Just got cat fixed, and he doesn't seem to be doing to well

I got my cat fixed this past Thursday, and they actually found something wrong with his testicles (they were inflamed or something), and they had to do surgery through his stomach. He's normally a very active cat, very hyper... I mean, psycho hyper... and now he's constantly laying around all the time. He's also having a lot of trouble jumping up and down from places.

I know it's only been like a day, and I'm probably overreacting... but I have problems with anxiety... and I had been scared to get him fixed (it took me 8 months). I freaked out when they said they had to do surgery through his stomach... now I'm freaking out that he hates me, that he's sad... I'm afraid that he's somehow going to be different now. Well, I'll keep this thread updated over the next few days.

You poor person, and also your cat! When I got Kitty done, I was told that she was a monster, that was because she pulled out her stiches once she woke up... but that is something irrelevent!

He could still be dosey from the gas that they used to put him to sleep? He will find it hard to jump as it will be painful, Kitty couldn't jump for a few days as she was also "in pain" to strech. Is he eting and drinking? When I got Kitty home, she had a few sips of water and was sick, due to the gas, but afterwards she was okay. She was quiet for a few days, I think it was because of the shock. Also sometimes once a cat has been done, especially males, they "can" become more quieter than what they were before, but remember this is not the case with all cats.

Sending good vibes your way, hoping that he gets better soon!

He's just had fairly major surgery, so it's not surprising that he's taking it easy. He needs time to recover, and recovery will take at least several days, as he wasn't neutered in the typical fashion. Did the vet give you pain meds for him?
I doubt that he connects you with the pain involved (though he may connect the vet's office with it). I can't see that spaying or neutering changes a young cat's personality, so I wouldn't worry on that count. It will take away his sex drive, so he won't wander as far if he's an indoor/outdoor cat, and will be less apt to fight with other males or to mark.

There are times when the testicles don't descend in male cats and they have to go thru the abdomen to do the surgery. While male neuters are usually pretty straight-forward, doing it this way is considered much more invasive surgery and at least as bad as a female spay.

Give him time to recouperate - poor little guy isn't feeling too good right now!

Healing vibes are coming your way!!

Hey, thanks for the encouraging replies... he didn't eat or drink for the rest of the day after the surgery, but yesterday he started drinking and eating so I'm sure that's fine now. The day he got it done, it was painful to watch when I took him home... he would try to lay down, and would start to lay down awkwardly, and then cry and get back up (and then repeat several times). But he doesn't seem to be in so much pain anymore. I got this paper from the vet that said pet recovery is different from human recovery... they don't need pain killers because they are much more tolerant to pain (which is like, how do they KNOW?) Today I saw him run for the first time since the surgery, and I never thought I'd be so happy to see a cat run in my life. I think I'm going to take him back to the vet on Monday, just to make sure everything is fine (and take advantage of my free follow-up).

With my last one that I had neutered I elected to bring home pain relliever for him. As I've seen mentioned in here. Just because their nature is not to show their pain, doesn't mean they don't feel it. It sounds like your little guy was feeling it plenty.

I hope his checkup goes with flying colors.

my vet always gives them pain meds after surg.

Chevy was just neutered on Wednesday, and he didn't have to have any pain meds, nor did they offer any. He had a normal/good neuter.

I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. I hope he feels better soon. I would take advantage of the surgery follow up as well.

I suspect you and your cat will be much better off with another vet. Pain meds are standard to take home after a surgery. You should have been presented with a sheet that asked you questions about bloodwork being run prior to surgery, and pain meds given afterward or to be brought home. All these options cost a bit more, but again, you might want to try and find another vet a bit more sensitive to what cats can and will endure.

I also didn't get pain meds for my cats when i brought them home from being spayed. I got them done at a low cost clinic, and they seemed fine. Really I don't beleive it is cruel.. They seemed fine and were NOT in pain, as they were acting normally.

