Castration of a 14 year-old foster

Although I already have 2 indoor cats, I was recently asked if I would be willing to foster unwanted cats and kittens by the local cat rescue charity. I replied that, since I only have one rather small spare bedroom, I could only foster a sick cat, or a mother cat while nursing her kittens. Since I live on a busy road, outdoor cats are completely out of the question. Within a week I was collecting a still unconscious,14 year-old tom from the local vet after his castration OP. Evidently the poor creature (given the name Pepino), an indoor cat, had been sharing a 50 m² apartment with 2 humans, 2 babies, 4 dogs (including a German shepherd) and 4 female cats. The local authorities had stepped in and Pepino sent to the vet.

When I picked him up on Monday, the smell was overpowering and I put him on clean bedding in his carrier, letting him out into his small room just before I went to bed myself. I was surprised how quietly he spent the night, how friendly he was the next morning and how much he ate!

I have been brushing him with a baby brush during the day (his coat is a mess, the white fur is grey or yellow). He enjoys attention, only disappearing under the bed when he has had enough.

Today, perhaps because I was cleaning the house, he spent more time under the bed. He had been given a pain killer, the effects of which will now be wearing off. I have had many cats spayed or neutered but always during the first 12 months of their lives. Should I be aware of any complications which could set in? How long can I keep him in this small room (ca. 12 m²)? My own cat Mogi will not even venture past his room so I cannot consider letting him out or even setting up the barrier so that the cats can at least have visual contact. Although Lilly was extremely inquisitive at first, she has now lost interest, perhaps because the smell is not quite so intensive as it was 2 days ago!


Pepino, one day after his OP.

Thank you for fostering such a beautiful well-dressed gentleman. When he feels comfortable enough, he will start exploring and sniffing under the door.  Remember, though, he will be fertile for up to a month.

As far as complications, they should have given you a post-operative care sheet. If they didn't here is one. I just googled post-op care for neutered cats and came up with thousands.  I liked this one best..

suite101.com/article/how-to-care-for-cats-after-neutering-surgery-a122552

Thank you for the link - the sentence "In fact, the swelling can make it appear as though the testicles are still present!" reassured me considerably. Normally I wouldn't worry but Pepino is rather old for such drastic surgery! Added to which, I don't know him, he doesn`t know me, my house nor my other 2 cats. He was extremely undernourished and dirty. This evening, having been groomed for 30 minutes with a damp face cloth, he looks (and feels) much better. The backs of his legs and paws are still grey as he won't let me touch them and his claws are broken and splitting. But, he's very strong and boisterous - almost pushing me off the bed in his excitement at being groomed. Mogi has been very courageous. She actually ventured past his (closed) door to get food from the kitchen and visit the litter trays in the cellar. She is now back in my bedroom but it looks as though things are improving. I just hope that the cat rescue centre finds somebody to give Pepino a new home before he becomes too attached to us.

PS My cats are both spayed so even if he is technically fertile for a month nothing can come of it! Thanks again for your reply.

The older male usually just takes longer to come back.  I had  2 older cats done both were over 8 one may have been close to 15.  Keep him in the room at least untill the smell goes away as he may spray more if it smells to clean.

I imangine he has been outside at points in his life and gotten used to people and daily life.  Major thing to look for in males is any swelling or bleeding/oozing.

I am having trouble getting an idea how big room is.  But as long as he has some room to stretch out you are fine.  he probably has more of his own space in your place then the last house.

I just want to say what  wonderful thing you are doing for this 14 year old boy!  It takes very special people to give the time and energy needed to care for ferals and strays.  Thank you so much for all you are doing.  Do you plan to keep him or just foster him until he is recovered?
 

12 square meters is 129.17 square feet according to my converter.  That is a room of 10' X 12'  about the same as a medium bedroom.  I think he has enough space to mellow out in.

