Omg I Accidentally Gave My Cat Too Much Pain Medicine!!!

[inkysmom]

My beloved cat Skye who I call Lovey since that's what my mom called him when she was still alive because he's such a Velcro cat, had laser surgery from a dermatologist yesterday to remove benign cysts on his ears. They were blue and had been gradually growing for years until they started irritating him, especially on one ear. He had started isolating and eating less and getting grumpy and attacking my other cat and dog for little things. Usually he's very loving and likes to play with his buddy and is affectionate with the dog so it was a complete behavior change. I had taken him to the regular vet and had a bunch of bloodwork done and he's in good health otherwise. He also was constantly scratching his ears and shaking his head.
As soon as the vet put him on painkillers and ear drops twice a day he was back to his old self.
So he had the minimally invasive surgery to remove as many of the cysts as possible yesterday and I picked him up with pain meds, cream and drops for his ears and the cone of shame. He was awake and not happy with the cone. Made a huge mess of the food and water, so I put the food on a flat bag and found a wide shallow bowl for the water. He ate, drank, used the kitty litter. Later started hiding under the bed about eleven or twelve hours after the last pain med (buprenex) so I figured he was in pain and gave him the dose. The vet tech who discharged him gave me syringes and marked where the dose was and I didn't double check the dose on the bottle since it was a long stressful day. I'd been worried about him all day and my dog had gotten into an uncharacteristic fight with one of his favorite friends at the park earlier and has a thyroid problem so I was distracted by him too. And my other cat has allergies and is scratching himself raw desodesthe treatments and I don't want him on steroids all the time which are the only thing that seems to help.
This morning Skye seemed still sleepy and didn't want breakfast but I was in a rush to go so gave him his meds. Then looked at the dose and realized that the vet tech had marked off 1 ml. He's supposed to get .3 ml!!! So I'd given him triple his dose of buprenex which is an opioid twice in just under twelve hours!!!
I called the vet immediately who said not to give him any night dose and resume his morning dose in twelve hours and make sure he's rousable but that he'd be lethargic.
And cancelled all my appointments and plans and spent the whole day literally hugging and apologizing to him for poisoning him. He's been purring on my chest all day but I feel completely awful.
Always triple check every dose of medicine you give your pets, and yourself of course. Don't even trust staff who can make mistakes too.

 

[Margret]

Oh my! You must have been frantic with worry!

You did exactly the right thing, calling the vet immediately. I'm sure his advice is correct; if this were going to kill Lovey it would have done so already, and although it sounds like it's making him feel extremely good right now it's unlikely that Lovey could have gotten addicted this quickly, so he'll be okay. Right now I'm more concerned about you. Let Lovey soothe you with his purrs, and stop beating yourself up over an honest mistake (someone else's mistake, at that) that's going to turn out okay.

And thank you for posting the warning.

Margret

 

[1 bruce 1]

Oh my, when it rains it pours!!!!! I'm glad you caught this and called your vet immediately, a very good warning for everyone!!!

I hope Lovey is feeling better very soon, and you, too.

 

[neely]

I completely agree with Margret , you did exactly the right thing by calling your vet ASAP. I hope by the time he gets his next recommended dose tomorrow morning all is well with Skye and you.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I completely agree with Margret , you did exactly the right thing by calling your vet ASAP. I hope by the time he gets his next recommended dose tomorrow morning all is well with Skye and you.

If it makes you (the OP) feel any better, we had a dog get a significant injury requiring immediate veterinary attention, and another dog managed to snarf all of his rimadyl (beef flavored, not kidney friendly!) without our knowledge as we tended to the sick one.
Back to the vet...
Both dogs were fine!

 

[inkysmom]

Thanks for all the helpful posts! I cancelled a job interview, and my job is only part time so I really need a full time job, but I was ready to rush him right back over for an opioid overdose.
I can't believe the vet tech wasn't more clear and that I didn't double check on two doses. I saw how lethargic he still was this morning but was rushing to give him his meds and my dog his thyroid pill and thinking about my other cat's allergies and get ready for the job interview.
I work as a social worker so was afraid that dose was enough to kill him as an opioid overdose. I can't even say how attached I am to this cat. He's thirteen and a half and I've had him since he was a feisty five month old kitten in the shelter and he and his brother had chewed off each other's whiskers. He looks like a Maine coon and literally wraps himself around my neck, ribs and face and climbs up my ribs to hug me the minute I get home. He can't get close enough and is jealous if I pet another pet and will squeeze in between me and them and even climb on and sit right on my dogs head to be closer to me.
I've lost five cats and my last dog in the past few years, mainly to age and cancer and the two cats I have left and my new dog mean the world to me. To lose him to a stupid preventable mistake would be beyond imaginable.
He's been loopy and happy all day. Purring and cuddling. Didn't eat or drink much until recently, just had a little. I took the cone off and cleaned and brushed him a bit and let him groom himself and eat and drink freely. Until he started to scratch the ears where the surgery was! Nope!!! Cone went right back on!!! At least I got to clean it.

