Friends new cat!

Hi, I haven't written for some time, but, I have a question. My friend just adopted a cat from the Humane society yesterday. She was looking for a free kitten...I coaxed her towards adopting from the Humane society. She found a lovely adult male cuddly cat! He was just neutered the day before yesterday. I've been keeping in touch with her via email to see how things are going. Here is what she wrote me: "Well when i got home yesterday i coaxed him out of the crate. he sat on my lap for a while and did the "figure 8" thing around me. The all of a sudden something spooked him so he took off and went behind the door in the extra bedroom. So I just sat down and after awhile he came into the living room. So I said Hi Reo and he took off and went under my bed and has been there all night. i went and talked to him this morning but he does not want to come out just yet. When he was on my lap I noticed he is pretty swollen and bloody (dried) "back there" so i suppose he is still having some pain. He has not ate or drrank anything. so I am kind of worried about that. When he was on my lap we were sitting in front of his dishes and he did go sniff it a couple times.

I think he probably just does not feel good yet. Like i said it has been years since i had a pet fixed so I do not really remember but i am sure it will take a week or so.

What do you think about the not eating? when should I worry?"

Any advice I should give her? Let me know and I will forward it on to her. It's been a long time since my pets were neutered/spayed and I honestly can't remember how long it took them to recover. This is also an adult male cat, so, don't know if his recovery will take longer? Please advise!

Cindy Weisert

I'm pretty sure its not supposed to swell or bleed like that! The way I've ever heard anyone describe a neuter the cat doesn't even need stitches, is just a little sore around his butt, and is better really quickly. I've never heard of it swelling noticeably or bleeding at all.
I would say VET! I'm sure someone with more experience with boys will be along shortly...
Oh and ANYTIME a cat doesn't eat for that long it is an emergency. And not drinking for that long was an emergency yesterday.

Other than that he sounds like he's adjusting to his new home pretty normally. A bit skittish, but he just got out of the shelter!

I agree with ZM. There should be no problem after the neutering. Maybe her boy got hurt by accident or the surgery was done improperly. A visit to the vet is in order.

It sounds like things are going fine. My friend just wrote me back this afternoon saying that her new cat is now eating and drinking and is coming around. He's still hiding and shy, but, sounds like he is feeling better. I told her a visit to vet is in order if she has any doubts at all. Sounds like maybe she was over-reacting a bit. She knows to watch his eating, drinking, bathroom habits and to note for swelling, discharge, etc. She said she will keep me posted. If she has any other questions, or new information, I will post it here! Thanks for your responses! Cindy

I'm glad to hear the kitty is better. I'm still a bit worried about the bleeding, but if everything is fine now...
It sounds like your friend is doing things right, not trying to make him love her, etc. With a little patience, I'm sure he'll be a great cat!

If she just adopted him from the humane society, then if she feels there's a problem or has a question, she should call them, since they would probably have her bring him back to the doctor they had do it, and they would be responsible for taking care of him since it's such a short time.

I think it would have been wise to leave him be for a few days and not coax him out so quickly, and they probably should have waited another day or two, but if he's coming around then that's the important thing.

I'm rooting for a good life together for both of them!