- Joined
- Apr 11, 2022
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Hello everyone. This post will be long so please bare with me. I want to be sure I get out all the info as this is 26 days in the making.
To start - my sweet 16 year old senior cat, Lucy, had almost all of her teeth extracted on 3/16/22. The only left are her canines. This was due to severe stomatitis and tooth reabsorption. I noticed her smacking when trying to eat and got her in at the vet asap. We tried to manage it with a steriod and an antibiotic shot but they didn't help for long. She had never had anything major done other than regular visits, an ear infection due to yeast, and vaccines. I was extremely hesitant to do the extractions due to her age but the dentist said her bloodwork was beautiful considering her age. The only thing a little elevated was sodium but he said that could be her diet (she is pate obsessed) and he wasn't too concerned about it. It took 3 hours for him to complete the extractions but she came home the same day and acted a little drugged...but like my normal Lucy. She scarfed her food down and took the pain meds they sent home (Buprenex) and 7 days of Metacam for inflammation. He also gave her an antibiotic shot before she left the office. **We noticed she couldn't hear after surgery but she was also treated for another ear infection while she was having the teeth extracted. The vet was stumped about the hearing loss but said it could be because she was under anesthesia for so long due to the severity of her mouth. (To date it seems to have come back some but not fully. She can hear me call her but I have to be a little louder than I used to be.)**
3/24 - Fast forward to 3/24 - her Metacam was over the day before and I noticed she was having issues with eating (doing a weird pawing and acting like it hurt - I discovered FOPS and don't know if it could be that) and she also developed anterior uveitis in her right eye with hypopyon. I took her back to the vet on 3/25 and they prescribed her prednisone drops along with antibiotic drops. She is awful at the vet and its almost impossible for them to check her without sedation so this was the first try at treatment without sedation. The weird pawing started and she had stopped eating. She would sniff her favorite food and walk away. The lack of appetite made me panic.
3/28 - I took her to the vet again for him to physically check her eye and mouth. My husband and I had to hold her in a blanket while he checked and she freaked out. He prescribed more Metacam, oral Clindamycin (for the eye in case of internal infection), and topical Mirataz for her appetite. They also gave her subq fluids as she was dehydrated.
The appetite stimulant is a miracle worker and I am so thankful because I was extremely upset and stressed over her not eating. She was slowly withering away. She is already only around 7 pounds and was approaching 6 pounds so I was in a panic trying to syringe feed and use supplemental gel to avoid Hepatic Lipidosis! I tried 10 different foods, making it all mushy, extra smelly, warm, syringe feeding, feeding all over the house. The most popular is Fancy Feast Kitten food mixed with 1/2 a packet Forti Flora, a small dose of high calorie gel, and part of a can of the most awful smelling Paws and Claws chicken pate. With the help of Mirataz she eats 90% of a helping and as of today 4/11 she is back to 7.2 pounds. I also started her on a multivitamin as I read B vitamins can help her appetite and she takes it with a little coaxing. The doc approved all of this and said just to make sure she is getting hydration and calories.
3/31 - She was back at the vet and sedated so he could check her mouth and sutures. He said it looked great except for some slight inflammation so he removed the sutures (he thought they could be bothering her) and also gave her a shot of Depo Medrol to help the inflammation. We stopped the Metacam due to Depo Medrol and also stopped the antibiotic because it was making her throw up which is awful for a cat who already won't eat enough.
Since then she hasn't been back to the vet as she HATES it. She makes a scene and is so loud...they have to do procedures and check her at lunch when there are no other people in the lobby. She has earned the name "Lucifer" and she goes demon cat when she is at the vet and I feel it just adds unneeded stress so he calls me to check her and see how she is doing so we can figure out how to proceed. He called again today to check on her.
Her eye has not cleared up at all. The pawing has lessened each day and is not nearly as extreme as it was a week ago. I tried to wean her off the appetite simulant late last week but she just doesn't seem to do as well without it. My questions are:
1. Has anyone ever had a senior cat struggle a while after extractions?
2. I keep reading about Lymphoma and cancer....and worry that could be the cause of the eye issue. Has anyone ever had that? What was the prognosis and how did the cat deal with treatment? The doc thinks bacteria could have gotten into her blood stream during dental extractions and it is white blood cells accumulating due to that. I don't notice any glands, lumps, or new bumps on her body. Has anyone had a cat with eye issues after dental extractions?
3. How long can a can stay on an appetite stimulant? How did you wean your cat off of it?
She acts normal other than her appetite and the eye. She still grooms herself regularly, drinks her water, she sleeps a lot (but she did the same before surgery), she uses her litter box and doesn't have accidents, she poops 1x per day and pees 4x per day which is normal, there is no diarrhea or vomiting, and she still runs and jumps and acts like a youngster, and she is still sassy. She sleeps all day and jumps on our heads at night.
I love our vet, he cares, and he knows how temperamental and stressed she gets at the office...he said stress from going into the office could also affect her negatively. He calls regularly to check on her and has never seen the eye issue before. This has been so hard. I thought we would have the extractions done and she would be better but this past almost month has been an emotional rollercoaster and it breaks my heart that she won't eat without the help of medicine. I've had her since I was 21 and she was my first baby.
