Orange Was Supposed to Be Safe After His Neuter. Then Everything Went Wrong.

For a community cat like Orange, getting neutered should be a good day.

On September 3, Orange was brought in to be neutered through TNR — an important step toward keeping him healthy and preventing more kittens from being born into life on the streets. But shortly after his surgery, something went terribly wrong.

Orange began bleeding heavily from his neuter site. He reportedly bled for approximately an hour, and what should have been a routine procedure suddenly became a frightening veterinary emergency. Orange was rushed to Palmetto Animal Urgent Care for immediate treatment.

Because Orange is a community cat, he had to be sedated so the veterinary team could safely examine and treat him. The injuries they found were significant. Orange had marked bruising around his scrotum and rectum, moderate scrotal swelling, deep bruising, clotted blood and active scrotal hemorrhage.

The veterinary team worked to get the bleeding under control. They cleaned the surgical area, removed multiple blood clots, and instilled epinephrine into the scrotum to help stop the hemorrhage. His incision was closed with surgical glue, and the area was iced while he recovered from sedation.

Thankfully, Orange made it through the emergency treatment and recovered from sedation uneventfully. But he still isn't ready to go back outside.

The veterinarian instructed that Orange not be returned outdoors that night and recommended that he remain safely confined for several days while his bleeding, swelling, bruising and surgical site are closely monitored.

For a cat who is accustomed to life outdoors, confinement is not easy — but right now, it is what Orange needs to stay safe. And none of this was expected.

The South Carolina Community Cat Project planned for the cost of Orange's routine neuter. They did not plan for a sudden emergency hospitalization and treatment for a serious post-operative hemorrhage. But when a community cat is bleeding, there is no time to worry about whether the emergency was in the budget.

Please help the South Carolina Community Cat Project cover Orange's emergency veterinary bill and give him the time and care he needs to heal.

He deserves to recover from this unexpected setback — and get back to being the happy, healthy community cat he was meant to be.

Please donate if you can, and share Orange's story if you can't. Every contribution helps.