Sounds like a fine place to recover/ foster in for a bit of time.  As long as he is not stressed he should be ok there for a bit.  Give him options to sightsee out window adjusted to how well he can climb/get around.  

Just wanted to add my thank you (and bless you) fro taking in this poor guy, I can't imagine how bewildered and scared he is. Here's praying for a good home for him.

What a lovely lot you are! And, of course, Pepino deserves it. He is quite amazing - doesn't appear to be affected by his experiences at all. He'd love to leave his room and join the rest of us. Unfortunately, Mogi is stressed out so I'm delaying making introductions. Secondly, I seem to have upset his digestive system. Not knowing what he's used to eating and assuming it was nothing that cost a fortune, I offered a small amount of both wet and dry food. He attacked the wet food so I offered him more throughout his first day here. He's just skin and bone. Well, he now has diarrhea - not too badly but I've reduced the amount of wet food (which he obviously prefers) and serving high quality dry food hoping that things will sort themselves out. At the weekend I'll cook a chicken! 

Give him options to sightsee out window adjusted to how well he can climb/get around. 

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He can jump onto the bed and then onto a desk which is set in front of a reasonably large window. He then lies along the top of the radiator looking out at the birds, traffic, people walking their dogs and children on their way to catch the school bus. I have just spent an hour with him, opening the window slightly to let in some fresh air.  He makes no attempt to climb out but I daren't leave it open when I'm not in the room.

I now have to spend some time with Mogi. She is far more nervous than Pepino and, unless I am very lucky, she'll no doubt ignore me, hide in a cupboard, staring in the direction of Pepino's room!

I don't intend keeping Pepino - but I never intended keeping all the strays which my outdoor cats used to bring home. You never know!

Update: Pepino (we call him Tommy) is doing well. Eating everything he's offered. We have had one slight setback. The problem: Pepino is in this small room. There is a bed, a desk, a small cat tree (2 platforms, one hideaway) and a long windowsill. I kept the door open but set up a piece of metal fencing (5ft high) enabling him to see what's going on in the hallway. Mogi avoided coming anywhere near but Lilly would come up close to the barricade and taunt him. He would start chirping as if he were watching a bird in a tree. Eventually he would crouch down. Since we knew he had lived his life with other cats, we decided 2 days ago to allow him a controlled tour of our other rooms. Mogi and Lilly were both present but Mogi decided to quietly disappear into a cupboard. Lilly and Tommy smelt each other but Tommy ignored her and went on his way. He walked around the rooms like a robot - kitchen - dining area - living room - hall - main bedroom - bathroom - hall - kitchen and so on. He ignored us completely acting like a wild animal rather than the friendly, lovable creature we knew. Eventually he settled himself in the middle of the living room, very alert but unapproachable. When I spoke to him he got up and continued his circular tour. Suddenly there was a scream and, now with a very bushy tail, he was chasing Lilly. Exactly what happened I've no idea. Bunches of Lilly's grey fur were in the hall and it was probably her urine on the stairs. I got Tommy back to his room which was the last place he wanted to be. My partner sat with him and tried to calm him down but he suddenly jumped over the barricade, straight into the main bedroom and started sniffing out Mogi's hideout. I quietly locked her in her cupboard while Tommy was searching under the bed. He then went to where Lilly was watching from the stairs and sprayed urine up against the wall. With his tail held high he then renewed his search for Mogi. This all sounds very hectic - but it wasn't really. I picked up Tommy, put him back in his room, this time closing the door, which he immediately started to claw. When I'd cleaned up the urine I went into his room to try to calm him down. He continued to scratch at the door like a wild animal. I'm afraid I used a water spray to get him away from the door but at least it did the trick. He associated the squeezy bottle placed next to the door with water and kept away. My partner and I took it in turns to sit with him but it took a long time for him to relax. Now, 48 hours later, Mogi has at last ventured out of her hideout and into the living room. Lilly has suffered no lasting effects. Tommy still doesn't like the door closed but there's no alternative. We try to sit with him as much as we can. He tends to sleep in the afternoon but nights are a problem. I pull the cat tree as close to the door as possible in the hope that he will scratch the tree rather than the door! I had thought of moving him into a rather large room in the cellar but the cat rescue centre has asked me to house a pregnant feral cat - but that's another story, so I'd better start a new thread "My Diary About a Pregnant Feral Cat"! So, we're back to square one: Pepino (Tommy) loving and playful but confined to his room.

