Neutered cat still wanders off

lukin

A stray cat wandered into our property a few months ago. We live in the countryside and there are outhouses etc. so he has somewhere to stay at night.
He usually only stays for a few days and then goes away (I think to one of my neighbours). He always comes back but he sometimes has cuts and fur missing from his head. It was happening so often that I decided to have him neutered (and the cuts fixed up at the same time). He is quite tame so it was no problem.My vet assured me that he would stop wandering off and getting into fights once he was neutered. However it has made no difference, he still goes away and comes back with injuries since he was neutered. There is no reason for him to go away as I feed him everytime he is around. He is well looked after whenever he is here. Is there anything that can be done? We can't take him to the vet everytime he gets beaten up as it is unfeasible. Is there anything that can be done to stop him wandering?

Nody

Well the hormones take a month or two to go out of the system but if he's set in his way there's not a lot you can do except about it short of keeping him indoor and only walk him on a leash. Possibly try to figure out with what cat he's fighting (if it's a stray neutering that cat as well may lower the fighting habits).

lukin

Nody wrote: »

Well the hormones take a month or two to go out of the system but if he's set in his way there's not a lot you can do except about it short of keeping him indoor and only walk him on a leash. Possibly try to figure out with what cat he's fighting (if it's a stray neutering that cat as well may lower the fighting habits).

It hasn't been a month since he was neutered so maybe he might stay at home once enough time has passed.Keeping him indoors is a non-starter as he's not house-trained.I don't know what cat he's fighting with but it's probably one of my neighbour's.He doesn't give a s### about animals though.

aonb

any idea how old he might be?
As Nody said, it takes weeks from the testosterone to 'run out'
In the meantime, if this cat was a wanderer, and fending for himself, he might stay that way - learned behavious/all he knows. On the other hand, after the neutering, he may turn into a lazier home-body. You could start to entice him inside more. Put his food/water bowls inside the back door and move him in gradually? He doesnt 'know' that life in a house is safer/warmer/comfier - so you could show him! As the hormones reduce in his system, he may get to be less inclined to fight/wander, but you will just have to see how that goes...
GOOD of you to take care of him

kathleen37

aonb wrote: »

any idea how old he might be?
As Nody said, it takes weeks from the testosterone to 'run out'
In the meantime, if this cat was a wanderer, and fending for himself, he might stay that way - learned behavious/all he knows. On the other hand, after the neutering, he may turn into a lazier home-body. You could start to entice him inside more. Put his food/water bowls inside the back door and move him in gradually? He doesnt 'know' that life in a house is safer/warmer/comfier - so you could show him! As the hormones reduce in his system, he may get to be less inclined to fight/wander, but you will just have to see how that goes...
GOOD of you to take care of him

I think this is spot on. If he's older, then it may not make a difference with the wandering, though hopefully, once the hormones levels have worked through, he may be less inclined to fight and become more leisurely!

Props from me too for you taking care of him.

intheclouds

I think if you offer him a comfy situation and his hormones run out - he will naturally become more relaxed and less territorial.

lukin

Thanks for the replies, I hope you are both right about the hormones thing. I can't tell you how gutted I was when he went off and came back all cut up after he was neutered.
I don't know what age he is; he is definitely more than a year but I couldn't guess how much. I should have asked the vet when I got him neutered.
He has probably been doing this wandering since he was born so it may be impossible to stop him doing it. Whenever he comes back he is always really hungry so you'd think he'd have the sense to stay where he is treated well (i.e. at our place).
I could bring him in at night and leave him by the fireplace while I watch TV. He might get used to it and stay then. I'll see how it goes.

intheclouds

lukin wrote: »

I could bring him in at night and leave him by the fireplace while I watch TV. He might get used to it and stay then. I'll see how it goes.

