4 month old kitten, spayed a day ago still hasnt gone to the bathroom

Question
Hello,

I'm writing because my fiance and i just adopted a 4 month old male kitten from our local animal shelter. He was spayed yesterday and sent home with us. He was groggy most of the day yesterday but slept peacefully in a little bed we made for him in the bathroom all night.

I introduced him to the litterbox but it's been a day, day and a half at the most, and he still hasn't gone to the bathroom (at least, we haven't found anything on the floor and the litterbox is untouched).

Is this normal? Should we be concerned or is there anything we can do to help him go potty?

Thank you!

Answer
Jessica,

While some cats react poorly to stress and may not use the litterbox for 12 hours or even a bit longer when they first come into a new home this baby has me very concerned. Any cat that hasn't used the toilet for more than 24 hours absolutely must see a vet on an urgent basis as there may be something seriously wrong, particularly after having had a major surgery like a spay (girl) or neuter (boy). I would suggest getting this cat to the nearest vet immediately for assessment and treatment, if your shelter offers free follow up care with a vet for a certain period of time then get this baby seen by their vet because if there is a complication from your kitty's surgery or some other serious problem it may turn out to be an expensive set of medical bills if you go elsewhere since the shelter may not reimburse you for medical costs incurred outside of their clinic or designated veterinarian. Your kitten may need to be sedated and catheterized if his bladder is full so that it doesn't become so full that his bladder ruptures so be aware that this has potentially life threatening implications if it's not treated immediately. If you have any further cat related questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me again at any time, I'd be more than happy to help in any way that I can.