Questions about health/behavior after neuter!!

New to this site and I need some advice, I just got my 1 1/2 year old male cat neutered about 3 days ago, everything is going fine so far, but he has sprayed my wall...... twice!! I know it was very late in life to get him fixed, but honest to god he's been the only cat in our house for almost his entire life, and he's NEVER sprayed, not once!! Now all of a sudden after we get him fixed he comes home and sprays? WTH?? Also, he has not been licking the area too much, and healing is going great, but when he does groom the area all his ya know comes out, and I catch him cleaning that more than usual. Could this be something to do with blockages? UTI?? Im just paranoid I guess, he's never had any health problems and is on a high quality grain free food, and Im just so nervous something is wrong. He's running around the house fine, playing, eating drinking, I felt around his bladder area and nothing is distended, and he seems to be just fine, but I haven't caught him in the liter in a while, could be I just missed it, but coupled with the neuter surgery, the extra cleaning of his bits, the spraying, and the not seeing him go into the liter box , mixed with my paranoia is driving me crazy. Could something be wrong? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Strange to start now!  I would keep an eye on him for a UTI - is the urine slightly pink or orange when you clear it up, or strong smelling? Wondering if you could use something white to mop up to have a look - that would be a sure sign.. So is licking his bits after he has sprayed or been for a piddle. My cat started spraying indoors occasionally after a UTI and sadly its something I am still trying to stop him doing.  He's 6 and never done it before his UTI.

The other thing is that neutering doesn't always mean that they will not spray, esp in an older cat, as you probably already know.  Also, just a thought, when I had my old cat's spayed many years ago (I had two sisters), and I had them done one at a time. When they came home they acted very strange, like they didn't know the house, or each other because of the strange smells at the vets on themselves. I wonder if it is him trying to reclaim his home?

Nope, all the urine is clear and doesn't have a strong odor, he's acting just fine, like I said I'm just worried about him. What are some signs of a UTI to look out for? Also I have heard about the dreaded blocking of a male cat, is that a possible side effect of a neuter? Sorry if it's a dumb question, just worried! I don't know a lot about it other than its bad, I don't think he has that because hes acting just fine and I felt all around and hes not distended at all. He hasn't sprayed more than twice, and I cleaned it with the cleaner from petsmart and the smell is gone, so he hasn't remarked the spot.

Well, I don't think the cat has to have a distended bladder with a UTI, mine didn't. He had a urine test. However, because the urine is clear I wouldn't be too concerned. Just keep an eye on him and his pee.  Playing and eating normally is normal for a cat, it's not until it gets really horrible to they show signs of being unwell - they hide it well! Mine was fine, right up to when his temp went high and he got lethargic did I know something was wrong.  I think if your cat had blocking, you would sure know about it, he'd be very ill, very quickly so I doubt that's a thing here.

Things to look out for? Peeing outside the box, peeing on clothes etc. Crying when he piddles.  Licking his privates very soon after peeing, strong smelling urine, with blood in it. Being lethargic. Not all these symptoms tho. Mine didn't pee on clothes, he only started spraying when he came back from the vets (he had a 2 day stay with a drip), and it took a while for the symptoms to go.  I think mine now has a behavioral thing rather than anything else now because I didn't shout or anything at him when he was ill. it wasn't his fault!

I think it's probably more behavioral and it may be that he'll stop of his own accord. If you're really worried, get him checked out at the vets to rule out any medical reason.  You could try feliway if you've not already got it, some cat's it helps with spraying.

Good luck!

Thank you for being so helpful He's acting fine today, running around playing eating & drinking, and I just caught him in the liter and everything looks normal! So more than likely its my paranoia LOL

Stress can bring out underlying conditions such as UTI's.  The general signs can be more frequent urination, spraying, crying when using the litterbox.  Glad to hear he is using the ltterbox again.  Hope it continues.

Great news to hear he's on the mend :-)

Cats can also spray because of stress even without an UTI, and I expect a vet visit & castration was a bit stressful.

Hope with your next kitten you won't leave it so late.  The issues of blocking with castration at various ages have been studied and there doesn't seem to be any evidence of it being more common in kittens neutered before 6 months of age.

I would suggest a Feliway diffuser to see if that helps with the stress.  He could've sprayed because of the stress of the surgery as well as being under the effects of the anesthesia and any pain meds given.

**Update 3/16/14**

So sorry for the late update, just letting you know my cat was perfectly fine lol, all due to my paranoia. No UTI, no blockages, and he hasn't sprayed at all since I cleaned up that one spot Have a happy kitty household, thanks for all your input!!