I think I’m mostly looking for reassurance that this is ok, but here goes anyway.
I brought my new little bundle of joy home monday. (He’s about 10 months old, black and very fuzzy, pictures will be forthcoming, but he’s been sick) He was neutered that day and also seemed to have picked up a cold at the shelter. Talk about a double whammy.
My concern is that he doesn’t seem to have been eating at all or drinking very much. He has just shown no interest in food of any kind, not even Pounce treats. He threw up the medicine they gave me for him, but not right away. He has been been drooling a good bit and is quite lethargic. The lethargy I expected, I wouldn’t want to do much after that either. It’s only been a day and half since surgery, so does it sound like I’m worrying needlessly?
That doesn’t sound good at all, especially the drooling. I’d take him to the vet right away. Cats should bounce back from castration surgery pretty quickly.
When Lenny came back from the vet post-neutering, he didn’t come out from under the couch for almost three days. It’s not unusual.
He also decided that moving was hugely traumatic and disappeared under the couch again for two days. He was out for all of three minutes when my then girlfriend dragged him out and put him in the litter box. He peed, looked very relieved for having dne so, and then went back under the couch, for another half-day.
Let him hide a bit longer and make sure he has food and water accessible. Give him lots and lots of reassurance and pets.
To test for dehydration, the vet told me I could twist the skin on the scruff of his neck (big pinch, not a little ouchy pinch) and if it stayed put instead of elastically going back to it’s usual shape, that meant he was dehydrated. (Wait, that might have been a test for the raccoon at the wildlife shelter… Maybe it works the same for cats as a dehydration test.)
ETA: And call the vet to ask about the drooling. Maybe he’s having some kind of adverse reaction to the anesthetic.
Smokey, Lenny, and Squiggy would beg to differ. They all hid for 2 - 3 days each. Although Lenny was the only real drama queen about it all. Smokey is the only one who sort of bounced back pretty quickly and was back to rowdy playing around the 2-day mark, but he was a younger kitten when he had the surgery.
Squiggy was about 12 months old and was quite sickly for a few days after the surgery and refused food (even the yummy canned stuff). But around day three acted like nothing had happened.
You may also want to try putting out a small amount wet cat food if you’ve been feeding kibble. My vet once explained to me that sometimes if cats have a cold, they can’t smell their dry food properly and don’t eat as they should. It’ll give a bit more hydration than dry kibble, and will also smell stronger.
However, it might be best to check with the vet just to be sure. The drooling sounds like it might be worth worrying about, known side-effect or no.
the dehydration pinch is correct, but i wouldn’t wait too long on the drooling to call the vet, either. if he isn’t better by tomorrow, i’d make the call.
Just got off the phone with the vets office, they didn’t sound too worried about the drooling. But did say he should be looked at if he doesn’t start eating more.
My friend did that when his kitty came down with a nasty, nasty head cold. Only he would pour a little juice from a tuna can over the kibble to make it extra stinky.
For a shelter source cat with URI signs including drooling, I’d be concerned about calici virus. Check the tongue and palate for ulceration. If there are oral ulcers, I’d have the cat checked right away. Also, it would be good to check a rectal temperature. There is a virulent form of calici virus with high morbidity and mortality.
My cat Tigger was a little groggy when I brought him home but was back to his old self within an hour or two, jumping off the couch, bouncing off the walls. He was so active in fact, that we wondered if they put him under but forgot to do the surgery. A quick looked proved he was ‘sans balls’. We had to calm him down for fear he would hurt himself.
Unfortunately, shelter cats often get URIs - the staff do clean and disinfect everything they can, but sick kittes coming in often don’t show symptoms right away. Having worked at two different shelters I remember the battle very well - and the frustration at never being able to win it for very long.
If you have the time I would to ahead and get him to the vet. They will do their best to help over the phone - but if they can’t examine him there is a limit to the help they can provide.
Sending good thoughts and scritches; hope he gets better soon.
I wonder if it has anything to do with the age and maturity of the critter. Squiggy, who took the longest to get back to being his usual self, was almost full grown when he lost his nads.
Smokey was the youngest and our family got the impression he was mostly hiding because he’d been frightened by the whole experience rather than suffering from physical discomfort.
It’s two days later, he’s a young cat I wouldn’t expect him to still be lethargic or drooling. URI’s can be serious especially if it’s the virus mentioned above or even any of the other viruses if the cat won’t eat and keep down his antibiotics. Don’t rely on a phone consult, the vet can’t examine your cat over the phone, please take him in to be checked.