Administering Buprenorphine For The First Time

[genevievem]

I've recently taken in a semi feral cat who had six cavities extracted and came home with a five day supply of .2ml doses of buprenorphine for ulcers all along the roof of her mouth and gums. She's already a very skittish, shy cat so having to also pry her mouth open and squirt liquid against her sores is nearly impossible. In order to get her to comply, I wrap her up in a towel and hold her while my dad administers the injection. However, he just gave her the medicine and afterwards he told me that he was only able to squeeze it against her gums on the INSIDE of her teeth instead of on the outer area against her cheek pouch. i'm wondering if this will probably mean the medicine wasn't absorbed properly and was instead swallowed? and if so, does this mean i can administer another dose sooner than the 12 hours i'm supposed to wait? my kitty is very clearly uncomfortable and in pain and i'd really hate making her wait half a day for some relief...

 

[mewcatmew]

Do not administer another dose sooner. It probably absorbed pretty well anyways, as the gums are porous. If you administer a dose too soon, you could overdose your cat, do not risk it. Also, when it is time to feed the cat, make sure the food is very soft, you can add some warm (not hot) water to it to make it soft and mushy to go down easier and less chewing involved on sore teeth.

 

[genevievem]

Okay, thank you for the advice!! I left her alone after she crawled under a pile of my pillows, and now she's sleeping.

I've been mixing her soft food with water and running it through a blender but I never thought to heat it up a little bit. I'll see if that helps until I can give her her next dose.

 

[animallover07]

I think she will be fine as long as the medicine gets in her system. My cat is also on medicine for mouth ulcers. I was never told to actually have them 'shot onto the ulcer sites', just told to be sure she takes her meds. Haha. So I'm assuming this should be fine. If you are really concerned about it you can always call in to the vet and ask if this is okay or not. I will call my vet back if I am unsure of how to give a medicine they have given me. A lot of the times the receptionist herself can even tell me. I'm sure they get those calls a lot. Haha.