If the cat's stomach is not empty when he is anesthetized for the surgery, there is a real danger that he could vomit and he might aspirate the material - that means the material would go down his windpipe - and they might not be able to clear the material before he suffocated. Don't have surgery of any type done on a cat without him or her fasting for at least 10 hours.
Any cat can go 10 or 12 hours without food. It will not traumatize him or hurt him in way.
Think about yourself - not eating for 12 hours will not cause you any harm. If you consider the length of time you are asleep at night, you go quite a few hours without eating. Hey, the word breakfast means - break fasting. Breakfast is the meal that breaks your overnight fasting.
The procedure to neuter a male is quite simple. The vet makes a small incision in the scrotum - that is the pouch which contains the testicles, The then gently pulls the testicles out and cuts the tube attached to them. I don't think they do anything else at that point as to sealing the cut tubes, it should not be needed..
That's it - finished - nothing to it.
My wife and I have had a total of 26 cat since we got married in 1987 - not all at the same time - so we have a bit of experi3ence with neurting nd spapying.
Our vet doesn't even bother to suture or glue the incision closed with surgical adhesive.
When the testicles are removed, the scrotum shrinks up quite a bit and the incision closes quite tightly. Of the 18 or 19 males we have had neutered, I can't recall one that had the incision sutured or glued.
Except for the stress of the trip to the clinic, and being around strange people and being in a cage - and the stress level will likely be very low. The cat does not suffer during the process.
You refer to things you've read on the internet -
The problem is that anyone with a computer can post "expert" advise on line, There is no way to know just how experienced and knowable they really are.
You should go with the advise of the vet.
Take up all food after about 6:00 PM - you can leave water out. Put the cat in the carrier in the morning and take him to the clinic. Don't worry about the surgery. I've seen it done and I think that if I needed to, I could safely neuter a male cat.
There simply is not much involved with it.
Some real problems can occurs if you don't get a male cat neutered before about 6 months of age. Among them is the male starting to mark his territory around the house - they mark with urine and with anal gland fluid. Trust me, you don't want a male cat marking his territory inside - it is very foul smelling and it can be difficulty or impossible to get a male to stop marking even if you have him neuter after he has begun marking.
Given the number of cats and kitten which are killed each day shelters around the country - hundred of thousands - there is no excuse for not having male cats neutered and females spayed - None!
Just do as the vet says and things will be fine.
The worst thing that can happen is your being stressed out about it. The cat will barely know anything has been done.
When you get him home, keep an eye on him until the anesthesia has worn off. They don't give a lot of anesthesia to a male before a neutering. It takes just moments to do the job and they don't need to put the cat under deeply or for a long time.
Follow your vets advise about dealing with your cat at home.
Basically you simply keep an eye on them until your sure the anesthesia has worn off. About the only thing to watch for is if he takes to climbing or jumping up on things and is still sedated. Our Rusty came from from his neutering still quite sedated. He went to use the litter pan and wound up falling into it. A few minutes latter i caught him winding up to jump on a really high shelf. I grabbed him and advised him that he needed to wait until he wasn't so dizzy. He agreed and proceeded to go to sleep on my lap.
Some vets will want you to put an Elizabethan collar on the cat - those cone shaped things used to prevent the cat getting at an jury or such. There is no valid reason to subject a newly neutered cat to wear one.
If your vet wants to do it just tell him that people have told you that it is very rare to need to use one.
We have never had a male or female damage the surgical area and living with one of those collars is not something you want your cat to endure.
He will likely lick the surgical area but that's fine. He will keep it clean.
You only need to be concerned if he is actually opening up the incision - but we've never had that happen.
Go to Google and search on: male cat neuter procedure video
I just did so and found what looks like hundreds of videos showing the actual surgery. Go and watch some. There is less blood loss from the cat than if you cut your finger. There simply are no any large blood vessels in the surgical area.
Don't worry, he will be just fine.
