kitty questions for you cat experts

[greenbriar]

1. Kitty getting snipped Jan 22nd...do I need to get him more pain meds? How do they know?


2. Why does he either bite me or lick me? Why can't he just sit and be petted?

3. will he want to eat when he gets home?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. The vet can tell you about pain meds. Give him exactly the dose the vet prescribes.

I don't know why he bites and licks you. One of my three is a licker, and he's always done it. When I pet him he turns his head around and insists on licking any exposed flesh he can find, and he keeps doing it and doing it. Sometimes he gently bites, too; but he rarely just settles down and lets me pet him. He just licks. I have no idea why.

Your kitty might not want to eat right away when he gets home, depends on whether he's still groggy from the sedatives. He might sit down carefully for a day or two, but they recover quickly.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

2. My answers

1. I don't know if they know, but I paid extra for a pain injection just in case. Usually female cats have more problems because their surgery is invasive.

2. Because he's a little kid and won't calm down for a while.

3. He probably will want to eat when he gets home. All cats react differently, but most male cats do very well. Our Sunny was snipped on December 11th and you'd never know anything had happened (except he had a little less of a "cotton ball" down there!)

[ThomCat]

3. I'm just a long-time cat owner. Not and expert. But my $0.02.

You shouldn't need more pain meds. Most pets don't need any meds at all after they come home.

Kittens bite as a form of play. Adult cats bite both as a form of play and as a form of sexual affection.

When your cat licks you he either kissing you or grooming you. Either way, it's a sign of affection.

Your cat might not eat much that first day. I'd have food available and play it by ear.

[Infomaniac]

4. Ding! Ding! Ding!

Biting from adult cats is a form of sexual affection as one vet told us about our eldest cat. She regularly gives my husband "bedroom eyes" too. Shameless hussy.

I would have a variety of foods available. Your vet may tell you to feed him baby food. My male cat prefers Gerber's over Beechnut. You need to buy the meat and gravy kind. No veggies or starches.

[ThomCat]

5. I spoiled each my cats with mashed up tuna or salmon

after they got snipped. And lots of gentle affection.

Not surprisingly, the girl was more upset about it than any of the boys. She chewed out her stitches. :(

[greenbriar]

6. stitches? Will he have some?

will I have to take him back?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. Last kitty I got snipped, they used dissolving sutures.

You won't have to take him back. All that happens is that his little furry nutsack will sort of shrink up. You'll hardly be able to see the incision at all.

[Infomaniac]

8. He shouldn't have stitches.

The ones on female cats dissolve.

[ThomCat]

9. Your vet will tell you if you need to come back.

Most vets use something that disolves or gets absorbed now. I don't think my friends with younger cats have had to do two trips.
:shrug:

[havocmom]

13. And younger cats seem more inclined to bite. Not as socialized to human ways I 'spect

Our little kitty-girl turned 3 and the biting REALLY decreased, just as I predicted it would.

Young cats, like young humans, are really wild beasties. Takes a while for them to learn the rules of human society. Most will adapt to those rules.

[ThomCat]

14. Yes. My old cats are now so mellow

that only one of them still occasionally bites me. But he's got an Oedipus complex. He thinks that I'm his mom, and that I should be his mate. :P

[havocmom]

15. Had a cat who would grap skin on my wrist and try to drag my arm behind a lamp

He LOVED that lamp actually. Would sit with his head up the shade, eyes closed and purr at the warmth of it all. I think he wanted me to partake of his blissful discovery more than anything else.

He used to steal sips of my brandy too. I finally got a proper snifter, figuring he couldn't get his head into THAT sort of glass. He pondered a bit, then dipped his foot into the snifter, and licked the brandy off. Then, he made kitty 'woo-woo eyes' at me and invited my wrist over to his lamp.

It was tough, but I did learn to sit and read with my wrist in the cat's maw.

[greenbriar]

17. thats cool

really cute!!!

[Flaxbee]

21. OK, one of the funniest things I've read in a long time...

about your baby inviting your wrist over to his lamp. LOL! :rofl: Cats are so weird and wonderful...

[Lisa0825]

16. It also has to do with losing their baby teeth.

When they are growing their adult teeth and losing the baby teeth, they tend to do even more play biting. Wen that stage is over and they get out of the kitten-playing stage, they usually don't bite nearly as much.

[huskerlaw]

10. Not really an expert, but...

1. He shouldn't need any. My girl kitten got spayed a few months ago and the pain meds made her go insane, so I stopped giving them to her. She was fine, and her surgery is a lot more invasive.

2. Some kittens are like that. He may (or may not) outgrow that. I know, I'm so helpful.

3. Mine did, though the vet told me she wouldn't. I think it just depends on the cat.

[KT2000]

11. Follow vet's instructions

for pain meds. Whatever you do, don't give the kitty more because you feel sorry for him - they do not process pain meds very well according to my vet. She said they are neurotoxic to cats.

If your kitty comes home soon after the procedure, I would check his stability when he gets home (or ask the vet or techs). I kept my kitty in her carrier because she was still woozy and she was trying to jump on the couch etc - missing it and falling because she was disoriented.
I just kept her in the carrier until the meds wore off, then let her out. She just slept anyway.

Best to both of you.

[greenbriar]

12. thanks all

I will keep all of this in my heart.

I am scared for my baby kitty but I know its best for him

[begin_within]

18. The biting will become less frequent as he gets older - and you should

immediately stop petting him and walk away if he bites - this will reinfoce that it's not acceptable.

[greenbriar]

19. I say NO loudly and

push him off my lap





sometimes my hands get in the way and they pay for it!!!

[begin_within]

20. Good idea

[badgerpup]

23. Puff air really hard in his face if he bites...

...then say "NO BITING!"
and don't pet him again for a bit. They really don't like that air thing, but it doesn't hurt them.
Got Wimsey to stop biting that way.

Have pretty much given up on getting MacFeegle to stop licking...
at least he's grown out of his need to suck on things. :shrug:

[Flaxbee]

22. as the other cat folks have said, he'll be fine

I always get the extra pain shot for my boys, but it's a relatively new offering at the vet; the older male cats in my household didn't have that option and they really were all fine without it. Depends on your cash flow, actually. He won't need any more pain meds. He'll need to be protected the first night (is he inside only? If not, DO NOT let him out the first night he's home) because he might still be woozy from the anesthesia. I make sure there is a warm, comfy place for my kids to sleep on the floor or low to the ground so he doesn't have to leap to get into bed, or doesn't get woozy if he does.

I know they can laser-neuter dogs now, not sure if they're doing it yet for cats (or if it's a possibility - might not be b/c cats have more of a 'nut sack' than dogs, it seems). But really, the procedure is much less traumatic for male cats. Just keep an eye on his hindquarters for a week or so, observe his behavior (he'll let you know if he has issues with the incision).

He's biting/nibbling/licking because he's young and frisky. Most cats do mellow and realize hard biting is no good... many will still give 'love nips' but stop the hard chewing on their own, or you can just gently (not too loudly, but firmly - cat hearing is very sensitive) tell him "NO" when he bites. He'll get the idea.

He might want to eat. Follow whatever instructions your vet gives, if any. Ask if you're unsure. Make sure he has access to fresh water; if you don't feed him moist, you can always give him a treat of moist and/or, as ThomCat suggested, some tuna or salmon (the kind you get from the can... or if you feel extravagant you can always cook a piece of salmon or tuna for your guy!)