Getting surgery tomorrow...

[Jem]

So Bynx is going in tomorrow morning for his canine extraction and sinus flush. We're dropping him off for 9:00am. I know this is not a complicated medical issue or life threatening situation, but I'm so nervous. I don't know if I'm so worried because of everything that happened last year with our other cats or if my gut is really telling me something...
We were asked to bring in some of his own food for the recovery period, so I have some kibble, his favorite flavor of wet food and a variety of treats ready at the door. I will also bring in his blanket that he cuddles with. It's also the blanket that stays on our couch so it also smells like us. When recovering he'll probably be "out of it" for a while but is there anything else that I should bring for while he recovers for the day? We will be picking him up at 4:30pm when we have our appointment for Chester to get his shots. His favorite toys are wand toys so I don't think that would be very practical.

Please think of him....thanks.

 

[neely]

Carleton had his canine extracted earlier this year along with another tooth. My guess is that Bynx will sleep most of the time. I felt better once he was at home and I could cuddle with him so the same will probably be true for you. It sounds like you have all the bases covered. Best wishes for a smooth and quick recovery. Please keep us updated tomorrow.

 

[Jem]

Carleton had his canine extracted earlier this year along with another tooth

How many days was he on pain meds? I do trust my vet, but just want something to compare.

 

[neely]

How many days was he on pain meds? I do trust my vet, but just want something to compare.

Honestly I can't remember because I was more worried about the anesthesia since he's a brachycephalic breed.

 

[FeralHearts]

Jem will be thinking of you and Bynx tomorrow and sending out some positive vibes!

 

[Azazel]

It’s totally normal to be anxious about this. I was a mess when my girl went in for extractions this past summer. I even made a thread called “I’m a mess!” that might help you get an idea of what to expect. Mine didn’t have her canines out but she ended up having 2 molars removed. The recovery period was a lot faster than I anticipated. They will seem really loopy and out of it for the first couple days because of the pain meds but that’s a normal part of the process. Mine only ended up needing the pain meds for the first couple days but antibiotics have to be finished.

Keep us updated! Don’t worry, cats do remarkably well after teeth extractions. They are troopers.

 

[Tobermory]

Mocha had all of her teeth except for her canines and two molars pulled a week ago Tuesday. As A Azazel knows, I was also a mess. She was pitiful when I got her home...and she was completely terrified of us and kept trying to run away. But she was still out of it so she kept falling over. It was heart wrenching. But she was feral when I adopted her two years ago and is still a bit jumpy sometimes, so you probably won’t see the super scared kitty we saw. (It was two days before she started to purr and let us pet her again. She finally jumped into my lap on day three.)

You will see a loopy kitty, though. Mocha was still unsteady on her feet the next morning. She was pretty steady about 36 hours after her surgery.

I offered her tiny amounts of very watery wet food every 45 minutes or so the first evening until we went to bed around 10:30. The anesthesia can make them nauseous so I didn’t want to give her too much and have her vomit. She ate a full meal of wet food the next morning. I read that you shouldn’t give kibble or anything hard for several days because it will be painful at the site of the extraction. I never feed kibble anyway, but I do give the girls dehydrated pork liver treats that are hard with sharp edges. I still haven’t given Mocha any of those and probably won’t for another week or two to be on the safe side.

She didn’t pee until 24 hours after her surgery, and she didn’t poop until the second day.

I gave her pain meds for two days.

Hope this helps and that it’s smooth sailing for Bynx!

Here’s Mocha early the next morning after her surgery. So pitiful. You just feel so bad that you can’t explain why you had to put them through such an ordeal.

 

[verna davies]

Will be thinking of you and Bynx tomorrow. He will most probably be very quiet for several hours and it sounds like the blanket will be a comfort to him. Lets us know how you are both doing.

 

[MissClouseau]

Good luck to Bynx! You both got this

Personally I would get some probiotics from the vet and discuss. I'm not sure if anesthesia has much effect in bowel movements but there might be a change with the food change or chewing amount change. Maybe Fortiflora in case he has trouble with his appetite after the operation.

 

[di and bob]

My cat had two teeth extracted and tehre was absolutely no change at all in his eating/behavioral habits. He ate kibble as soon as he was home. My vet gives a long lasting pain med and no others were given. He came through fine. I will pray for your little boy to do fine and be much better quickly!

 

[Tobermory]

I would get some probiotics from the vet

Bynx will probably be on antibiotics and that will kill not only the bad bacteria from any possible infection (yay!) but also the good live bacteria in the probiotics! The exception would be s. Boulardii which is a yeast not a bacterium and can help diarrhea.

 

[daftcat75]

Sacchromyces boulardii will help against antibiotic induced diarrhea. You may even have a cat like mine who likes the s boulardii more than she dislikes the antibiotic. Because the yeast is not affected, I mix the two to get her to take the antibiotic.

You have a choice to make on his pain medicine. A lot of vets prefer to give a long lasting buprenorphine SR (sustained release) injection. The pros is that it is effective and long lasting. You won’t have to give pain meds for three days. You may not even need to give any after that but that’s for your vet to say. The drawback of this medicine is that it can make cats restless, as in they don’t sleep well or at all and they may have other alarming behavioral changes. This will pass. Sometimes this trade-off is easier than chasing your cat around every eight hours to give the liquid medicine that shouldn’t be swallowed. It needs to be absorbed in the mucous membranes in the mouth (aim for the cheek pocket between the cheek and his gums) and it’s not very effective if it is swallowed instead. If his pain relief is inadequate, he could have just as alarming behavioral changes as the sustained release. I’ve tried it both ways with Krista. I’d rather have the three days of insomniac Krista than even an hour of “feral from pain” Krista.

