new male cat, licking at penis - related to neutering?

the_food_lady

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Maybe I'm just paranoid because many years ago, my first male cat, developed FLUTD at a young age (I stupidly fed him only dry, and cheap stuff at that) and he'd frequently block up due to crystals and when he was going through those episodes you'd see him licking his penis a fair bit.

So this new cat I adopted yesterday, 1 year old.........he was neutered on Feb 10th (5 days ago). I had my vet give him a health check yesterday and he said his neuter area was healing nicely. A few times now I've seen this cat licking at his penis and where his little b*lls were :-) But a few minutes ago he seemed to just be licking his penis. Is this just a 'male thing'? He's peed 3 times since I got him home yesterday ......so over a period of 18 hours he's peed 1 golf ball sized lump, I found a larger one in the box this morning and then not long ago he peed maybe the size of a large marble. He's wandering around the house all curious. I don't see him making frequent trips to the litterbox, he doesn't seem to be in pain or discomfort.....but I guess I just get paranoid when I see a male cat licking his penis............with my old cat that always signified he was blocking up.

This cat was fed Science Diet Dry at the Humane Society; I'm feeding him canned twice a day (and he's eating it really well), with a little water added.......and good premium dry food (Orijen and Instinct mixed).

Should I be worried? My vet is closed today and I don't really think I have enough reason to go rushing him to an Emergency Vet clinic for a urinalysis........though I'll be going back to work tomorrow so won't be hear during the day to see him.

So about that licking.........is that just something that's common for fairly recently neutered males?

TO ADD:
***NOTE**** I should also add, his penis looks fairly dark pink/almost reddish. Forgive my ignorance but I don't really know if it should be this dark pink? Just wondering if maybe his penis is inflamed or something and that's why he's licking it? I don't really know what the normal color would be..........I always figured it would be a more pale pink?

Thanks
Lisa
 

mews2much

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My first mail cay died from a blockage at age 1.
I was a kid and he was fed cheap junk food also
Your cat is licking because he was fixed.
It will top soon.
My males I had fixed did the same thing.
 

ut0pia

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If licking becomes too much you should try an ecollar. He might open his cut.
 
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the_food_lady

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Originally Posted by ut0pia

If licking becomes too much you should try an ecollar. He might open his cut.
The last time I saw him lick, though, it was just his penis he was licking. I haven't seen him do this often (course he's spent good periods of time in his room without me being there, since I brought him home yesterday). His neuter area looks fine, not irritated, not red, Vet checked it yesterday and said things were healing well..............it's just the occasional penis-licking thing that concerns me, just didn't know if that's a) a male thing b) a common post-neuter thing or c) should I be worried that it's caused by some type of urinary tract issues (crystals, etc).

To add...last night when I saw him doing this, he also then proceeded to groom himself in other places so I figured he was just doing a general "groom" and his penis just happened to be on the list :-)
 

violet

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My experience (going back 35 years). Licking the penis: ALWAYS the sign of a urinary problem. Can be UTI, stones or crystals, or "simple" food allergy. There is really nothing "simple" about food allergy, I'm using the word "simple" only because test results come back negative for bacteria, stones or crystals. And an ultrasound confirms these findings. The only problem the urine test finds is inflammation. (Anti-inflammatory medication and a change of diet brings permanent relief.)

Normally, when cats groom, you don't notice special attention being paid to the penis.
Whenever male cats do this (pay noticeable attention to the penis), there is a problem.

The first thing you can do before taking him to the vet for a very thorough checkup is thinking about his diet, looking at the ingredients in his food.
If he is on a dry food diet, switch to canned. Feed no fish-based food of any kind.
Make sure the food he is eating is producing a low pH. Something between 6.0 and 6.5
A meat based diet with lots of animal protein and little or no vegetable or fruit will do that.
Make sure he is well hydrated, even on a canned diet. (Some cats have to drink even on a canned diet.)

A little bit of info:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...=show&item=017
http://www.felinefuture.com/nutritio...vegetables.php
http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4.php
http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/magnesium.php
http://www.blakkatz.com/dryfood.html

Please feel free to PM me if you want to talk some more about any of this.
 

mrblanche

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Actually, every male cat I've ever known has groomed his penis when he's bathing normally.

