No pain meds after dental surgery

BooTheCat

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Hi fellow cat lovers,

I am in need of some wisdom! My poor 6 year old fluffy cat named Boo had very extensive dental surgery today. She had most of her molars and canines removed because they were in such bad condition (the vet believes it's genetics and her own saliva that attacked her teeth).

My question: Is it normal that she was released WITHOUT any pain medication for at home?

So far she has just been sleeping. She ate a tiny amount of tuna with water before laying down to rest, but hasn't been drinking or eating since.

What should I expect in the next couple of days? Should I call the vet in the morning to ask about pain treatment? It seems insane to me that no pain relief is provided to her for the next few days after most of her teeth were extracted.

Some additional info: she was given a pain/anti-inflammatory injection and a convenia injection as a two week antibiotic treatment. Her blood work had elevated LYM, MON and EOS (I assume it's due to the bad condition her teeth were in). She was a happy cat otherwise before surgery.

Thanks in advance for all of your insights!
 

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Tobermory

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Welcome to the site, BooTheCat BooTheCat and Boo! Poor Boo. I know what she’s going through. Mocha had all but six of her teeth pulled back in 2019 and she was miserable for a couple of days. But the vet sent me home with both buprenorphine and gabapentin for her pain so I’m very surprised you didn’t get anything for Boo. They’re in quite a bit of pain over the next day or so. I’d definitely call the vet and ask about it.

When you get a chance, please tell us more about Boo and you here: New Cats on the Block And pictures! Lots of Boo pictures!

I hope Boo does okay and recovers quickly. :vibes: Mocha says “hi” and shows off four of her six teeth. :)

9F2AD0DD-55E1-439C-A0C2-555DB71B1930.jpeg
 

neely

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First, a warm welcome to TCS albeit under these circumstances. When we adopted Carleton his teeth were in deplorable condition. Two surgeries later almost all of them have been extracted. However, as Tobermory Tobermory mentioned he was sent home with Buprenex for pain. I would highly recommend contacting your vet first thing this morning. Sending healing vibes to Boo. :vibes::vibes: He is positively precious. :lovecat2: Thank you for sharing his lovely pic. Please keep us posted on his progress.
 
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BooTheCat

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Day 2 update!

Thanks so much for your feedback 😻

I was up till 4am to watch over Boo. Her behavior improved so much already last night. She walked around, chased a spider, ate some of her soaked kibbles with water, cleaned herself afterwards and used the litter box to pee. Of course with many naps in between. She gave us lots headrubs and turned on the purring engine again. Thank goodness. She's a very affectionate cat.

This morning she's been eating in small intervals. I can give her gentle chin scratches and she enjoys it. No obvious soreness. She does seem to handle the teeth extractions better than we thought.

Of course cats are masters of disguise when it comes to pain, but she has not given me many signs of discomfort yet. No excessive licking, no drooling, no blood, no bad breath, no lethargy or starring, and normal amount of naps paired with activity.

Either this surgery is giving her as much pain as she was already used to with how bad her teeth were or she is actually feeling better already (I've been through some horrible dental surgeries myself and have experienced both relief and more pain the following day).

I've started a cat diary were I keep track of food intake, bowl movement and her behavior. 🤓📚 If things do not improve further or get worse, I will contact the vet.

PS: I wonder if people in Wyoming are just less prone to giving pain medication or if she had received so much medication already yesterday, that the vet didn't want to add another medication to stress her system. 🤔
 

furmonster mom

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You mentioned that she was given an injection for pain during surgery, do you know what it was? Some injectables stay in the system for a few days (or weeks, even).
Still, it’s a bit odd that they didn’t send you home with something.
 
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BooTheCat

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furmonster mom furmonster mom

Unfortunately the receipt doesn't share that information and when we were released no vet talked to us post surgery... so we just had to assume everything was fine. I did ask for a copy of her blood work but that's it. I find it odd, too! I appreciate all of your feedback very much.

Boo is still doing fine. Napping and eating like a pro.
 

Binxie

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Surprised you were not given any pain meds, anytime I have had a cat with extractions I was given pain medication for them. It may be correct that her mouth feels better without the teeth than with them if they were in really bad shape.
 

G-Factor

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In my experience with multiple cats having extensive and minor dental surgeries have been mixed. I've had situations where the cat had several teeth removed and was eating the next day. In another situation having extensive work done, the cat didn't eat or sleep for 4-5 days.

I would say typically the vet should administer some pain meds at the office and send you home with some oral meds, but that may depend on how extensive the surgery was.

If Boo is doing well, as in eating and acting reasonably normal, then I wouldn't be too concerned. Just keep an eye on the situation. If those teeth were causing pain, then Boo is probably feeling much better.

Once Boo settles in, cats can eat fine without teeth. My cat Ian (without any back teeth) still chomps on kibble like he has them, but doesn't slow him down. My other cat Oreo who had extensive work done, was eating fine about a week after. I could tell he was happier without the inflammation and pain of the bad teeth, as he started to eat better and put on some weight.

Thanks for including the toothless sun cat pic. She is adorable!
 
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BooTheCat

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Thank you Binxie Binxie and G-Factor G-Factor for also sharing your experiences with me and Boo! It's helped me learn a lot about post-surgery cat care and certainly calmed me down. I'm lucky Boo seems to be the kind of cat who recovers well.

Day 3 update: we've officially pushed through without any additional pain meds and Boo has been a champ. She's energetic and overly affectionate which I happily return, and seems a bit mad for not being let out into our little fenced in backyard. She also seems to dislike the fact that I drown her tuna in water with some extra kibbles, but at least she is staying hydrated 😉

Any recommendations when I can let her out again? She likes to chase and eat grasshoppers, moths and sometimes gras 🦗🌱🌾

Thanks again!
 

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