To start - my sweet 16 year old senior cat, Lucy, had almost all of her teeth extracted on 3/16/22. The only left are her canines. This was due to severe stomatitis and tooth reabsorption. I noticed her smacking when trying to eat and got her in at the vet asap. We tried to manage it with a steriod and an antibiotic shot but they didn't help for long. She had never had anything major done other than regular visits, an ear infection due to yeast, and vaccines. I was extremely hesitant to do the extractions due to her age but the dentist said her bloodwork was beautiful considering her age. The only thing a little elevated was sodium but he said that could be her diet (she is pate obsessed) and he wasn't too concerned about it. It took 3 hours for him to complete the extractions but she came home the same day and acted a little drugged...but like my normal Lucy. She scarfed her food down and took the pain meds they sent home (Buprenex) and 7 days of Metacam for inflammation. He also gave her an antibiotic shot before she left the office. **We noticed she couldn't hear after surgery but she was also treated for another ear infection while she was having the teeth extracted. The vet was stumped about the hearing loss but said it could be because she was under anesthesia for so long due to the severity of her mouth. (To date it seems to have come back some but not fully. She can hear me call her but I have to be a little louder than I used to be.)**
3/24 - Fast forward to 3/24 - her Metacam was over the day before and I noticed she was having issues with eating (doing a weird pawing and acting like it hurt - I discovered FOPS and don't know if it could be that) and she also developed anterior uveitis in her right eye with hypopyon. I took her back to the vet on 3/25 and they prescribed her prednisone drops along with antibiotic drops. She is awful at the vet and its almost impossible for them to check her without sedation so this was the first try at treatment without sedation. The weird pawing started and she had stopped eating. She would sniff her favorite food and walk away. The lack of appetite made me panic.
3/28 - I took her to the vet again for him to physically check her eye and mouth. My husband and I had to hold her in a blanket while he checked and she freaked out. He prescribed more Metacam, oral Clindamycin (for the eye in case of internal infection), and topical Mirataz for her appetite. They also gave her subq fluids as she was dehydrated.
The appetite stimulant is a miracle worker and I am so thankful because I was extremely upset and stressed over her not eating. She was slowly withering away. She is already only around 7 pounds and was approaching 6 pounds so I was in a panic trying to syringe feed and use supplemental gel to avoid Hepatic Lipidosis! I tried 10 different foods, making it all mushy, extra smelly, warm, syringe feeding, feeding all over the house. The most popular is Fancy Feast Kitten food mixed with 1/2 a packet Forti Flora, a small dose of high calorie gel, and part of a can of the most awful smelling Paws and Claws chicken pate. With the help of Mirataz she eats 90% of a helping and as of today 4/11 she is back to 7.2 pounds. I also started her on a multivitamin as I read B vitamins can help her appetite and she takes it with a little coaxing. The doc approved all of this and said just to make sure she is getting hydration and calories.
3/31 - She was back at the vet and sedated so he could check her mouth and sutures. He said it looked great except for some slight inflammation so he removed the sutures (he thought they could be bothering her) and also gave her a shot of Depo Medrol to help the inflammation. We stopped the Metacam due to Depo Medrol and also stopped the antibiotic because it was making her throw up which is awful for a cat who already won't eat enough.
Since then she hasn't been back to the vet as she HATES it. She makes a scene and is so loud...they have to do procedures and check her at lunch when there are no other people in the lobby. She has earned the name "Lucifer" and she goes demon cat when she is at the vet and I feel it just adds unneeded stress so he calls me to check her and see how she is doing so we can figure out how to proceed. He called again today to check on her.
Her eye has not cleared up at all. The pawing has lessened each day and is not nearly as extreme as it was a week ago. I tried to wean her off the appetite simulant late last week but she just doesn't seem to do as well without it. My questions are:
1. Has anyone ever had a senior cat struggle a while after extractions?
2. I keep reading about Lymphoma and cancer....and worry that could be the cause of the eye issue. Has anyone ever had that? What was the prognosis and how did the cat deal with treatment? The doc thinks bacteria could have gotten into her blood stream during dental extractions and it is white blood cells accumulating due to that. I don't notice any glands, lumps, or new bumps on her body. Has anyone had a cat with eye issues after dental extractions?
3. How long can a can stay on an appetite stimulant? How did you wean your cat off of it?
She acts normal other than her appetite and the eye. She still grooms herself regularly, drinks her water, she sleeps a lot (but she did the same before surgery), she uses her litter box and doesn't have accidents, she poops 1x per day and pees 4x per day which is normal, there is no diarrhea or vomiting, and she still runs and jumps and acts like a youngster, and she is still sassy. She sleeps all day and jumps on our heads at night.
I love our vet, he cares, and he knows how temperamental and stressed she gets at the office...he said stress from going into the office could also affect her negatively. He calls regularly to check on her and has never seen the eye issue before. This has been so hard. I thought we would have the extractions done and she would be better but this past almost month has been an emotional rollercoaster and it breaks my heart that she won't eat without the help of medicine. I've had her since I was 21 and she was my first baby.