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Why is my cat weak and not drinking after a long neuter surgery?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 1 year old | 5 lbs

The local vet assistant spayed my one year old male kitten named Munchkin yesterday at 3pm. It took him around 6 hours to be consient again and he's been sleeping the whole day. His situation worries me a lot because he hasn't drank any water although he ate some softened food today. He looks weak and isn't active although he's normally very excited and willing to play.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Kevin Sanada, DVM

Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on December 19th, 2017

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.
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