Post-dental Surgery Cat: Chase Down And Administer Pain Killers Or No??

[allcheerduck]

My cat just underwent a dental procedure that removed 10 teeth.

She's young (5ish), but very skittish sometimes, however she is very responsive to being scruffed. Getting her into a carrier is either a long chase and battle, or I can scruff her immediately. BUT she hates it, either way. Obviously when it's a chase-and-battle she seems pretty traumatized for a month or so afterwards.

I am supposed to administer pain medication into her mouth tonight and every 12 hours for the next 5 days. It is topical and only needs to flush inside her cheeks, however this definitely requires being scruffed and forcibly opening her mouth. Right now she is way back in the corner under the bed. Is it better to let her be there where she's (maybe???) comfortable, or to chase her out and scruff her and administer the pain meds? I can absolutely do both, but I don't want to traumatize her, nor do I want to leave her in pain.

I just joined this community to help with this scenario, I appreciate any and every advice I can get, thank you so so so much!!!

 

[Kieka]

Personally, I would skip unless she seems to be in pain. If she seems to be in pain since it is liquid I would mix it in the juices of the stinkiest cat food I could find. Although check with your vet first to make sure it can be mixed with food.

But that is my non medically driven opinion. Mostly because my boy handles pain medication absolutely horribly and so I limit his.

BTW,

We are glad you joined us and would love to see more of you. Please share a little about yourself and of course you cat in our New Cats on the Block section.

 

[allcheerduck]

Personally, I would skip unless she seems to be in pain. If she seems to be in pain since it is liquid I would mix it in the juices of the stinkiest cat food I could find. Although check with your vet first to make sure it can be mixed with food.

But that is my non medically driven opinion. Mostly because my boy handles pain medication absolutely horribly and so I limit his.

BTW,

We are glad you joined us and would love to see more of you. Please share a little about yourself and of course you cat in our New Cats on the Block section.

Thank you SO much!! I do remember my vet saying don't worry about her swallowing it, it doesn't need to go down her throat... so I am hesitant to have her consume it. I will definitely call the vet tomorrow morning.

I appreciate your advice a lot, I am going to the New Cats on the Block right now!

 

[jcat]

The deciding factor is whether she eats properly without pain meds. A lot of cats won't/can't, especially after multiple extractions. She may very well be hiding due to the pain, which must be pretty severe after 10 extractions. In my experience working with shelter cats and having a cat that had a full mouth extraction, most do much better when they get pain meds.

 

[Jem]

I do remember my vet saying don't worry about her swallowing it, it doesn't need to go down her throat... so I am hesitant to have her consume it.

The reason for not worrying about swallowing is because the pain medication simply works better when it is absorbed my the mucus membranes (gums, under tongue..) It is absolutely OK if it gets swallowed.

 

[white shadow]

.
Hi A allcheerduck and welcome to the forum !

IF the pain med is "buprenorphine" (that's the chemical or 'generic' name), it must be applied just inside the mouth, preferably in the area between the gums and the side of the mouth. It is ONLY effective when it can be absorbed by those oral tissues........it will NOT work if it is swallowed.

So, the idea of mixing it with food or juices will not work.

Cats hide away when they don't feel well. especially if they're in pain - and, of course, if they're afraid.

Be assured, after that dental surgery, she IS in pain.

I don't understand the need to 'chase her down', unless she is not accustomed to close contact with you (a clue for something to work on, perhaps). If there's anyone else with whom she allows close contact, that's the person who should approach her and pick her up. Then, once she's settled, you should be the one to apply the medicine.

If there's no one else at all, then, rather than 'chase her out', approach her gradually and handle her as carefully and gently as you can.

I know it can be a struggle...however, your goal should be to make it the least unpleasant possible - otherwise, you're just reinforcing her understanding that any contact with you is to be avoided.

Remember that her mouth is extremely sore, so your attempts to open it will be very painful. Again, no need to open the mouth...."just" slip the syringe inside the lips.

Now, buprenorphine only 'lasts' about six hours (fairly recent discovery and unknown by many Vets). The lesson from this - which will make the administration easier - is to give it more often so as to stay ahead of the pain.

You may therefore need more of this pain med, because she will require it for several days. Call the Vet Monday and explain.

You were going to speak to the Vet today - did anything come out from that?

I wonder what you're feeding/offering her at this point. Here, my cats are given pureed wet foods after dental surgery. Has she eaten anything yet?

Hope that will help - we're 'on standby' for you!
.

 

[daftcat75]

Dental surgery is going to be painful and your cat won’t tell you that. Instinct tells her that signs of weakness is how prey animals get eaten.

Get a laundry basket and set it on a counter. This will be easier for the both of you if she’s at your height instead of you trying to get down to hers. If you have nutritional gel (NutriCal or CatCal), bonito tuna flakes, or a lickable treat, get that ready.

Pick up the cat. Put her in the basket. Give her one of those dental surgery friendly treats (gel, flakes, lickables). The basket makes it harder for to back out. The treats are a temporary distraction. Then act quickly and decisively. Scruff and squirt into her cheek. Offer treats after if you can track down the cat that just launched out of the basket.

Your cat will catch on to the laundry basket so try to make the treats part more enticing than the medicine part is scary.