Whichever way you go, give the pain meds as prescribed on schedule whether he seems to need it or not. It’s easier to stay ahead of the pain than to catch up to it.

All that said, he’ll likely bounce back very quickly. A few days, if that. He may be more relaxed and more affectionate depending on how long (and how much) he’s been in pain from the tooth.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

good luck, Bynx!

My main recommendation would be to find out (or decide upon with the vet) exactly what anesthesia will be used, and then to find out (or decide upon with the vet) what pain meds are to be used. Then be sure you are informed by the vet nurse and/or the vet what the possible negative side effects might be. You need to be clear and informed about that, so you know what to watch for later that could be especially concerning. Personally, I keep far away from uses of fentynal patches on my cat (though I doubt a vet would use that for dental work?!). My cat was put on that after one of her knee surgeries and she really had bad reactions to it. That stuff is super powerful.

Sometimes it is good to confine the cat to a playpen or even to one quiet room for the first 12-24 hours post-surgery, just so that they don't get wildly scared or freaked out while experiencing the lingering effects of anesthesia or the continued use of pain meds.

 

[lisahe]

I hope everything goes smoothly! One of our cats had a tooth pulled earlier this month and everything was a lot like Tobermory describes... Ireland didn't eat much but watered down food for almost a day. I suspect Bynx won't need that food!

I like PushPurrCatPaws 's suggestion about asking what pain meds will be used. Ireland had multiple pain treatments, including laser therapy, acupuncture, Simbadol (injected buprenorphine), plus a Fentanyl patch. I was actually glad she had the patch so we didn't have to give her any medication; I'd rather remove a patch a week later than have to give pills or liquid regularly for a few days. Ireland was restless for a few days but didn't have any serious side effects. I don't think it would have worked to put her in a quiet room for very long!

Since you mentioned Chester... to prevent our other cat from hissing at Ireland, the vet suggested first shutting Ireland in a quiet place right after bringing her home, then rubbing our other cat with a towel, then rubbing Ireland with the same towel. That way the other cat smelled herself on Ireland. It worked. Or maybe Edwina's just a really nice cat! (She is but...) I think the hardest thing was that Edwina seemed a little unnerved by Ireland's restlessness. Things were back to relative normal after a few days.

All of which is to say, Jem , that I hope everything goes well, both at the vet's and at home. (And I totally understand your nervousness!)

 

[Tobermory]

Since you mentioned Chester... to prevent our other cat from hissing at Ireland, the vet suggested first shutting Ireland in a quiet place right after bringing her home, then rubbing our other cat with a towel, then rubbing Ireland with the same towel. That way the other cat smelled herself on Ireland. It worked.

Oh, gosh. How could I have forgotten! Yes, both Iris and Lily responded to Mocha with lots of hissing and growling with ears flattened. And oddly, Iris was worse than Lily even though she’s always been more tolerant of Mocha. I took lisahe ’s advice (thank you, thank you!) with the towel trick. I also combed a lot of hair out of Iris (she’s long haired) and then immediately combed the hair all over Mocha. Still, it took about three days before Iris settled down.

 

[Jem]

Well we just got home from dropping him off. I gave them his blanket and a variety of foods and treats. And to sweeten the deal and keep their energy up, I also brought the staff a container of some home made cookies...
We should be getting a call this afternoon. I was told that if by 1ish, they have not called, to give them a shout (they could just be busy).

Best wishes for a smooth and quick recovery.

will be thinking of you and Bynx tomorrow and sending out some positive vibes!

Will be thinking of you and Bynx tomorrow.

Thank you

Keep us updated! Don’t worry, cats do remarkably well after teeth extractions. They are troopers.

Thanks for link, I'll check it out.

Hope this helps and that it’s smooth sailing for Bynx!

Thanks for sharing, it does help. And super cute photo!

Good luck to Bynx! You both got this

Thank you , and I actually have some fortiflora already

I will pray for your little boy to do fine and be much better quickly!

Thank you. Glad you boy recovered so well, I hope the same for Bynx.

daftcat75 , Thanks for the info.

good luck, Bynx!

Thank you!

Since you mentioned Chester... to prevent our other cat from hissing at Ireland, the vet suggested first shutting Ireland in a quiet place right after bringing her home, then rubbing our other cat with a towel, then rubbing Ireland with the same towel. That way the other cat smelled herself on Ireland. It worked. Or maybe Edwina's just a really nice cat! (She is but...) I think the hardest thing was that Edwina seemed a little unnerved by Ireland's restlessness. Things were back to relative normal after a few days.

All of which is to say, Jem Jem , that I hope everything goes well, both at the vet's and at home. (And I totally understand your nervousness!)

Thankfully, our kitties have no issues with non-recognition. (We've had several vet visits over the last year) Even when we brought Chester home for the first time, Bynx could NOT WAIT to play with his new friend. Even Chester was like "what's up dude!" And they just started to chill with each other. Our cats truly are perfect. We will of course take precautions though, just in case. I also don't think Lily will cause any issues either, she'll just keep to herself if things "seem amiss" with her.
And thank you for your well wishes.

 

[verna davies]

The cookies will seal the deal. Bynx will be thoroughly spoilt.

 

[Jem]

The cookies will seal the deal. Bynx will be thoroughly spoilt.

That was the plan! Nothing wrong with a little bribery.

 

[Azazel]

Very smart with the cookies! I'm going to have to steal that idea from you.

 

[lisahe]

Cookies! Now I'm really certain everything will be fine! I'm glad to hear your cats do well with the recognition thing, Jem ! I was nervous about ours because when Edwina had to go to the vet by herself Ireland hissed at her relentlessly. (Edwina is more even-tempered but even so!)

Fingers crossed that everything is routine.