's been fine since. He wanted to explore the house, but he was so out of it, he couldn't. He did attempt to jump onto the bed...the first time, he failed. I tried to help but he mewled a little. I didn't want to hurt him, so left him at it. The second time he tried to jump up, he made it. He lay there on my lap for a while and just slept. He jumped down off the bed before I could stop him, but he did it with no problems...but I wince when I think about it now. How didn't he hurt himself?!

A bit later, he went down the stairs by himself, again, before I could stop him. I left him at it but had to giggle at how funny he looked, hahaha. Right now, he's snuggled up in his bed in the kitchen, with everything he needs beside him. He hasn't moved much in a few hours, just changed positions every so often. He's not interested in food again properly just yet, but he's eaten a tiny bit. He'll just sleep the evening away, and I'll keep him isolated, and away from Jess. The vet reckons he'll be right as rain tomorrow, so hopefully she's right...it's not the same when he's not bounding around the house wanting to play!

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Our set-up in the bedroom, including old hair-dyed towels in case of accidents...he's now in the kitchen, so everything is the same, just moved.

 Sleeping on his face..so out of it!

On the bed, sleeping with his nose touching the bedsheet..so cute!

Those are my little tips for when you get your little man neutered...it's the best thing for them, seriously. Nobody can call to your door with a litter of kittens (did you know that if your male cat gets a female pregnant, the owner of the female cat can bring the kittens to YOUR house and you're in charge of them?! That's what i heard anyway...). Another good thing about neutering is that your cat is less likely to roam. It's supposed to 'calm them down', but I still have to see about that one.

Yay for neutering!