I would imagine he has some degree of discomfort in that area. Having had a vasectomy, a much less invasive operation than neutering, I experienced 3 days of real misery, and a week of discomfort.

Cats are excellent at hiding discomfort, but a good observer will recognize the signs.
 
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the_food_lady

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I started off by calling the Humane Society (where I adopted him from yesterday) as information they gave me indicated that if one of their animals develops any health problems within the first 48 hours, to call them first before contacting one's own Vet (in the event it's something they can/will deal with). I called. That was a waste of time. The gal I talked to was clueless, she had to put me on hold a few times, came back to tell me that he was likely licking his penis because of "behavioral issues" and that I should just watch him for a couple of days OR if I really wanted to, I could just collect a urine sample (obviously she doesn't realize that this is much easier said than done) and drop it off this afternoon (no Vet there, they close at 5, they're closed tomorrow as it's a holiday here but anyway......). WTH? I told her I want to have him actually assessed by a Vet, and even if I COULD manage to get a urine sample at home, if I'm just dropping it off, what will be done with it? Doesn't sound anyone will be running a urinalysis and even if someone did, if there's no Vet around on Sundays and holidays, what good will that do me? *shaking head*

I ended up taking him to the 24 hr Emerg Hospital in the big city near me. A really nice vet assessed him. He took one look at his neuter site (scrotal area, I guess you could say) and said it looked rather inflamed and angry and he figured THAT was the cause of problems; I told him I was surprised, it looked no different than yesterday and my OWN vet checked cat out on the way home from Humane Society and commented that neuter site looked to be healing well (My Vet did an overall wellness check, at my request).

Vet gave him a shot of Metacam and gave me some liquid Metacam to give in 24 hours.

He said bladder was very small, not even enough for them to obtain via ultrasound/cysto but cat had absolutely no tenderness to abdomen, he really believed kitty is licking penis and this general area just due to the discomfort to inflamed scrotal area. I mentioned the 2 small pees he did this morning within a 2 hour period; he suggested that if cat is feeling discomfort down there, he may feel like the discomfort is due to need to pee and will go. Said his bladder was definitely empty upon feeling it.

I pressed though, asked about preventative antibiotics........for the inflamed neuter area and what if he has a UTI? Vet said it's extremely rare for males to get (yes, I knew this, but it's not impossible -- surely due to stress and spending a month at the Humane Society, sharing a litterbox with 4 other cats, who knows how well they clean the boxes - they sure wreaked yesterday) and told me just to watch and see. I explained that i don't exactly live next door and due to working all day, it's not so easy for me to just pop back in..........so he gave me 10 days worth of Amoxicillin (which for a UTI wouldn't really be my antibiotic of choice but anyway)..I'm to start that tonight.

He had a nice sized pee when we got home. He's lounging under the bed now, haven't seen him lick anything.

I did ask about whether he may need to end up wearing an e-collar if he continues to groom the inflamed area; vet said that collar would likely stress him AND my other 4 cats out......pretty confident the 2 doses of Metacam will do the trick. Fingers crossed on my part.

I had fed him some canned food with a little water added to it, about an hour before we left; hoping he'd have enough in his bladder for them to take a sample once there but there just wasn't. I'd have felt better had we been able to test it but can't change that now.

I'm going to try and feed him more canned food throughout the day, more than I'd usually feed a cat.........just so he gets the added fluids.

They'd been feeding him Science Diet dry at the H.S., I'm sure for the entire 5 weeks he was there (assuming it was just the regular Adult stuff). I am feeding him (as I feed my other 4 cats), a mix of Orijen, Instinct and Eagle Pack Hairball........plus canned twice a day (got a whole variety of canned, wasn't sure what he'd like: go natural, wellness, eagle pack, natural balance, solid gold, etc)

He certainly doesn't seem to be in any distress in the least; very content, super friendly at the vet, Vet was amazed at how sweet and friendly he was, even when getting a thermometer shoved up his hoo-hoo LOL. Was giving head butts, just so friendly.......couldn't believe I'd only adopted him yesterday.

