Cat not sleeping on Buprenorphine

[emiliemeow]

I already found this article but want personal anecdotes from people who have gone through this before.
I rushed my 17 year old girl to the emergency vet yesterday worried she had a urinary blockage or worse, kidney failure. It ended up just being a UTI which is still not great but is better than the alternative. She’s been in quite a bit of pain so, in addition to the standard antibiotics she’s on for a week, they gave her an injection of .2ml of this pain med. they said it would help the first 3 days.
Well, she hasn’t slept since last night. She’s been pacing the house all day, rubbing her head on everything in sight. I called the emergency vet and they said it’s fine and will wear off in another two days or so, but I’m nervous about her not sleeping given her age. This also was an emergency vet, not her regular vet that I trust fully.
Would love to hear your stories of this happening to your own kitties, specifically success ones of riding it out and it being fine. My anxiety is getting the best of me. Thank you.

 

[stephanietx]

Not sleeping on what?

 

[emiliemeow]

Not sleeping on what?

Sorry, posted too early. Edited.

 

[Twylasmom]

I already found this article but want personal anecdotes from people who have gone through this before.
I rushed my 17 year old girl to the emergency vet yesterday worried she had a urinary blockage or worse, kidney failure. It ended up just being a UTI which is still not great but is better than the alternative. She’s been in quite a bit of pain so, in addition to the standard antibiotics she’s on for a week, they gave her an injection of .2ml of this pain med. they said it would help the first 3 days.
Well, she hasn’t slept since last night. She’s been pacing the house all day, rubbing her head on everything in sight. I called the emergency vet and they said it’s fine and will wear off in another two days or so, but I’m nervous about her not sleeping given her age. This also was an emergency vet, not her regular vet that I trust fully.
Would love to hear your stories of this happening to your own kitties, specifically success ones of riding it out and it being fine. My anxiety is getting the best of me. Thank you.

Twyla got a long acting transdermal dose of bupe (Zorbium) after a dental extraction. She acted in a very similar fashion - restless, pacing, etc. She was mostly back to normal after 48 hours but it was a rough couple of days. She’s around 15 or 16 with multiple health issues and came through just fine!

 

[emiliemeow]

Twyla got a long acting transdermal dose of bupe (Zorbium) after a dental extraction. She acted in a very similar fashion - restless, pacing, etc. She was mostly back to normal after 48 hours but it was a rough couple of days. She’s around 15 or 16 with multiple health issues and came through just fine!

Thank you! This is such a relief to hear. Was she also eating a lot?

 

[Twylasmom]

Thank you! This is such a relief to hear. Was she also eating a lot?

‘More than you would expect for a cat that had a tooth pulled and a dental cleaning.

 

[emiliemeow]

‘More than you would expect for a cat that had a tooth pulled and a dental cleaning.

Thank you. My kitty has already had twice as much food as usual and is still asking for more!

 

[silent meowlook]

She should mellow out in a bit. It will help if you keep the lights low and sound to a minimum. Some cats get weird on buprenorphine. With the long acting injection it can be a real pain. The good news is that it doesn’t really last 3 days. More like 24 hours. The other thing is that it actually is no different than the regular buprenorphine, just a higher concentration that is given under the skin instead of in the muscle. Personally, I am not a fan.

 

[emiliemeow]

She should mellow out in a bit. It will help if you keep the lights low and sound to a minimum. Some cats get weird on buprenorphine. With the long acting injection it can be a real pain. The good news is that it doesn’t really last 3 days. More like 24 hours. The other thing is that it actually is no different than the regular buprenorphine, just a higher concentration that is given under the skin instead of in the muscle. Personally, I am not a fan.

We’re about 28 hours in at this point. She’s finally laying down a little bit, though not sleeping. I put on some calming music for cats and am sitting on the floor with her in the darkest room. I’m not much of a fan after this either.

 

[emiliemeow]

Update: 36 hours in and she’s not much better. She lays down for a few minutes then gets up and paces again. I hate this waiting game.

 

[FeebysOwner]

There is a version of buprenorphine called Bup SR which claims to last up to 48 hours. Maybe this is the version your cat received as opposed to Simbadol which, as said above, generally lasts 24 hours.

There is also a newer version called Zorbium, although it is actually a topical solution (applied like one does with topical flea treatments), that claims to last up to 4 days.

You could call the vet and find out which version your cat was given, just so you know.

Every cat reacts differently, so - regardless of which drug it is - it is possible that some of the med's effects might linger beyond the expected duration, but if it does it still should be at a gradually reduced intensity.

 

[emiliemeow]

There is a version of buprenorphine called Bup SR which claims to last up to 48 hours. Maybe this is the version your cat received as opposed to Simbadol which, as said above, generally lasts 24 hours.

There is also a newer version called Zorbium, although it is actually a topical solution (applied like one does with topical flea treatments), that claims to last up to 4 days.

You could call the vet and find out which version your cat was given, just so you know.

Every cat reacts differently, so - regardless of which drug it is - it is possible that some of the med's effects might linger beyond the expected duration, but if it does it still should be at a gradually reduced intensity.