Bring him in to be fed and leave a comfy bed there and maybe he will check it out and decide to stay a bit more?

aonb

You have to completely change his lifestyle/mindset! If you are happy to have him indoors, then I would recommend major treats everytime he comes in. A comfy bed, treats in the bed. Sitting by the fire, put a couple of treats there. I know cat-people on here will be disgusted when I say this, but DREAMIES will be your friend!!!!!!! My feral/found/rescue cat would sell her soul for DREAMIES - they're like cat cocaine (awful things probably, but hey!) - when I was moving her in to the house, a little bundle of dreamies on the armchair, and she would settle for a bit... then settle beside/near and a little bit of scratching behind the ears, then a little bit of play - a string with a knot in it even. If he starts to associate being indoors as a good thing, he will slowly get used to it, and hang around more. Unless hes a complete wanderer and doesnt 'get it'!

The older the cat was before neutering the harder it will be to change behaviour - having him neutered will remove the interest in females - it should make him more mellow & that will hopefully break the inclination to go look for fights with other cats, but whether the other cats come looking to fight him is a different story

jimf

I have a tom just as you described once his indicators were removed It took about 6 weeks for him to stop rambling and getting into fights now he is just the most lovable ould rogue u could ever meet btw he was 2 when the evil deed was done he is 6 since xmas he rambled in on xmas night 2009 the first of the too really cold winters we had

he still stands his ground if a strange cat comes around but the aggression he once displayed is totally gone he is my best buddy and if im the garage doing something he will not be ignored we often have a chat which my wife overhears and its the same response the boys in the white coats will be calling for you shortly

Knine

Are you sure he is not wandering off to his second home? One of ours used to do that. Would disappear for months. When he got neutered it took about 2 mths & then he never left again

lukin

jimf wrote: »

I have a tom just as you described once his indicators were removed It took about 6 weeks for him to stop rambling and getting into fights now he is just the most lovable ould rogue u could ever meet

I hope I have the same experience. He was neutered on the 26th January so it's not quite six weeks yet. I hope to see a difference after that.

StillThinking

My male cat is 4 this year, he was neutered as soon as he was old enough. He's an indoor/ outdoor cat and at least once a week he comes back with war wounds, take him to the vet a couple of times a year when his wounds get infected but mostly they clear up on their own. He also sprays inside the house at times, drives me mental but somebody on here has put me on to a calming spray so hopefully that works.
The last time I was at the vet I asked what could be don't about his fighting and she told me a small number of male cats will continue to wander and fight even after they're neutered and if we wanted she could give us sedatives for him. She said she didn't want to give them unless the fighting was getting out of control and we didn't really want to drug the poor thing either.
We've kind of learned to live with it, he's a lovely affectionate cat but is really territorial and hates other cats.

intheclouds

StillThinking wrote: »

We've kind of learned to live with it, he's a lovely affectionate cat but is really territorial and hates other cats.

Theres also a calm food - Royal Canin do it, we use it for our two females, who live separate but parallel lives but they get stressed at each others smells at the boundaries, additionally one is a bit dominant with outdoor interactions with other cats.

We feed them both half their daily amount of food using the calm one.

jimf

id be very slow to give any kind of sedatives in case he encounters another feline and would not be able to stand up for himself

Eule

My neutered tom (now 19) loved fighting all his life, and he even enjoys guarding his patch now, despite being rather ill. Last summer he saw off a young intact tom from the garden, I guess experience still beats youth!

That's just how cats are, neutering stops them from roaming a lot, but any opportunity to sit and yowl at each other is still welcome (along with the chance of shredding the opponent).

You can try keeping him in (as other advise) and if he gets antsy, 'Feliway' (a pheromone spray) might be of use for settling him, but, if he is an outdoor guy, he will be unhappy if he is stuck indoors (and most likely let you know loudly and persistently). And if he is a mouser, you will have even more problems with settling him.

Stick a collar on him (one that can be pulled lose!) to find out where else he hangs out, and unless there is bits hanging off that need stitches or a cat bite develops a boil with an infection, you can leave most battle scars to heal naturally.