Mickey got neutered, now he's acting wierd.

I got Mickey and Foxxy spayed and neutered a few months ago, and Mickey is acting wierd. Since he got fixed he has been acting nervous, scared, shy, etc. He doesnt like me to touch him or hold him much. He still plays with my other 2 cats just as much as before, he is still as active and playful. But if he is near me and im sitting on the floor, and I reach out to touch him, he jumps out of my reach. And If he is sleeping, usually with my other cats I can scratch behind their ears and they love it. But Mickey jumps as if startled and gets up and walks or runs away.
Today, my dad and his girlfriend came over to deliver a bed they bought me as an early xmas present. My dad was with me in my bedroom setting it up, and his girlfriend was in the kitchen playing with the cats. Well throughout the time they were here, Mickey was crying, meowing. After they left I went in the kitchen and he was hiding and kind of cowering in front of the stove, looking around it towards the hallway, where my dad and his girlfriend had left. He was hiding from them. He has never been like that, ever. I dont remember any specific times when he was a kitten that he liked to cuddle with anyone, but if someone tried to cuddle with him, he was never like this.
Maybe a little background info would be helpful. I found Mickey on halloween of 2006 when he was about 6-8 weeks old. He had a gash on his tail where the bone was sticking out. I chased him through the woods to catch him, where he sunk his tooth into my thumb. I brought him to the vet immediately, where his tail was wrapped, given antibiotics and he was fine. About a month or two before he was neutered, he was treated for a urinary tract infection. He was always crying and I never thought anything of it because when I lived with my mom, his best friend was my mom's rottweiler Sally. I live in my own now so I thought he missed her.
Well he started peeing little puddles of blood and crystals.
So I dont know if any of this could have caused him to become shy and nervous? Hopefully someone here has soe advice for Mickey!

Did you change his diet after the urinary tract infection? You said when he had it before he was always crying, and now when your dad and his girlfriend came, he was crying. If he were hiding from them, he wouldn't have been crying. ????

It could be a coincidence, and not something directly related to the neutering. Maybe his crystals are back, and he's having pain urinating. Pain affects our animals behavior - and any change in behavior is a reason to get them to the vet.

If it's not a UTI or crystals (though when our boys had both, after the second trip to the vet inside of several months, we had to put them on a special diet), I'd suggest trying some Feliway spray - it may help him.

Does he enjoy playing with you with an interactive toy or a laser toy? I'd consider 10 minutes of alone play time with him in the morning and evening, and I'd also consider getting a t-shirt really sweaty, and putting treats out on it for him after the alone play time. I would otherwise ignore him and not try to pet him. At this point, treat it like a feral socialization - and wait for him to come to you.

Laurie

I would suggest a trip back to the vet, if nothing else than just to make sure he healed right from the nueter.

I was thinking the vet as well. Just in case the UTI came back. Poor little guy Please let us know what you find out.

I have had him on Royal Canin OS food since his urinary tract infection. He cries every now and then, certainly not like he used to when he had the infection. He used to cry day and night then, my roommates were getting mad at him. Right now I think he does it because he is bored because when I start paying attention to him, he stops. Until then, he just walks around, chirping, maybe like saying, "I'm bored, somebody play with me"
Im taking him to the vet in January, so hopefully they can let me know whats wrong. Ill try the solo play thing and see how that works.

Originally Posted by xpiercedgoddess

Well he started peeing little puddles of blood and crystals.

Click to expand...

Was this during the UTI he was treated for, or are you saying he's doing that now? Because if he's doing that now, it would be important to get him to the vet soon and not wait until January.

If this was in reference to his past illness, I have a cat that is generally very shy and runs away from me since I'm the medicine giver. I have 3 siblings from a stray mom that are now 4 years old (Mom and all the other siblings are at various homes now). Jeffery came in to live with us when he was 2.5 months old, and had a giardia infection which took WEEKS to cure. WEEKS of giving him medicine that was horrible tasting and weeks of mixing in anti-diarrhea medicine that he hated into baby food. He associates me with that time and won't have anything to do with me. He's generally a very cautious cat and approaches any change in arrangment of furniture, a piece of paper on the floor, as something that could be potentially life threatening.

So maybe your cat thinks you are planning on giving him medicine and is shy right now. Or because of his illnesses, he's become more shy and the new bed is just freaking him out. Maybe give him something he enjoys as a small treat to re-associate you with something positive.

If your cat is suffereing from a full-blown urinary tract infection right now, he will cower and hide. Cats are notorius for hiding and being shy when they are sick in any way. That's about the first sign a cat owner gets that anything is wrong.

If you are worried he has another UTI, take him to the vet asap! UTIs in male cats can be fatal.

I hope you do get some professional answers to the problems you're experiencing with Mickey. *hugs*

All I know is that since I had my kitten fixed he has stopped jumping on my lap, letting me pet him, sleeping with us, and just not as "loving".


Not sure why. =(

Sorry, this is xpiercedgoddess, was having trouble signing in to my account, had to make another one.

He isnt having any symptoms of his uti except the meowing. But he hasnt done it since saturday around 2pm so im pretty sure he only does it when hes bored. Before, he did it constantly.
And its not only me he avoids, he doesnt want my mom or step dad to pick him up either and he used to love them. Hopefully it's nothing serious.

I hope it's just a phase and not a health issue, keep us posted.

I just took this pic, he's being so cute right now, I just wanna smooch him