But don’t skip on her meds just because it’s stressful for the both of you. She had teeth removed. Assume she’s in pain even if she never tells or shows you.

 

[LTS3]

It is topical and only needs to flush inside her cheeks, however this definitely requires being scruffed and forcibly opening her mouth.

A medicine that is given into the mouth is not a topical. It is an oral medicine. A topical medicine is applied to the skin.

Buprenex is the most common pain medicine given after a dental. You squirt the contents of one syringe between the cheek and the gums where it will absorbed. Buprenex doesn't work if swallowed so mixing it with food will not work.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

My cat just underwent a dental procedure that removed 10 teeth.

She's young (5ish), but very skittish sometimes, however she is very responsive to being scruffed. Getting her into a carrier is either a long chase and battle, or I can scruff her immediately. BUT she hates it, either way. Obviously when it's a chase-and-battle she seems pretty traumatized for a month or so afterwards.

I am supposed to administer pain medication into her mouth tonight and every 12 hours for the next 5 days. It is topical and only needs to flush inside her cheeks, however this definitely requires being scruffed and forcibly opening her mouth. Right now she is way back in the corner under the bed. Is it better to let her be there where she's (maybe???) comfortable, or to chase her out and scruff her and administer the pain meds? I can absolutely do both, but I don't want to traumatize her, nor do I want to leave her in pain.

I just joined this community to help with this scenario, I appreciate any and every advice I can get, thank you so so so much!!!

I think pain meds could be helpful for sure the first few days at least. The trick is to not make it scary or stressful for the cat -- which takes some patience and repetition, and a calm demeanor. (woe! those are hard things to ask for, I know!)

I'm a little unclear as to whether she is "responsive" to being scruffed, or if you are saying she is traumatized by it, as a general rule? Each cat is different but, to me, from what you describe, she sounds like she doesn't like being scruffed or the "chase-and-battle" it seems to be. (I have found that the cats I have had don't like to be scruffed -- my advice is to only use it in an emergency.)

Giving meds to cats can also traumatize us, and our cats feel our stress and anguish over it! It's no fun at all, that for sure -- and they can tell. The idea is to try to figure out how to make it calm and "fun" to give meds.

I never liked giving oral Buprenex or pain meds to a cat -- it always makes me stressed, as I worry the cat will aspirate the liquid (so I learned to give Buprenex via a subQ shot, which I've done in the lateral abdomen, described here and here). Unfortunately, I've never had a cat whom I've been able to do liquid oral meds with successfully. It's never been easy for me. But if you can do it, it's a good idea to try to do it calmly, gradually and carefully. Some people have had luck sitting down on the floor, putting the cat in a sitting or a "meatloaf" position between their legs, with the cat looking outward, using one hand to gently hold the cats face and slipping the syringe in the back, side of their mouth, and gently squirting. Then immediately releasing the cat but also giving them some of their favorite treats as a reward. You can use your legs to help stabilize the cat while you try to restrain them.

Or you can try to give the meds up at table height and, as an example, use a blanket as a "cat taco" to restrain them temporarily. Or daftcat's laundry basket idea could definitely work.

 

[Willowy]

It's a real dilemma, isn't it? One of my cats had a full-mouth extraction because of stomatitis. He let me give him the first dose of Buprenex, but when I tried to give him the second dose he SCREAMED and fought hard. I suppose a medication that has to be put on the gums, when the gums are so sore, is kind of a problem :/ (now that I know that it's available in an injectable form I'm going to ask for that if I ever have another cat who needs dental surgery).

In the end I just mixed it with baby food and hoped that he got enough of it on his tongue and cheeks to absorb. And he recovered just fine and never stopped eating. But also, his mouth had been so sore from the stomatitis before the surgery that I think the pain from the removals actually felt better to him, poor guy.

Anyway, do your best and call the vet to ask about other options.

 

[1 bruce 1]

It's a real dilemma, isn't it? One of my cats had a full-mouth extraction because of stomatitis. He let me give him the first dose of Buprenex, but when I tried to give him the second dose he SCREAMED and fought hard. I suppose a medication that has to be put on the gums, when the gums are so sore, is kind of a problem :/ (now that I know that it's available in an injectable form I'm going to ask for that if I ever have another cat who needs dental surgery).

In the end I just mixed it with baby food and hoped that he got enough of it on his tongue and cheeks to absorb. And he recovered just fine and never stopped eating. But also, his mouth had been so sore from the stomatitis before the surgery that I think the pain from the removals actually felt better to him, poor guy.

Anyway, do your best and call the vet to ask about other options.

This is what we've done, too.
When we have animals that aren't the cuddle baby types, we pick our battles the best we can.
We have one cat that is on daily liquid medications and he fought us at first, we had to scruff him and the scruffing made him cough and gag (not cool, he has asthma), the vet referred us to a compounding pharmacy that whipped up a batch of medicine that is supposed to be chicken flavored (I'm not brave enough to taste it ) but after a dose or two of this, he stopped fighting so it must taste better.
Now, he waits by the cabinet we keep his medications in and waits for either one of us to draw it up. All we have to do is put our hand on the back of his neck and pop the meds in his mouth.
If he seems to be in pain but you can't get the medication down him, a compounded pain medication might help you out.