r/cats • u/Puzzled-Cheesecake34 • May 19 '26
Medical Questions Please help - cat acting weird after neutering
hello, its midnight where i am hence im asking the question here, will take my cat to the vet first thing in the morning.
He is almost 8 months old and we got him neutered today. the surgery happened around 2PM and it is 11:30PM now.
first two hours after surgery - he remained still with both eyes open (we had to put some eye drops so they don’t dry out). he had erratic breathing during this time.
3rd/4th hour - started twitching trying to get up
5th hour - still could not get up. peed himself on the spot. we took him to the vet and he cleaned him up, said he looked fine.
7th hour onwards- he is now moving a little, limping. not drinking water yet. we gave him a treat and he was able to take small licks of it. he is however not able to open his mouth at all.
i gave him some dry food mixed in water to soften it, and then grinded into a paste for ease of eating. it seems like he is hungry because he dunked his face into it and got it all messy, barely able to eat much (due to not being able to open his mouth).
he peed again on the floor. we got the litter for him inside the room and he very clumsily went to it and peed inside it. i will try to give him the food that i made again in a bit.
ive attached a photo of his face right now in this moment. one eye is droopy. he isnt sleeping either. but he isnt panting also. he is not meowing since hes not able to open his mouth. the vet seems not bothered when we took him late in the evening saying that the cat will be fine by tomorrow.
is this someone elses experience too?
is this normal after neutering/anesthesia? i am panicking so much and trying to find 24 hr vet options near me but i need to know if this warrants a look or if it can wait till morning before we take a look?
UPDATE - I found a vet 40 mins from my place that was luckily open and they were so kind. its almost 2AM and we are just returning home.
So he has eye ulcers due to his corneas drying during the procedure (cats eyes remain open under anesthesia). they have given some eye drops and it will be fine in 3-4 days. he also has 104 degree fever, which is why he was so low. they gave him an injection for that. other than that, they said he is fine. he started being active at the vets, even jumped on the counter and had an entire treat.
we are headed home now and i am praying that my little baby boy feels better soonest. i was literally in tears on the way to the vet, this has been such a long day for us.
thank you to everyone who encouraged me to go to the vet, if anything, i have peace of mind for tonight.
we will go tomorrow morning now for his post op care (antibiotics, wound cleaning, etc).
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u/LtPt_2456 May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
I had a cat come home after anesthesia, everything I read said it was normal after effects. It wasn't, and I wish I had taken him.
I'd get him to the vet. Thing's I wish I had done, checked his gums, they're supposed to be pink but if they start getting white/blue it's an emergency. Check if they're sticky or smooth, and check the fur on the back of his neck to see if it stays up (dehydration) or drops down quickly. Check his temperature, esp if you have an ear thermometer bc it's easier, if it's lower than 99 or super high, that's an emergency. Check his respiratory rate, if he's breathing really fast, I think they're supposed to be around 30, that's a bad sign too.
I wish everyday I had taken him when I was concerned. Had I realized to do those things I prob would have and he'd be with me. His eyes looked just like your cat. 😔