Oh wow Gilmargl, what a scene!   Tommy and the pregnant kitty are lucky to have you.   Maybe this was a case of too much contact too soon?   Maybe there's some more gradual ways for Tommy and the others to get used to each other?

Gilmargl said:

 I had thought of moving him into a rather large room in the cellar but the cat rescue centre has asked me to house a pregnant feral cat - but that's another story, so I'd better start a new thread "My Diary About a Pregnant Feral Cat"! So, we're back to square one: Pepino (Tommy) loving and playful but confined to his room.

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I really don't think it is wise to bring in another cat, particularly a pregnant one, when you are having problems with Tommy.  How much is that going to stress Mogi and Lilly?  Yes, it is a nice thing to do, but you might be going after more than you can handle.

I really don't think it is wise to bring in another cat, particularly a pregnant one, when you are having problems with Tommy. How much is that going to stress Mogi and Lilly? Yes, it is a nice thing to do, but you might be going after more than you can handle.

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It's me that's going to be stressed, not the cats. The room in the cellar is only accessible through a set of double doors with a large area of no-man's land between. None of this is cat territory - the other rooms leading off from "no-man's land" are a workshop and a storage room. Mogi and Lilly do join me in the cellar when I am in the laundry; their litter trays are also at the bottom of the stairway - but the other rooms are out-of-bounds. Since the workshop is used by boys and men building model planes etc. the cats are quite happy to keep well away. 

The rescue centre inspectors have no qualms about the arrangement and it won't be the first time that a stray has kittens in this particular room.

By the way, Tommy is purring away on the bed while I write this. He was advertised in the midweek local paper. I do hope somebody can give him a loving home. I am sure that he really prefers a quiet life without feline company. He doesn't seem to need much space - he can play quite energetically in a very small area throwing his toys about, hiding under the bed, and jumping on the cat tree. He sleeps a lot but does need human company to stroke his tummy when he wakes up.

Good to hear that the space is separated. Now I can picture the arrangements, and agree this is a good way to go. Thank you for not flaming me, and explaining instead.  You have a good heart and are a true cat lover.

Here is Sir Thomas (Tommy, Pepino). He definitely looks better, fitter and cleaner than in the first photo I posted. He no longer needs so much food, which is just as well as I don't want to make him fat. We are now letting him out of his room first thing in the morning while I clean his room, shower and have breakfast. Mogi stays in the bedroom and Lilly in the living room. He returns to his room without any fuss to have his own breakfast. Unfortunately, today my partner managed to let him out again while I was in the garden. He first scared Mogi and then went on to frighten Lilly before I took this picture and escorted him back to his room. Lilly and Mogi were none the worse for the experience - perhaps Lilly is just a bit more nervous than usual. But although he always tries to get out of his room when we open the door, coming face to face with my 2 ladies seems to upset Sir Thomas for the rest of the day. I can only imagine that, in his previous home, he was in the habit of intimidating the other 4 cats, so that he had enough space. How he coped with 4 dogs as well, I've no idea.

Well, tonight, having walked all over my laptop and disconnecting me from the Internet, Sir Tommy is now sleeping. I just hope that I can find the correct key to press so that I don't lose this text.

Wonderful picture. That is an intense stare he has. I can see why he would intimidate other cats.

I heard my computer ding the other night, and when I woke up the monitor, found that Sugar had opened up the Help and Support window 23 times by walking on the keyboard.