I’m A Mess!!

[Azazel]

So she just ate a little bit of Rad Cat.

She’s now sitting and looking out the window and seems fine. I’m going to give it an hour or so to call the vet because I want to see if she will eat again in an hour first.

The only problem is that I already wasted 2 of her antibiotic tablets this morning cause I kept crushing them and mixing them with food that she refused to eat. I finally got her to eat a tablet by sprinkling a tiny bit of fortiflora on it which I know isn’t ideal since it’s a probiotic but it was a tiny amount and the only way she would eat the antibiotic. Maybe I should just ask for the liquid version. I figure that fortiflora is mostly animal digest anyway...

 

[verna davies]

You could ask about slow release injectable antibiotics, its far easier, I'm not sure of all vets use it though.

One of the side effects of Buprenex is an upset tummy so maybe thats why she doesn't want to eat. As @Furballsmom said, try sardines, tuna or some food that she particularly likes but is a treat. Keep us posted.

 

[Azazel]

Ok just talked to the vet tech. She said that sometimes the Buprenex can make them spacey so that they don’t want to eat but it also could be that her mouth hurts. She said to just monitor her at this point and to not give the next dose of Buprenex unless she seems like she needs it. And at that point I could also just give half a dose too.

They’ll also give me another 2 tablets of the antibiotics to replace the ones I wasted. She said that another way to give it is to just crush the pill and mix it with a tiny bit of water and syringe feed it.

So I guess it’s just watch and wait for now. She’s actually sleeping now though so I guess that’s good. She’s not spaced out anymore.

 

[verna davies]

Thanks for the update. Hopefully tomorrow she will start to want to eat more, her mouth must be sore but will get better day by day. Its so hard watching them when they are unwell.

 

[Azazel]

Thank you!

I'm actually starting to speculate now that the smell of the powdered pill in her food turned her off because that's when she stopped eating. Since then I have offered her more food without the pill inside and she is a bit hesitant at first but then she gulps it up.

 

[verna davies]

Good news, it sounds as if she is on the mend.

 

[Azazel]

Well, I was too quick to assume she was sleeping, she's actually just sitting, but she looks a little relaxed. I put out the heat pad for her and she's just sitting on it and staring into space.

I'm hoping that this is just a normal part of recovery. I guess it hasn't even been 24 hours yet since the surgery.

 

[Azazel]

You can see her pupils are also dilated. I’m guessing from the Buprenex.

 

[verna davies]

Pretty cat. She does look a little spaced out but some cats recover from anesthetic than others. She doesnt look uncomfortable.

 

[CatLover49]

Thanks everyone. I just talked to the vet tech and they did some xrays. Her canine which is chipped and we thought would have to come out is actually fine. Doctor says we can leave it and just keep a close eye on it. She doesn’t like removing canines because they are structural.

But, one of her upper molars need to be removed. I gave them permission to do it.

What should I expect when she’s home? Anything I should ask the vet? How to take care of her and make sure she’s comfortable??? How long will it take her to feel better? Will she eat when she’s home??

Glad kitty is ok..now ure mind can b a little more at ease..I have a sweet boy named Snowball..n I worry when he has to have any procedure done...So I know how u feel..We all here love our babies

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

She is so pretty!

Sometimes vets use a combo of meds during anesthesia: before, during and after surgeries. Some meds have different "wearing off effects" than others. It's a slow progression of all the meds getting processed out of the system in their own ways. Then you added some buprenorphine on top of that, for pain relief, but maybe (?hard to say) a little too much for her metabolism, etc.? I'm glad you called the vet/ vet tech and they gave instructions for what choices you can consider when the bupe is ready to be given again.

I am not a vet... but I've had experience with buprenorphine and cats (instances with my last cat: pancreatitis, and instances with my current cat: post- knee surgeries), and you kind of learn when a cat is getting a bit too much of a dose for their personal make-up, so to speak. I almost always give less of a dose than my vet(s) have provided, as I don't like my cat being zoned out or spacey or, on the other end, frantically hyper and scared (that can happen, too -- depends on the cat's chemistry/health/etc).

