Herding Cats at Home - June 2006

Good luck to you - and I hope he's back home safe and sound soon, if not already. And DO consider treating him to a safe, enriched indoor lifestyle! He's earned it.

Q: We adopted a very mild mannered, snuggly, lover of a male cat over a month ago. He has neutered last Monday. Ever since his behavior has been changing for the worse. Especially in the past 2-3 days. He won't snuggle, swipes at your hand when you pet him, and tears through the house at break neck speeds. He has also stopped coming to bed with us, and sleeping peacefully through the night. We have had to lock him out, since he has gotten aggressive with us while we slept. Now he stays up all night tearing about the house. His eyes are always wide and he looks mad and scared. Nothing has changed at our home, and the amount of time away from him has not varied. I called my vet and they said they highly doubt that he is hurting from the procedure, but offered to give him some pain pills. This behavior is 180 degree switch from the lazy, snuggly, super friendly cat we adopted. His meow has also seemed to change. It's louder, more frequent, and he gurgles in his meows. Another thing I noticed is his eyes are watering quite frequently. Do you have any ideas as to what could be happening with my cat?

A: If he were my cat, I would take him back to the veterinarian ASAP for a checkup. This does not sound like normal behavior after neuter surgery. Neutering can cause some behavioral changes; the testosterone level in the cat's blood does not go way down immediately. It takes a couple of weeks before the full hormonal changes are complete, and this can cause some behavioral upset. But the aggression you're seeing is very unusual. There may be something else wrong with your cat, totally unrelated to the surgery.

Schedule a complete checkup ASAP. Meanwhile, confine him to a small space equipped with everything he needs so that you can keep an eye on him, and so that he doesn't harm anyone.

If your veterinarian (the one who did the surgery) dismisses your concerns, please do your cat a favor and take him to another veterinarian. Explain exactly what you've observed, describe the cat's behavior before the surgery, and his behavior since. It doesn't happen very often, but things can go wrong during routine surgeries like neutering.