Behavior After Anesthesia

[sivyaleah]

Casper had dental work done Tuesday morning.  He stayed overnight Monday since they do it first thing in the morning.  We picked him up at 4pm.

He did really well with the cleaning and subsequently having 3 teeth extracted.  Sent him home with a long acting antibiotic and pain killer so we didn't have to administer him anything ourselves.

He was a bit out of sorts last night, understandably.  Overly happy to see and be with us.  Huge head butting us and everything in the house.  I think he may have been kind of hallucinating at times; seeing things that weren't there, being hyper vigilant while eating, and re-checking everything in the house.  He hissed once at Cocoa, but they worked that out.  His appetite was enormous.  We tried to be cautious on the amount at first since we knew it was possible he'd get nauseous.  But he held it down, and then some later on.  So, we just allowed him his whole usual amount of dinner and that worked out good.  He hadn't really had much to eat for a few days prior; he must have been in serious pain 

Anyway, here it is over 24 hours later and he is still acting peculiar.  First, he is SO hungry.  Like, constantly asking for food.  He appetite was great until tonight.  But, he still is asking for food so I suspect he may be in a little bit of pain.  He's still acting like things are strange to him and being so over the top affectionate, kind of in a clingy way for lack of a better way of describing it.  But, then if you pick him up he wants nothing of that.  Right now he's sacked out in the hallway right by the door of our home office.  But, if I make even the slightest move to get up he is going to go running into the kitchen again!

Would it be not out of the realm of possibility that he could still be feeling the anesthesia and/or pain meds?  Her certainly is not the cat we knew for such a long time, although I have heard that once they have the dental done they can behave differently since their pain is gone and energy is restored to normal.  And if this is the case how long could this last?  I'd just call the vet but for Christmas Eve.  It isn't like it's an emergency 

 

 

[jcat]

Jamie used to act like that every time he had dental work, etc., but I always put it down to enormous relief to be back home plus hunger after having to fast before surgery. He used to beg for food after routine vet visits also.

It's good to hear things went well!

 

[sivyaleah]

Thanks for that.  I'm assuming there must be some residual pain involved plus joy at being home.  His pupils are very dilated also. 

Last night, he barely touched his food.  This morning, I had to coax him into eating.  He wouldn't touch it in his bowl.  But, from my fingers or put on the floor, he did.  So be it for now.  Getting food into him is my prime concern.  And leaving it out for him is only resulting in Cocoa making a mad dash for it once he leaves.  We don't want her over eating; she's too big now as it is LOL.

Like I already mentioned, he is hungry. Hounding us for food but seems unable to eat well. The first day back he was great but now I'll rack that up to the fact that he still had pain killers coursing through him.  Now, 48 hours later, that's doubtful.  But, he certainly is behaving like a very happy cat, not hiding or sulking at all.  So, whatever amount of pain he's experiencing can't be all that much.  

I guess he's going to have to learn to eat missing a few teeth also.  

The searching behavior seems to be minimizing.  The first day he was so wired, running to out back door on the look out for enemy cats.  There were none 

 

[misty8723]

Just remembering back to when Swanie had his first dental. When he got home, he was like that. Very affectionate, rubbing on everything, checking everything. He couldn't sit still, he didn't sleep, he was constantly on the move. His pupils were very dilated. I remember being afraid he had gotten brain damage or something.  I don't remember about appetite though, or if he had an extraction that time or not.  That went on all night (with me totally freaking out), but by morning he was starting to act more normal.  I called the vet office as soon as they opened and I think they told me it was from the pain medicine. 

What kind of pain medicine was it that they gave Caspar?  How long was it supposed to last?  I hope he's doing okay now.

 

[sivyaleah]

Thanks Misty. Sounds like Swanie had the same kind of reaction Casper is experiencing.

The medication they gave him for pain was Buprenorphine HCL SR.

Typical length of effect is 8 hours.  Longer possible.  But it's way more than that now, 2 full days since it was administered.  I'll call the vet tomorrow morning if he's still acting strangely.  

 

[misty8723]

That's also what Swanie had, Buprenorphine.  I agree it's gone on way too long.  Hopefully you can check with the vet today, and I hope Casper is okay.

 

[sivyaleah]

He's more back to normal this morning.  Ate good, didn't keep hounding for me to feed him again, sleeping more (i.e.; less hyper vigilant), his eyes don't look as dilated and was laying on his back with his paws in the air lol.  He hadn't done that in days so this was a big deal.  

He's feeling much better, I can tell.  This was a learning curve for us!

 

[catman513]

There is a lot of new information on general anesthesia coming out. Apparently, the drugs they use are absorbed into fatty tissues. The brain is a fatty tissue. My niece who is an oncologist said that they measure brain aberration form normal for up to a month in a healthy adult after general anesthesia.

 

[misterwhiskers]

My cat had anesthesia issues after being neutered. One eye became a lazy eye, and seriously I thought he'd had a stroke. Took about 3 months for him to use both paws to play with again. (Shudders). He's part Siamese. Are there certain breeds more vulnerable to anesthesia issues?
This is how his eye deviates.

image.jpg

• misterwhiskers
• Dec 27, 2014

 

[sivyaleah]

Supposedly, Siamese and others of similar lineage suffer anesthesia more than other breeds. I can't say if this is so or not, but it's intriguing.  

 
There is a lot of new information on general anesthesia coming out. Apparently, the drugs they use are absorbed into fatty tissues. The brain is a fatty tissue. My niece who is an oncologist said that they measure brain aberration form normal for up to a month in a healthy adult after general anesthesia.

Interesting and, makes sense.  Speaking for myself, I know when I've had general anesthesia, I don't feel like myself completely for a couple of days.  I can only imagine what any animal must experience.

As for Casper, he's improving daily.  Today, he is more back to normal with his appetite, but eating much more hearty than he has been in a while.  I'm burning through cans of food like nobodies business, but it's worth it.  He's also brighter eyed, and more engaged than we can remember for a long time.  I never would have believed such a difference could happen from having his teeth cleaned and (some) removed.  Pretty awesome.

 

[annalynne]

I am so glad to find this post! Not that you and your cat went through this, but, your description of his behaviors is identical to what my girl, Moonshadow, is going though after having dental surgery yesterday. Nonstop frantically NEEDING to eat!! its crazy!!  and if I approach her, she runs to her food dishes. If she isn't already there! This actually makes me feel better, that its a somewhat normal reaction. She also acts like she's hallucinating, darting her head around as if she sees bugs or something flying by, or staring at the wall again darting her head around as if seeing things moving on the wall. Doc says the meds shouldn't cause this, but she did this after eye surgery too, but since it was her eyes, i thought she might be having shadows or something, but now, I'm pretty convinced its her sensitivity to meds. 

 

[lori4cats]

Really helpful to read these posts. My cat Romeo just had dental surgery yesterday and is behaving so weird. Very similar to what I'm reading. When he first came home ate like a pig for the whole afternoon and evening. This morning totally different, wouldn't eat. Gave him his pain med and about 30 minutes later he ate a bit, but not as much. Is challenging to get food in him and he is definitely whacked by the meds. Stares outside like something is there. Twitches his tail which he rarely does ( he's rarely agitated). The meds do seem to help him eat though, without he won't touch it. Can't wait till he is back to normal, sounds like might be a few days yet. Have to really coddle him to eat like someone else was saying, even hand feed.