My cat collapsed after neutering. Why and should I be worried?

This very concerning. Your kitty could have had an epileptic seizure or a so-called syncope. Syncopes are caused by the brain not getting enough oxygenized blood, which in turn causes the cat to get unconscious, or a seizure like episode. These syncopes are often caused by heart disease or, in a case of a young animal, it could be a sign of a congenital defect. I suggest you make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam, and do mention this episode to your vet. You may want to write down the particulars, so your vet gets as accurate a description as possible from you. This said, it also may have just been a one-time occurrence, with unknown cause.

While being a little groggy and sore post-surgery is normal, what you are describing may be due to trauma from intubation (or keeping the airway open during surgery). I recommend having Winston seen by a vet as soon as possible to determine what is going on. However, if you believe that Winston is having trouble breathing (gasping for air, gums turning blue) he should be seen by a vet immediately.

I'm very sorry to see this. Six hours is an incredibly long time to neuter a cat. We usually do these in under five minutes. However, a vet assistant is not considered to be qualified enough to do these procedures, so this is likely the reason it took so long. If Munchkin was under anesthesia that long, then this could explain why he is acting like this. Usually, cats are back to their normal selves about 24 hours after the procedure with standard anesthesia protocols. Considering much is unknown about this case and that an unqualified person was performing the procedure, I would be concerned about organ damage or internal bleeding causing him to act like this. For this reason, I recommend you take Munchkin to be evaluated by a vet doctor as soon as possible, so they can help determine the problem and provide the necessary treatment and monitoring. I hope that helps and Munchkin gets better soon.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Scamp is super cute! I think his risks are small. I do not think his spinal deformity increases his risk at all. The collapsing trachea is a mild risk. Canine neuters are quick procedures. Most Veterinary hospitals do a wonderful job monitoring while your pet is under anesthesia and in recovery. The pets are intubated, on oxygen and inhaled gas, have EKG, blood pressure and pulse oximetry hooked up. They are also on IV fluids. Due to his collapsing trachea the recovery period is the most important part for him. Risks for Scamp would be coughing and inflammation of his airway in recovery and I think this is small. Other causes for anesthetic and surgical complications are VERY rare and unpredictable (bleeding, cardiac or respiratory arrest, drug reactions, death, etc). I hope this helps and I wish Scamp the very best!

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your kitten! How awful. No, it's not at all common for an otherwise healthy animal to pass away in recovery after surgery, but it does occasionally happen - a horrible nightmare for everyone involved. If you want to try and determine what may have caused Yeti's death, I would recommend asking for an autopsy to be done (called a necropsy in animals). Some possible causes of a sudden anesthetic death like this would include an occult cardiomyopathy (meaning a heart problem that was not showing any symptoms and could not have been detected beforehand), or an allergic reaction to one of the anesthesia drugs that were used. I can tell that you're very upset, and I don't blame you. I would recommend sitting down to talk with your vet so that you can ask them to explain exactly what happened and give any additional information that they may have about his exam findings, the surgery itself, etc. to help you understand why he may have died. They may not know why either, but they should be willing to talk with you and do their best to answer your questions. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.

Poor Douglas! This sounds like a difficult surgical recovery. It sounds as though Douglas had not fully recovered from anesthesia at the time of his discharge. It is possible that the reaction that you saw was an excitement reaction from some of the sedative or pain medications he was given at the time of surgery. While this is not a normal reaction, it is also not uncommon to see a brief period of excitement after certain medications. Confirm that Douglas was sent home with some anti-inflammatory pain medications and be sure to find out when his next dose of pain medication is due, as he could be whimpering as a sign of pain. Otherwise, continue to keep him in the crate until he is able to stand and walk normally, and generally restrict his activity until his sutures are removed. Make sure that he is wearing an e-collar (cone) for the next 10-14 days to prevent him from licking at the incision. I hope that the rest of his recovery is uneventful!

His castration wound looks good, I see no evidence of infection and he is apparently not licking it either. He should indeed be back to his normal self after three days. You may want to take his temperature with a digital rectal thermometer to check whether he has a fever. should he have a fever ( 103+F) he will need to go back to the vet for a recheck. However the whole excitement from being at the vet's, the anesthesia, the drive in the car may just have caught up with him today. If he is not eating, drinking or does not want to play on Monday, I would also take him back for a recheck.