He's out and about in the house now..........he doesn't seem to mind my 4 spayed (older) females and other than the odd hiss from them, they don't really care too much about him so it seems I lucked out in the "introduction' department. Will probably keep him locked up in his room while at work for a couple of days, just to prevent any possible 'fur flying' while I'm not there to watch


What does everyone think of how the Vet proceeded here?

I'll be definitely watching him like a hawk; like I said, I had a young male cat about 15 yrs ago w/ FLUTD and frequent crystals/blockage/emergency trips to the Vet for catheterization and fluids..........so I know what to watch for, of course I won't be able to see much when I'm at work. Would have felt better had they been able to get a urine sample but they couldn't and they were so busy there, didn't seem to think it was warranted to leave him there for several hours until there was enough urine to take.

Thanks
 

violet

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Metacam for this? Oh God!

I'm sure you don't know this, but for cats, oral metacam (given after a cat already had an injenction) is one of the most dangerous medications there is. So dangerous, some vets will not use it under any circumstances.

Please, read the info I'm including, and think long and hard before you give your kitty an oral dose.

http://www.fda.gov/cvm/Documents/N141219pi.pd

http://www.metacamkills.com/
 
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the_food_lady

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Originally Posted by Violet

Metacam for this? Oh God!

I'm sure you don't know this, but for cats, oral metacam (given after a cat already had an injenction) is one of the most dangerous medications there is. So dangerous, some vets will not use it under any circumstances.

Please, read the info I'm including, and think long and hard before you give your kitty an oral dose.

http://www.fda.gov/cvm/Documents/N141219pi.pd

http://www.metacamkills.com/
Ugh. I couldn't access the first link, will look at the second one.

I see they gave him Metacam after his neuter (it's listed on his health info form).

Geez, years ago I had an old kitty I'd rescued, who had CRF (early stages). Due to arthritis, my Vet (who was a very good Vet) put her on daily (DAILY!) Metacam (liquid). After a few days I stopped it because she developed massive bruising under the skin to her chest area. I'd been giving her daily sub/q fluids for the CRF and perhaps I hit a small vein and then with the Metacam on board, I suspected that maybe it had thinned her blood a fair bit. Ironically, she was a white siamese so the purple bruising was very evident and I panicked and took her back to this same top notch 24 hr Emerg Vet Hospital I took HIM to today......and the vet there was clueless, didn't think the Metacam had anything to do with it, I did.......it was the only "new" medication she'd been on (maybe had been taking it for a week?). I believe I read that it can reduce clotting (something to do with platelets). I stopped it immediately. Had I known anything about the dangers of it, I'd have never agreed to her taking it period, especially because she HAD CRF!

Even when my angel kitty Taco was post-op from an extensive dental back a year ago (a few extractions) and seemed to be in pain the next day, my current regular Vet prescribed 3 days of Metacam. I gave only one, didn't feel comfortable giving it the next 2 days due to him being borderline CRF.

I'll have to read the 2nd link you gave me. I know it's not really intended for use in cats (it's used off label for them), and I know it's surely not to be used any more than very 'short term' so I didn't realize there would be any risk with these 2 doses. He definitely needs something for the inflammation or he'll continue to lick and it will be a vicious cycle.

So why on earth do so many Vets prescribe it if its use is so controversial/dangerous? Why wouldn't they know what folks like you (and others) know? You think they'd be more in-the-know about such pertinent things/risks??

TO ADD: I just checked the syringe they gave me, for his 2nd dose in 24 hours. It's 0.3mls and the listed strength of the Metacam is 1.5mg per ml -- that works out to 0.45mg (he's 4.9 kgs which = 10.78 lbs (funny...the H.S. weight for him was 5.2kg. yesterday my own Vet weighed him at 4.71 kgs, today the Emerg clinic weighed him a 4.9kg).

I won't give the 2nd dose but just curious, is that dose considered real high? I assume that would be the same dose he'd been given by injection today. I was reading a few of the 'cases' in that 2nd link and it seems that a few cats were actually given HUGE doses, doses meant for dogs).

Again, I won't give that 2nd dose, I'm glad I now pushed for the antibiotic.