I’ll ask the vet tomorrow when I call them. I’ve called them every day so far. Today I was crying. I explained it was because of my personal anxiety disorder and reiterated that they are being extremely helpful as they humored all my questions.
They told me 72 hours so I’m not sure which one will match with that.

we are now at the 50 hour mark. She has slept for maybe 3 hours total. She’s finally laying down and resting most of today though, even if not asleep. Her eyes are also, as of 30 minutes ago, looking more normal, which I’m so grateful to see. I’ve seen glimmers of her normal personality, like holding her tail up high while walking, which is making me deliriously happy.
She napped in my arms for 20 minutes earlier. Attaching a photo for the good wholesome feelings.
I plan on resting with her all evening. My hope is I’ll wake up tomorrow morning with a mostly normal, weirdo, kitty. And maybe even a poop in the litter box - that’d would be wonderful!

 

[emiliemeow]

She’s finally fast asleep next to me. It looks like a deep sleep based on her light twitching (normal for her). I keep checking on her breathing to make sure she’s okay. I had a moment where I thought the twitching was a bad reaction, like maybe a seizure, but then I remembered she does this when she’s dreaming. I just have to keep convincing myself that this is her normal sleeping LOL.

 

[emiliemeow]

I *think* we are likely past the worst of it now so I’m trying to relax more myself. While I remember to, I want to thank everyone who has comment here. It was helpful to know that there were other people, even if halfway across the world, aware of what was going on and that I could share updates with. I will continue to share updates, but I want to thank you for the support so far. Thank you.

 

[emiliemeow]

SHE POOPED!!!

 

[FeebysOwner]

This sounds like it is all headed in the right direction!! YAY!

 

[emiliemeow]

Yeah, I’d say at this point she’s 90% back to her normal self. What a relief! She slept right next to me most of last night - I’m sure she’s tired!

we still have another 3 or 4 days on the antibiotics but those don’t seem too bad for her.

 

[daftcat75]

Yeah, I’d say at this point she’s 90% back to her normal self. What a relief! She slept right next to me most of last night - I’m sure she’s tired!

we still have another 3 or 4 days on the antibiotics but those don’t seem too bad for her.

Her appetite might dip the further you get into the antibiotics. This is normal. Just keep giving them and complete the course, and know you're almost through this. If her appetite dips too much, you can either ask the vet for a prescription of ondansetron (anti-nausea) for the remaining few days and/or a few cans of Hills A/D which is what I call my Betty's "cake frosting." She never refuses it. She doesn't eat very much of it because it's quite rich. But I don't need her to. I save it for coating meds and getting her started on her med meals since she's on the outer edge of her meds effectiveness and I am coaxing her to eat a little food with her meds until they kick in. When she was on a course of antibiotics last summer, I mixed the A/D into her regular food and that upped the appeal and took care of the appetite dip she was having from the 'flox.

After you finish the antibiotics (or even now while she's taking them), I recommend starting her on s. boulardii twice a day for as long as she's willing to eat the stuff. The easiest would be that she likes the taste of the stuff and you can just mix it into her food (1/4 to 1/2 capsule twice a day.) Otherwise, I would recommend trying to mix them into a treat, into Hills A/D, or re-packing them into smaller cat-sized capsules. Antibiotics can do a lot of damage to a cat's gut microbiome killing off good strains and allowing harmful ones to flourish in their absence. S. boulardii will go a long way to cleaning up this imbalance. A lot of these harmful strains are harmful because they attack the gut wall. S. boulardii is structurally similar to the gut wall and acts like a decoy gut that attracts these harmful strains, binds them, and gets flushed with her poop. I call s. boulardii, especially this one with MOS, "scrubbing bubbles" for the bad strains that can take hold when the good ones are killed off.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013OVW0E/?tag=thecatsite

 

[emiliemeow]

Her appetite might dip the further you get into the antibiotics. This is normal. Just keep giving them and complete the course, and know you're almost through this. If her appetite dips too much, you can either ask the vet for a prescription of ondansetron (anti-nausea) for the remaining few days and/or a few cans of Hills A/D which is what I call my Betty's "cake frosting." She never refuses it. She doesn't eat very much of it because it's quite rich. But I don't need her to. I save it for coating meds and getting her started on her med meals since she's on the outer edge of her meds effectiveness and I am coaxing her to eat a little food with her meds until they kick in. When she was on a course of antibiotics last summer, I mixed the A/D into her regular food and that upped the appeal and took care of the appetite dip she was having from the 'flox.

After you finish the antibiotics (or even now while she's taking them), I recommend starting her on s. boulardii twice a day for as long as she's willing to eat the stuff. The easiest would be that she likes the taste of the stuff and you can just mix it into her food (1/4 to 1/2 capsule twice a day.) Otherwise, I would recommend trying to mix them into a treat, into Hills A/D, or re-packing them into smaller cat-sized capsules. Antibiotics can do a lot of damage to a cat's gut microbiome killing off good strains and allowing harmful ones to flourish in their absence. S. boulardii will go a long way to cleaning up this imbalance. A lot of these harmful strains are harmful because they attack the gut wall. S. boulardii is structurally similar to the gut wall and acts like a decoy gut that attracts these harmful strains, binds them, and gets flushed with her poop. I call s. boulardii, especially this one with MOS, "scrubbing bubbles" for the bad strains that can take hold when the good ones are killed off.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013OVW0E/?tag=thecatsite

Thank you so much for the warning and heads up! She’s still eating well so far so that’s good.
Her eyes do seem dilated again though, which is odd because they weren’t for a few hours yesterday.

 

[emiliemeow]

How long will the eye dilation last? I feel like she’s otherwise mostly back to normal, but her eyes are definitely still dilated. It’s been about 78 hours since the injection.