Kitten Constipation After Neutering

I had my kitten (male, domestic short hair, 5m15d old, 5-6lb) neutered 5 days ago and for the first two days he was fine defecating, but now I've noticed in last three days that he is a bit constipated. He strains when he goes to defecate and usually gets 4 or 5 small bits of stool out (not nearly as much as usual) and I wondered if that was normal this many days after surgery? I heard that surgery could make cats constipated for up to 48 hours after, but for the first 48 hours he was actually fine and it only started after that. He is urinating perfectly fine, his appetite is still strong, he's active and there are no other changes. I've tried increasing his wet food per day (he has 1 x 85g tin of wet food and 1/3 cup of dry food). Is this something I should be concerned about or will it return to normal soon? Is there any way I can help him at home?   Thank you in advance!

Hello - sometimes, a neuter operation can have a dehydrating effect on a cat, which might cause them to reabsorb extra fluid from the gut (or not move water into the gut), thereby drying out the faeces.  It takes faeces a few days to pass all the way along the gut, so there can be a time lag.   However, this is not necessarily what is going on for your cat so it's worth running the change by your vets, who will always be interested to hear about their patients' progress in the post-op stages.   We hope that things go smoothly from here.

Hey there, I completely understand your worry about your kitten! My little guy (also a shorthaired fellow) went through neutering a while back, and constipation was a bit of a concern for us too. It sounds like your kitten is showing some good signs - using the litter box regularly, peeing normally, and still having a good appetite. That's encouraging! Neutering can definitely slow their digestion down for a bit, but five days after surgery does seem a little longer than the usual 48 hours. I'd say increasing the wet food is a great first step - more moisture can really help things move along. Maybe you could even try mixing a little water into his dry food as well? If you have any plain, unsweetened pumpkin puree on hand, a spoonful mixed in with his food can also be a gentle laxative for cats.