If it were me, my choice would be to skip the next dose, find out what the "new normal" state of my cat was at the moment post-surgery, and if she's acting like she's in pain or not eating, etc. Then I'd make my decision to wait a bit till I had observed her more, and at some point set up a new timing schedule with a much lesser dose of the bupe. But again, I've had experience mostly with giving subQ injections of buprenex. (all my 2 cents' worth)

 

[Azazel]

She is so pretty!

Sometimes vets use a combo of meds during anesthesia: before, during and after surgeries. Some meds have different "wearing off effects" than others. It's a slow progression of all the meds getting processed out of the system in their own ways. Then you added some buprenorphine on top of that, for pain relief, but maybe (?hard to say) a little too much for her metabolism, etc.? I'm glad you called the vet/ vet tech and they gave instructions for what choices you can consider when the bupe is ready to be given again.

I am not a vet... but I've had experience with buprenorphine and cats (instances with my last cat: pancreatitis, and instances with my current cat: post- knee surgeries), and you kind of learn when a cat is getting a bit too much of a dose for their personal make-up, so to speak. I almost always give less of a dose than my vet(s) have provided, as I don't like my cat being zoned out or spacey or, on the other end, frantically hyper and scared (that can happen, too -- depends on the cat's chemistry/health/etc).

If it were me, my choice would be to skip the next dose, find out what the "new normal" state of my cat was at the moment post-surgery, and if she's acting like she's in pain or not eating, etc. Then I'd make my decision to wait a bit till I had observed her more, and at some point set up a new timing schedule with a much lesser dose of the bupe. But again, I've had experience mostly with giving subQ injections of buprenex. (all my 2 cents' worth)

Thank you, that is great advice!! I'm going to do exactly what you said and just wait and see with the next dose.

 

[CatLover49]

You can see her pupils are also dilated. I’m guessing from the Buprenex.

View attachment 288022

Pretty kitty

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

She is very relaxed in your photo in post #28... to me, she is feeling comfortable and not in pain.

 

[Azazel]

I guess you guys are right that she’s relaxed.... I think the heat pad helps lol

 

[CatLover49]

I guess you guys are right that she’s relaxed.... I think the heat pad helps lol

View attachment 288027

Awww...maybe u could put like a folded towel under her head n the top area of her body..her upper body is like going down hill

 

[Azazel]

She just ate a full meal!!!

Maybe her mama is just too quick to freak out.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Ok just talked to the vet tech. She said that sometimes the Buprenex can make them spacey so that they don’t want to eat but it also could be that her mouth hurts. She said to just monitor her at this point and to not give the next dose of Buprenex unless she seems like she needs it. And at that point I could also just give half a dose too. ...

Regarding the above ^
If you didn't get a good explanation yet from the vet tech as to what is meant when they say, Give the pain med "as needed", you can call back and have the tech or even the vet explain it to you a bit more. Find out what's the minimum time-period between doses that is recommended (instructions like 'give pain med only every 8-12 hours or more, as needed, no more than such-'n-such every 24 hours', et cetera).

As I was weaning Milly off of bupe after her knee surgeries, I would increasingly space out her doses longer and longer time periods until I decided to not give it anymore, as she was fine and active/ happy/ eating. It only takes about 3 days till they start to become dependent on that pain relief so you do want to taper off of it when it's not needed anymore.

 

[verna davies]

She just ate a full meal!!!

Maybe her mama is just too quick to freak out.

Yay. Great news.

 

[Azazel]

Thanks for the tip PushPurrCatPaws , I will definitely ask when I go pick up the extra tablets.

Question: did anyone else’s vet tell them to rinse their cat’s teeth twice a day with water to keep the gums clean? I can’t for the life of me get my cat to stay still to spray water on her gums. Is this really necessary? I think the point is to keep the gums clean to avoid infection as they are healing, but I don’t want to annoy my cat non stop if this isn’t necessary.