I had my Daisy spayed and the procedure didn't include medicine, so I requested (paid extra). I guess my Daisy is the sensitive one so she had all the possible problem after the procedure. Allergic reaction to her stitches, minor infection, etc. All I know is that Daisy wasn't feeling well cause she just slept and slept and slept. She walked with a limp and refuse to get up on the couch so I know she was in pain. So medicine was given her to on time. I even had to hand feed her. I was all stressed seeing her so down for about a week.

Luckily, neuter is better but with a complex surgery, the vet should at least give the owner some pain medication to take home just in case.

I think healing time differs from cat to cat just like from human to human.

~~~~~~Get well soon~~~~~~

Any update on how your kitty is doing?

Hope he is well.

Hey... thanks again for the replies. Huckleberry's doing much better now. I don't know why I was so worried, obviously he's going to have some trouble for the first few days. He seems 98% back to normal now... he's still hesitant when jumping up and down from places, but that'll go away. You guys are right, I really do need a new vet. First off, I thought it was a little weird that I didn't even get to meet the vet who did the surgery on him. It was strictly drop him off at the front counter and pick him up from the front counter. And then I tried to make an appointment for Monday, and they said it was too busy for me to come in. So then I tried for Tuesday (yesterday)... and they wanted to charge me instead of giving me my free follow-up because the follow-up is only good for the third or fourth day following the surgery. And I don't know why they get the idea that cats can tolerate the pain... because they can't say to us "Ow this f-ing hurts, I'm in misery"???

Anyway... enough of the ranting. I'm just glad it's done and over with and my kitty is feeling better! Thanks again for posting your concerns.

awe i just read this thread and I am so glad that ur kittie is doing better I just got my one cat spayed the other day and like u I do have some anxiety problems, but I met the vet and she was really nice and we went there before with Bella and she was real nice and she does alot of ferals and rescue groups and everything, its a low cost clinic and well I cant watch for the shots and our experiences were very differnt I brought Stormie home and she was a little sleepy until she seen food on the floor she was begging to get out of the carrier to eat and then she would run and jump a little bit and now almost a week later we are back to playing with our big sister (although they did worry me because they play rough and Stormie is always the one to get Bella ready to play so I had to watch them closely) I kept saying mom is this ok does that look how its supposed to (where the stitches are..she was soo active i was soo worried) But we gotta go back at the end of the month for shots I dont wanna go on that visit Ill wait in the waiting room my mom can go in!!! But when we came back from the spay stormie was more loveable then again they gave her a pain medicine shot before she left and now she is more loveable...and i think the cats r actually happy to get fixed although stormie is trying to become the alpha cat in the house...and when we came home she was lovey with me and she hissed at my mom alot I am just surprised that u didnt get to met the vet prior to the surgery I would def recomend getting a new vet..mine was just a clinic and we still met the vet and all the nurses and they talked with us before we left and everything ...dont worry about feeling bad i know how u felt i still feel bad but we reached heat here so I am HAPPY and I think stormie is too no more pain...we also got pain medication to go home and we didnt even need it, its a week later and we are running around my room jumping up and down...the first day i caught stomrie on top of a 2 story rabbit cage sleeping...but if ur kittie is still in pain try putting some covers or sweat shirts on the floor or whever for him...Stormie mainly laid on my fleece sweat shirt and my towels what a weirdo....glad he is feeling completely better now...

Does Huckleberry have stitches that will have to be removed? Usually with surgery such as what he had, stitches would have to be removed in 10 to 14 days.

I had one of my cats neutered on November 13th and even though it was a simple neuter and he didn't have stitches the clinic wanted to see him in 10 days to make sure that everything had healed. And they called at least twice after the neutering to make sure that he was healing with no problems.

Just to reiterate. PAIN MEDS are usually not given at low cost clinics for spay/neuture. I have worked for several, and no that this is the case. and many cats do not need them...

Glad to hear he's doing well!

When Radar had surgery he was given a long-acting pain-killer/sedative injection by the vet, but didn't need any further pain medication after that at all, he was just fine after that shot wore off. This was after his combined neuter and umbilical hernia repair.