Post-Surgery Care Instructions for Male Cat Castrations
What to Expect
After coming home from the castration (neuter) surgery, your cat should be kept in a warm, dry, quiet and ideally indoor location in the 24 hours following discharge from our clinic. Your pet may still be a little bit drowsy after he goes home with you. There may also be some irritability or incoordination during this initial 24-hour period.
The shaved area on your cat's front or back legs is the IV injection and/or IV catheter site. Some bruising to this area may be seen when he goes home with you; however, if this persists beyond 72 hours, please give us a call at the clinic.
Surgical Site and Wound Care
The surgical wound on your cat's scrotum does not have any sutures present and should be inspected daily for any signs of swelling or discharge. The surgical site and wound care advice is slightly different for cats that have one or both testes retained in the abdomen - please refer to our article on home care following abdominal surgery for more details.
It is important that you keep your pet in a clean and dry environment so that the surgical wound remains clean. Please only use shredded paper or non clumping litter in the litter tray to prevent the litter material from sticking to the wound. Cats should not get bathed or allowed to get their wound wet in any way, until the wound is fully healed about 7-10 days after the surgery.
It is also imperative that your cat is not allowed to lick at the surgical site because this may lead to the wound splitting open before it is fully healed and/or wound infections and/or other more serious complications. If you notice your cat licking or chewing at his wound, he will need to wear an Elizabethan collar to prevent this. E-collars may be purchased from our clinic reception. Ensure that pets are not allowed to roam outdoors without close supervision when they are wearing an E-collar, as this poses a choking hazard if it gets caught in a fence or branch.
Exercise Restriction
Confinement to a small indoor area is necessary for the next 7 to 10 days. Your cat should avoid excessive physical activity such as running around or jumping onto/off items of furniture.
Diet
Unless otherwise advised by your veterinarian or veterinary nurse at the time of discharge, no change is usually required to your pet's diet following the surgery. A small portion of your pet's diet should be fed in the evening that they come home with you, and then resume feeding normal portions in the morning. It is not unusual for some loss of appetite to occur in the first 24 hours following discharge from our clinic; however, if this persists, please give us a call at the clinic on (06) 3588675.
Suture Removal
Unless otherwise advised by your veterinarian or veterinary nurse at the time of discharge, there are no sutures to be removed following a routine cat castration. However, if your cat had undergone a non-routine castration (e.g. cryptorchid surgery where one or both testes have not descended fully), he may have some sutures in which will require removal in 10 - 14 days. Please book for an appointment
Should you have any enquiries or further concerns about the post-operative care of your pet, please do not hestitate to phone us at (06) 3588675 to discuss.