VIOLET: I read one of the cases, it was written by a Vet tech sharing her experiences of what she's seen happen to cats given oral Metacam....and she seemed to indicate that the injectable formula of it is okay for cats post-op.........but it's the ORAL stuff that's dangerous. Do you know if this is true? She wrote:

"Metacam has an injectable Metacam that was developed for use in post surgical pain in cats after major procedures. This is a different chemical makeup than the oral. Also the injectable has the following warning from the manufacturer: Warning Do not administer a second dose of meloxicam. Do not follow meloxicam dose with any other NSAID. Followed by: "Repeated use in cats has been associated with acute renal failure and death." There is no time this medication should be given to a cat unless it is the injectable form and it is administered in a single dosage by the vet only. The manufacturer is more than clear about this."



Lisa
 

violet

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Okay, let's try this link:

http://www.bi-vetmedica.com/product_...cam_Cat_RP.pdf

(When I checked it worked for me, so hopefully it will work for you, too.)

I really don't know why some vets are not taking the dangers of this medication as seriously as they should, especially when others refuse to use it and use much safer alternatives.

I became aware of the dangers of Metacam when we had an unexpected terrible experience with it. Then, as I was reading information on it, all I could say was, oh God, oh God, oh God.......I was horrified......couldn't think, couldn't find words.......

So please be careful.
 

violet

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VIOLET: I read one of the cases, it was written by a Vet tech sharing her experiences of what she's seen happen to cats given oral Metacam....and she seemed to indicate that the injectable formula of it is okay for cats post-op.........but it's the ORAL stuff that's dangerous. Do you know if this is true? She wrote:

"Metacam has an injectable Metacam that was developed for use in post surgical pain in cats after major procedures. This is a different chemical makeup than the oral. Also the injectable has the following warning from the manufacturer: Warning Do not administer a second dose of meloxicam. Do not follow meloxicam dose with any other NSAID. Followed by: "Repeated use in cats has been associated with acute renal failure and death." There is no time this medication should be given to a cat unless it is the injectable form and it is administered in a single dosage by the vet only. The manufacturer is more than clear about this."
YES, this is true.
 
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the_food_lady

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Originally Posted by Violet

YES, this is true.
Very interesting........so the one-time injectable form is "safe" but it's just the ORAL form that's very dangerous. Wonder what it is about the ?composition of the 2 forms that differs so much such that one is safe and one is so not?

I didn't realize there was anything documented even declaring that the injectable is safe for cats.............have you read documentation from the drug company that claims this to be the case? My understanding was that it's never been intended for use in cats (no matter what form of it is given)...so I'm surprised to read that, according to what she wrote, the drug company is claiming that the injectable form is safe??

My God, to think I was giving it on a daily basis to a frail old CRF kitty for at least a week, it's no wonder she didn't drop dead.
 

violet

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Here is something from the drug company (and the copy of my earlier post - you may have mssed it):

Okay, let's try this link:

http://www.bi-vetmedica.com/product_...cam_Cat_RP.pdf

(When I checked it worked for me, so hopefully it will work for you, too.)

I really don't know why some vets are not taking the dangers of this medication as seriously as they should, especially when others refuse to use it and use much safer alternatives.

I became aware of the dangers of Metacam when we had an unexpected terrible experience with it. Then, as I was reading information on it, all I could say was, oh God, oh God, oh God.......I was horrified......couldn't think, couldn't find words.......

So please be careful.
 

carolina

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Do NOT give him Metacam - call the vet and ask for an alternative, or do nothing, but DON'T give it to him!!
 
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the_food_lady

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No, I'm definitely going to throw out the oral dose I have and not give it (ever, to a cat).

I did find a link online re: use of injectable Metacam for use in cats.....but it states it's only a one-time dose, shouldn't be repeated.

I wonder if he's at risk for trouble because according to the paperwork I have, they gave him some for his neutering (along with the Iso) ...says he received 0.10 cc of it (I'm assuming it was injectable? and hopefully not IV?!)

So now that he's had this dose of injectable today (the surgery dose was given Feb 10, today is the 15th), could today's dose in some respects be considered an 'additional dose' even though there's been a few days in between?

Ugh. He seems fine at least for now. Will have to watch him like a hawk, and pray.
 
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