Bruce if my dog had eaten a whole bunch of rimadyl I would have been pretty stressed. My last dog couldn't be on it at the end of his life because he had elevated liver enzymes (no illness or liver problems and always very healthy), but vets wouldn't risk it because apparently rimadyl can harm the liver. I didn't know about kidneys too. Glad your dog was ok!
I still feel like a complete idiot and awful cat mom. I want him to eat more. I gave him his choice of two different cans and they've always got dry food out. Poor little guy.

 

[Monk'sMom]

Life happens. Sometimes we are not operating on a full deck, and you are forgiven.
Thank you for posting this and here's to a full recuperation for Lovey and you, both.

 

[Chrissy66]

I am glad he was alright and that was the best thing to do is to call the vet asap. I think it upsets us more than it does them.

 

[inkysmom]

Now he hasn't been eating or drinking much and been shaking his head and trying to scratch through the cone, along with moving slowly and a bit off balance. I'm worried about infection. Of course they can't see him as a follow-up but say to bring him in through the ER which costs a lot more.
Always something.

 

[Chrissy66]

Inkysmom, that sounds odd with you being concerned about Inky and they will not see him as a followup. Your vet should see him especially since he hasn't been eating or drinking that much. Taking him to the ER vet I could see if it were after hours but not during regular business hours.

 

[inkysmom]

They waited til late afternoon to call me back and the surgeon wasn't in at all yesterday. I went out and bought all his favorite human baby foods, turkey and beef broth in gravy and human tuna fish. When I got back most of one can and a lot of dry food was gone, which could have been my other cat, but if he'd eaten that much alone he usually gets sick.
I spoon-fed Lovey half a jar of beef baby food, then took off his cone and gave him some new treats, more dry food, some human tuna fish and another can. He ate a few bites of everything then went to the water bowl to show me it wasn't clean enough and completely unacceptable. So I cleaned the bowl and changed it with fresh clean icy cold water which he drank for a long time. Then brushed him and cleaned his whole face and ear area from all the blood and food and gross areas, washed the cone, gave him his meds and the antibiotic ear drops which he promptly shook all over me, and out the cone back on. I let him be free for a while to eat, drink and wash his face and butt. But he started scratching his ear and there was immediately a little bit of fresh bright red blood, not good!!! So he has to wear the cone.
He seems to feel better he's more active and shaking his head and patrolling around the house. I'm going to keep feeding him and giving the antibiotic ear drops and call for a follow up appointment with the surgeon Monday or Tuesday if he still looks ok. He basically has an all you can eat buffet!
The antibiotic ear drops are only a few weeks old and healed a nasty ear infection he had in both ears just a month or so ago right before the surgery.
It's so cute, Ruby, my other cat, is so worried about him. When I'm home, he sleeps with me and tries to steal all the awesome tuna and baby food. But every tomorrow I come home from being out of the house, especially when Lovey wasn't feeling well or was zonked from too much pain meds, Ruby was cuddling right on top of him watching his brother. Then he'd run to me, like " Mom you're finally back! Bro's sick!!! Fix him!!! I'm exhausted, this is hard work, being nursemaid!!! He's sick!!!". I'm probably anthromorphosizing, or whatever the word is, but these two have been best buddies since I got Ruby as a stray kitten at 3 months old seven years ago. I had seven cats then, and they were the "Dynamic Duo" and used to team up and play tricks on the others and we're always best buddies. Both if them were very upset and traumatized when each other cat and my last dog died over the past two years between 2015 and 2017 and each got sick with a cold and stopped eating for a while. So Ruby clinging to Lovey now I don't think is a stretch that he can tell he's sick and worried about him. He literally won't leave his side except to sleep next to me if I'm home and will only be on the other end of the bed.
Now I've got some nasty cold that just suddenly came on yesterday but got worse last night so I guess we'll all be sleeping a lot today.

 

[inkysmom]

The pictures were when Lovey was still high on too much pain meds. I left the room to cook some dinner for me and get my fogsd dinner and meds ready and make up Lovey's ear meds so was only out of the room a few minutes. I came back in and Ruby was right up against Lovey leaning his head on Lovey's side, and was so cute I had to take a picture. He lifted his head at the last second of course.

 

[Chrissy66]

Aww Bless his heart. At least he is eating so that is a good sign. Something you may want to try with his cone that my mom did when her little Maltese had surgery on both her eyes. She would take the cone off and keep Mattie up in her lap so that she could have a break from it as well as keep her from bothering her eyes.
Your two sounds like my Peanut and our Candi. Those two were best buds and when Peanut kept having seizures Candi was laying right there with him. I will never forget the morning we called the vet when we noticed that he couldn't walk without falling over and then hadn't peed or pooped that night, Candi was right there beside him. I think when two animals are close to one another like that, they just have a sense and know that their sister/brother is sick. I am glad that they did have sometime with one another though before that day.

