Pain medication after a neuter

I'm getting Nuts neutered, depending on the results of his blood work either at a low cost place if his blood is normal or at the vet's if there are issues with his blood work.

Would you recommend pain meds after the surgery?

If I do it at the vet's they will most likely send him home with pain meds, or at least they did when they spayed Attitude. The low cost place you have to request them, and it adds to the cost but that doesn't matter, if it is needed(or recommended) I will do it, they only charge $5 for the neuter so I can afford any extras. I will be getting him the $15 pain injection that they give post surgery. I had them do the injection for Half-tail when she was spayed but didn't get additional pain meds since I knew there was no way I was going to be able to give them to her. When Goldie, Mama and Biter were done by a different place they didn't even offer pain meds and they all seemed fine, Goldie was climbing trees and climbing up to the roof the next day. Attitude did seem to need them, I could tell she was a little sore post-spay when we forgot a dose the next day(day 2 and 3 she seemed fine but we still gave them to her as instructed), but she was also bouncing off the walls, chasing Nuts and acting like the 5 month old kitten she was.

Nuts just turned 1 this month so he has calmed down, but I know him and Attitude will still play chase at times but mostly he prefers to nap for most of the day(they like to play chase, when they do at night.)

I'm not trying to be mean or cruel or anything. If he needs pain medication after I am going to get it but I'm wondering if it's necessary since I know a neuter is not open surgery or as involved as a spay is.

I feel like a bad parent for even asking this, but I'm just wondering how much pain he's going to be. I know Mitzi's dogs didn't get pain medication after Jazzy's spay and Dylan's neuter. Our Old English Sheepdog Abby wasn't given meds post spay and I know Spaz my old cat wasn't either. Neither was Maude or Molly (Paul's dog) after their spays and they all did fine but if he is going to be really sore and in pain I don't want him to suffer. All of these were done in the early mid and late '90s(Spaz was done in 1999 or possibly even early 2000, Abby was done in 1995) so I know things have changed a lot since then. I was a little surprised when the vet gave me pain meds for Attitude.

So, pain meds or no pain meds, like I said he is getting the pain injection post surgery which will knock him out all night when he gets back from being neutered. I'm going to possibly keep him in the bathroom if Attitude bothers him too much when he gets back which I'm hoping won't be an issue.

Like I said I feel like a horrid pet parent for even asking this but I need to know. Attitude just seemed so doped up on the pain killers, but as I said she seemed to need them the first day but was fine the next 2 days(I was having to chase her down to give her the medication, but the vet said 3 days so I gave them to her for 3 days.)

So, how much pain will there be and do I need additional pain medication for Nuts after he loses his you know whats.

I also have a question, is he going to have stitches, I have heard different things from different people so I'm curious.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Taryn

Originally Posted by Taryn

I also have a question, is he going to have stitches, I have heard different things from different people so I'm curious.

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They'll glue him.

Mine always get pain meds. My vet includes blood work and pain meds as part of a spay and neuter cost.
They can definitely get a bit sensitive after surgery, so I see no reason to say no to pain meds. My vet keeps them all overnight, though, so no meds come home with them.

Either choice he goes home the same day.

The blood work is extra no matter which route I go. I decided to just get it done yesterday while I was there for his foamy urine since I know that can point to kidney problems and I trust them more to do them than the low cost place, not to mention if there is a problem with his blood once he's at the low cost place there is nothing I can do about it so I prefer to get it done ahead of time. Attitude's was done at the time of surgery, I didn't expect her to go into heat at 5 months old so they got her in the next day considering I had an intact male, both are leukemia positive and they were brother and sister, any of which makes it a 'has to be done now' situation.

If everything is good they'll have a baseline for his blood work if something crops up in the future and I know there isn't anything that might increase the risk of him being put under beyond the leukemia. That is one of the reasons I decided to opt in for Attitude was due to her leukemia(even though I would have done it for a normal healthy pet too cost is not an object when it comes to my pets' health and safety and young doesn't always mean healthy), I wanted to make sure everything was working ok and she wasn't having any internal issues from the leukemia(keep in mind 50%+ don't make it to 2.)

I know I have to get Nuts done(he hasn't sprayed yet and I'd rather not take the chance he'll start), I just needed to get Half-tail and then the calico and her 2 new female house mates. I had to get the females done first(both Half-tail and the calico were in heat when they were spayed), boys don't get pregnant. I don't have enough carriers to get everyone done at once. I'm going to do the outside boys(as far as I know we have no unaltered females in the neighborhood, I've had everyone I know of done and since I'm the only one who feeds them, well so does Mickey but she hasn't had any new comers either. Sylvester hasn't been seen for at least a week or 2, but he only came sporadically anyways and he is so torn up(you can tell he's been in multiple fights) he has to be male, plus I couldn't catch him if my life depended on it. I also think he has an owner, you can tell he's well fed, he's fat and has stayed that way, when abandoned they quickly slim down but if anything he's gained weight. I just need Nuts done first, it's not as much of an issue if the outside boys spray, it is if I have one inside the house doing so.

