Dental

[Kesta]

Hi,
Kitty had a dental on Thurs, she's 10, and is still walking low on Saturday morning. Her backend seems weak. They put a long acting pain medication on her neck after surgery. I can't get a hold of her vet. The emergency vet said they have too many 'real' emergencies to tend to and to try calling back today. Thank you!

 

[di and bob]

It could still be an aftereffect of the anesthetic, but that is concerning that long afterward. You would be better off contacting the vet that did the surgery and telling them. It may have to do with the pain med too. Most vets have an answering service or an emergency number to call. Is she any better, or worse?

 

[Kesta]

It could still be an aftereffect of the anesthetic, but that is concerning that long afterward. You would be better off contacting the vet that did the surgery and telling them. It may have to do with the pain med too. Most vets have an answering service or an emergency number to call. Is she any better, or worse?

Thank you for answering so quickly! It is concerning. The only emergency vet in my area is the one I contacted. Kitty does seem to be walking a bit better, but still low and wobbly. I sent an email to a cat vet that I used to work for. Hopefully she'll get the email. I'll keep a close eye on her. I don't know what else to do.

 

[FeebysOwner]

The pain med gel was probably Zorbium - a transdermal form of buprenorphine. It is relatively new, at least to the US. One member on this site said it caused their cat to be stoned out of their mind for over 2 days. Zorbium claims to last as long as 4 days. Another member said their cat was still not back to normal after Day 4 but was steadily improving.

The drug maker is Elanco. I suppose you could contact them and see what they say.
FDA approves long-acting transdermal buprenorphine for cats (dvm360.com)
Single‐dose pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of a novel extended duration transdermal buprenorphine solution in cats - Freise - 2022 - Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics - Wiley Online Library

 

[Kesta]

Thank you!! That would make sense. She certainly seems high as a kite. I truly appreciate the information.

 

[di and bob]

Is she eating and drinking? With pain meds they sometimes cause costipation so watch for that. As long as she is a tiny bit better, i would bet she continues. Poor little girl!

 

[Kesta]

She's eating and drinking little bits at a time. I think she may be constipated. Poor sweet girl. Thank you for your kind words.

 

[di and bob]

You could ask if you could give her 1/4 teaspoonful of Miralax in a lickable treat or a beaten egg yolk, thats what helped my cats. As long as she is eating and drinking a little that is good!

 

[Kesta]

Thank you!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Since she isn't eating a lot, and pain meds slow the digestive system down, sometimes to the point of constipation, if you choose not to wait to see if she poops on her own, I would only give your cat 1/8 tsp of Miralax. Then wait for 24 hours before considering another dose. Miralax works best when mixed with a little bit of water before adding to a treat or food. Just my opinion...

 

[Kesta]

I appreciate your input. I think I will give that a try tomorrow if she hasn't pooped. Thank you!

 

[stephanietx]

Is she doing any better? Poor thing and how scary for you. Be sure to let your vet know about her reaction so they don't give it to her again.

 

[Kesta]

Thank you, and everyone, for your guidance and support. I so badly needed it.
She is doing better. She ate and drank and tried to jump in my lap. He back legs are still wobbly. She is sleeping on the couch now. I actually turned on the gas fireplace today (it was cool and rainy) and she came out of hiding and slept in front of it.
She's a sweetie and thank you all again!

 

[Kesta]

Update, Kitty still can't use her back legs normally. I called the vet, again, and left a msg. They open at 8.
She's walking low in the backend. It's like she's having an issue opening he legs fully.
In a way, I'm hoping she's still high and that's why she's walking funny. She's eating and drinking pretty normally and is up for love.
I'll post what the vet says.

 

[di and bob]

I'll pray for her, hope it is just taking the pain meds a long time to leave her system!

 

[Kesta]

Thank you! I sure hope that's it. She has a 4pm appointment at the vet's today.

 

[Kesta]

Great news! We're just back from the vet and Kitty is suffering the after effects of the buprenorphine transdermal pain medication (opoid). It was put in her chart that she cannot have that medication. All neurological and blood tests are normal.
Thank you all for your prayers and healing thoughts, and your insight. You all got me through a difficult weekend.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thanks for the wonderful update. I hope Kitty is improving day by day!

 

[Kesta]

Thank you! We're all so happy and relived. Our babies really are a huge part of our families.

 

[daftcat75]

It's always a tough call with cats and buprenorphine. On the one paw, your cat reacted poorly. On the other, it's hard to know which cats will react poorly to which forms of buprenorphine without trying them. For what it's worth, she probably wasn't feeling any dental pain the last few days. You didn't have to try to fuss meds into a sore mouth.

My last Krista was stoned and restless for three days. A rather typical reaction to the injectable form. She never tried the transdermal form that yours tried. She did respond well to both oral bupe and short-acting transdermal ear cream. She had tooth resorption with bouts of needing daily bupe to keep her eating between dental appointments.

Now you might think, "okay, no bupe at all," after this episode.

This was a very angry and in pain Krista who was much too angry to be removed from her cage to return to me. I had told them don't give her the injectable bupe because she reacted poorly to it and because I assumed I would be taking her home that night and be able to pick up her meds schedule at home. For a reason that's forgot to history, she had to stay the night and they weren't keeping up with the short-acting bupe medicine and they wouldn't give her an injectable because I had told them not to. I had to throw a towel over this angry beast and drag her into a box, growling and snarling until the car got moving towards home. Thankfully she finally remembered me and herself and calmed down. She got a dab of bupe cream in the ear when she got home.
View media item 422562
So yeah, it sucks watching them go through the bupe reaction. But sometimes it's still better than the alternative. Imagine if I didn't have the ear cream and had to try to squirt the oral bupe into her when she was acting like that!

I wouldn't swear off all buprenorphine for your cat (unless your vet says otherwise.) But certainly I would prefer shorter acting versions over longer acting ones, just in case. Then again, if your vet thinks she would react just as poorly with the other preparations, then I defer to the professional here.