abnormal male cat behavior

Question
I have 2 indoor cats,one male,10 months old, one female,1 yr-5 months old. . The other night , the male got loose for about 4 hours.He came home on his own and seemed fine. About 2 hrs later he started crying like a female cat in heat and would not let the female or me get near him . He growled when we approached him and up to this point had never done anything like that before.He has never been to the vet for shots or otherwise.Any ideas why the sudden change in behavior.

Answer
Keith,

It sounds as if he may have been in a cat fight and got bit, or attacked by a wild animal. The growling and crying is a good indication of pain. He may also be traumatized by whatever experience he had.

To be on the safe side you may want to take him to a vet to be checked over for any injuries or bites.

Tabbi