Gabriel appears to be no different after his neutering which was on Thursday last. It’s interesting to me because it’s the first time that I have been part of the process of having one of my cats neutered. I can therefore compare characters before and after. And frankly, at the moment, there is no difference whatsoever in his character. He continues to want to have sex with my left arm which is okay, I don’t mind that but I had thought he might lose the urge, naïvely.
I had thought that neutering made the male cat a bit calmer because that is what it does to humans! But, once again, I don’t see any change. He is still the same active young cat. There may be a very slight change in respect of passivity but it is hardly noticeable.
This is really a record for my own benefit because after all blogs are like diaries so this is a diary entry. He appears to want to go out a bit less than before but that may just be because he’s got used to going out and has explored the outside and knows it well. The picture at the head of this page shows the window he escaped through and the garden he plays in when he goes outside
Update on 15th April: there appears to be a change. He is calmer and more passive. He wants to snooze more. That is not to say he’s not active. He still loves playing outside, et cetera, but he is not quite so keen. This may not be totally down to neutering. He is older and wiser and has explored the outdoors so it is no longer a new experience.
After the operation I was told that he should be kept in for 24 hours. I therefore made sure that all the windows were shut and locked. The windows in the flat where I live at the moment are old-fashioned and you can see that there is no handle but a latch mechanism which is slotted into two prongs thereby locking the window.
When I went out for a short while and came back Gabriel was no longer in the flat. Both the latches on the window had been moved and therefore I decided that he had escaped. The anaesthetic had barely worked off because he was given four anaesthetics, one of them was a drug called Ketamine (I think you spell it that way). There is no antidote for it and therefore it has to work off over 24 hours.
Well, it may have taken 24 hours to work off but he was back to himself within several hours having spent about an hour and a half outside no more than about an hour after leaving the surgery.
I thought he was very smart to get out of the window. He must have seen me open the window and observe how I did it and simply copied me.
After the operation he was in a very confused state. Apparently it is this drug called Ketamine which makes the pupils very large and he was swaying backwards and forwards in a hyper-alert state looking confused. It was disturbing to see and I asked questions about this. Apparently, it is completely normal although I would have liked to have been warned about it before picking him up.
He licked his genital region a few times but nothing excessively and has behaved normally since the operation. At the moment, I’ve decided that neutering does not change a male cat’s character that much although changes may take place over time. Of course, there will be a change in respect of his sex drive and territorial desires but I never saw him carving out territory or protecting territory and therefore I see no change. And as for his sex drive, as mentioned, he still likes to do it on my left arm!
Michele said that neutering doesn’t alter the character that much and I have to agree.
I think Gabriel has been so close to me since he was 6 weeks old that he is not distracted as you say (and I understand what you mean). He has always been content but he gradually wanted to explore beyond the flat so I felt I had to let him outside. But I have allowed this under controlled conditions as best I can.
I was just about to say what Michele S mentioned about the fact that he still has his hormones at the moment which will gradually reduce so the behaviour with your arm should eventually stop.
Interesting to read your article from the viewpoint of someone who has never gone through a neutering before.
I’ve only ever seen neutered cats become better companions and happier cats. The un-neutered cats I’ve come into contact with appear distracted, un-happy and un-friendly I believe its because of the over-riding desire to look for females; it seems to be their main focus.
Anyways I’m glad you found your friend and I’m glad Gabriel long tail is thriving 🙂
Glad to hear Gabriel’s op went smoothly and he was feeling well enough to sneak outside later that day 😉 It will be interesting to notice whether he loses interest in your arm over the coming weeks, as his testosterone levels drops slightly.
I’m guessing he was given an injectable anaesthetic if Ketamine used. I’m not surprised Gabriel looked confused. Ketamine’s hallucinogenic properties are what tempt some people to use it as a recreational drug.