I just hope they give me pills, Nuts doesn't do well with liquid meds, the last time I tried I ended up bloody and the last time the vet tried he ended up getting wormed, I think more of the de-wormer ended up in the vet than in Nuts(he has an amazing ability to spit.) He'll eat pill pockets though no problem, he eats them first and tastes them later so pills would be no issue(I know the exact opposite of most cats.)

I'm just worried, worried about the blood work(what if something is wrong), worried about having him neutered and having to leave him. I know it HAS to be done and it needs to be done NOW, but it doesn't make it any easier to hand them over to have surgery as you all know.

I'm certainly getting him post surgery pain meds, I don't want him to hurt.

The only 'kind of' experience I had was when my soon to be ex-husband(at the time, Sept 7th is my 3rd divocesary, the anniversary of us getting divorced) had a vasectomy while I was still living with him(his new girlfriend hated/hates kids and he didn't want any more anyways.) It took everything I had to not kick him where it counted, especially when new girl friend decided she was sick and went home and I had to take care of him. I know he was hurting and bad. I actually just thought of that, but that is totally different, I saw what they did to him(he offered to show me and I was curious, we have a kid together and we had been together for 8 years so it wasn't like he was showing me much that I hadn't seen a million times before) and it looked painful, he was all bruised and had stitches.

Taryn

If Nuts is 1 year old it may be a little more uncomfortable for him since he is older. The post op pain injection will certainly help him through the first night. Every cat I have seen get neutered older did ok by the second day, but every cat is different. You could always see how he does and pick up some pain meds if he needs it. When I worked as a vet tech the neuter incision was so small stitches/glue were not required.

I hope he does well for you.

Males honestly don't need it unless they are older toms- four years and better. The boys bounce back right away. I always say no to the pain meds for the boys, but yes to the girls who are getting spayed.

I think my vet always give a pain shot at the time of surgery. I've never gotten extra pain meds for anybody, though I will in the future for older females. But for neuters, nah.

The only boy I've had neutered did not get any pain meds. He hopped out of the carrier and starting running around the house as if nothing had happened. I don't think he knew he was supposed to be in pain.

We got pain meds for Speck and gave them to him, even though he seemed as if nothing had happened to him. (The meds did seem to make him sleepy, which was good, because I was worried about him jumping and playing too much. I am a nervous meowmy.) We did the same for Marshmallow; he was only six months old or so, but he had a difficult time. He ended up going back to the vet despite the meds, as he had pain and a fever. (You probably already know this, but watch for signs such as meowing or difficulty with urination.)

I am very much in agreement with the pain meds. Best of luck to you and your kitty.

Originally Posted by nurseangel

We did the same for Marshmallow; he was only six months old or so, but he had a difficult time. He ended up going back to the vet despite the meds, as he had pain and a fever. (You probably already know this, but watch for signs such as meowing or difficulty with urination.)

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Poor boy. Many assume that males have nothing to worry about but they can get infections, too.
If you know what to look for you will notice that male cats feel sore. There will be a slight change in grooming when they discover it doesn't feel to good to lick there (first couple of days), you'll also see them sit a bit differently (again, only the first couple of days). I haven't had a male cat or kitten yet that didn't show some signs of discomfort.

Like I said the only 'kind of' experience was with my ex-husband, but he had a vasectomy, was 26, human and had bruising, stitches and things sticking out of his scrotum(even though no anesthesia, he was given Valium, a numbing agent for 'down there' and they did it.) I know with a neuter it's a 'quick' snip snip and he won't realize he's supposed to be in pain and just had surgery like humans do, they have an advantage when it comes to that. I let Attitude out of her carrier after her spay and she immediately started bouncing off the walls, chasing Nuts and dive bombing the couch. When the vet called the next day I said I couldn't make her not run, jump or be crazy and they laughed and said that it's impossible to keep a kitten from being their normal crazy selves.

I know any open wound can get infected, I mean I can have a paper cut that gets infected and kills me(unlikely, but you know what I'm saying.) I keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't end up infected. Nuts is also strictly inside so that lowers the chances of an infection, but I know it doesn't eliminate it(back to the paper cut analogy, any wound can get infected.)

Still not sure about pain killers I prolly will since I don't know if he'll need them or not. Just in case thing. Like I said it all depends on what his blood work says. If he goes to the vet I'm sure they'll give pain meds, for the low cost place I have to request them.

Still worried about his blood work. I know there is no reason his blood should be abnormal but you never know.

Taryn