 

[inkysmom]

That's sweet. Yes Ruby can be a little nurse to pets he's bonded strongly too. He can also be a little tyrannical bully to pets he's not as bonded to even when they're dying. The whole five months my last dog was sick with his spinal disease and had trouble with his hind legs, Ruby was right with him. And when my beloved Inky got cancer and had to have multiple surgeries and eventually I put him in the hospital and he died Ruby was constantly with him as long as he was home.
Lovey decided yesterday he only wants to eat treats and some dry food. He ignored the human tuna, can of salmon, beef baby food and two other cans in gravy I opened. Ruby had a feast! But didn't finish it and he's allergic to salmon. Lovey definitely has his energy back though. He was running around the place all night, jumped over the dog twice that I saw, threw kitty litter all over the place, was scratching through the cone and crashing the cone on everything and woke me up at 7am when he triumphantly jumped in the bed after getting the cone off and started grooming himself.
I've tried taking the cone off and watching him. He obsessively licks and washes himself everywhere, which is fine but he focuses on his face and ears. And he won't stay with me but rubs his face and ears against all the furniture and stalks around the whole place and under tables. He can do way too much damage to his ears. He'll only sit still if I brush him, which I can only do so much of.

 

[kpc1024]

It can be tricky administering meds. Sometimes I forget my own or cannot remember if I already took them.I believe there is also a animal poison control #. I am a worrier and, of course, my cat will have a problem in the middle of the night and I rush him to the ER (which we all know costs $$$$$). I am glad your little guy is doing better. give him a pet for me.

 

[inkysmom]

He's doing much better and is off the pain meds. I let him go without the cone for a few minutes last night just to wash it and of course he got at his ears and there was a little blood on one and the other just looked oozy. I hope he didn't do too much damage. But he's eating better and acting happy except hating the cone.
OMG though I am NEVER getting any longhslong- animals ever again!!! I had the most disgusting night ever. With the cone on all the time, be can't groom himself. Whenever I take off the cone he's obsessed with washing his butt and face and scratching his ears. When I took a closer look last night I saw why, there was poop stuck all in the long fur all around his butt!!! OMG EWWWW!!! So I tried to brush it, then wash it, then gave up and basically cut off all his fur back there. Long gross unpleasant process!!! With a very unhappy squirming yowling cat who bites, cuffs, runs and does everything possible to get free!!! Poop and fur and water all over the bathroom. Then I disinfected the whole bathroom, then my bed and comforter where he was sitting where I'd discovered this, then myself!!!
When.Lovey and I emerged from the bathroom, my dog was hiding in his crate and Ruby was sitting right outside the bathroom with huge eyes waiting to check on us to see who survived the battle and who was most injured lol.
Love usually sleeps on the bed with me but he's not talking to me, he's been on the other side of the place ever since. The dogs still hiding and he usually sleeps with me too. Just me and Ruby.
I wasn't mean or harmful to Lovey at all during this process and was trying to be gentle and reassuring. I probably cursed and said simesomet negative when he but me a couple of times but he really just didn't enjoy any of that process. Yuck!!!

Poor Lovey but gross!!!!!!!!??

 

[inkysmom]

OMG both my cats are driving me crazy!!!!!!!!!! Lovey's recheck is tomorrow. He's been wearing the darned cone nonstop so hopefully it can come off tomorrow. I'm sick of open kitty litter and it being thrown all over my small apartment along with dry food everywhere. I want to go back to using normal bowls and covered kitty litter and let the poor cat be free to groom himself.
My other cat Ruby has awful allergies and has been scratching himself raw so I finally brought him to the regular vet for another long acting steroid shot and antibiotics shot since he has multiple lesions and one on his eye looks really bad.
The vet said o didn't have any appointments which I booked, no I wouldn't bring my screaming hard to catch cat in without an appointment. Then they don't carry the long acting steroid shot anymore because they're so bad for cats. He can't wear a cone he flips out and takes it off and he has a sore on his neck anyway. I can't catch him for meds every day or twice a day, he hides and it literally takes an hour to catch him then he hides all the time and stops eating and drinking. So I paid the exam fee and he just got a shot of Benadryl which does nothing. They never called it in to the pharmacy so last night his eye is raw and bloody again. And lovey somehow got his ears raw and bloody through the cone! Right before his recheck!!! More cone time!!!

I'm burnt out, broke and just sick of sick cats. I serar I was ready to take them both to the shelter and give them up.
I wound up giving Skye his steroid ear drops since I finished the antibiotics ones, more ear burn cream and 1 mg of gabapentin pain medicine in case they're hurting him.

Ruby was already hiding by then and his lousy dermatologist won't answer my calls or emails about whether to increase his allergy shots or not so I decided to do it on my own since the lousy vets just charge up the wazoo and don't help. I fished him out from under the bed, gave him some gabapentin to knock him out so he'd stop scratching, gave him another allergy shot to increase him to twice this week and forced a stocking and cone on his neck and tied it tight so he couldn't get it off easily.

Eventually got him out from under the bed and loosened it so he can breathe.
He's either knocked out or traumatized and now won't eat or drink. Skye is on the living room couch and won't speak to me. The can from last night is gone so at least he's eating.
I did call the regular vet and tell them everything I'd done and that I was fed you that nothing they did helped Ruby at all and that I'd forced a cone on Ruby but he wasn't eating or drinking and that I'd given him Skye's gabapentin deliberately to knock him out to save his eye.
Then I emailed the dermatologist the sane info including that I'd increased the allergy shots independently out of desperation.

I've had it.