Questions On Surgery Recovery

[4horses]

Isabelle had surgery to remove three lumps. Today is the 3rd day after surgery. She was on onisor for pain relief. Today we switched to buprenex for the next 3 days.

Is buprenex safe and should i be concerned about side effects?

Also her first 2 incisions are healing well. The 3rd incision is oozing slightly - although the skin feels dry you can see there has been fluid in the area that dried. This was the larger incision so I'm assuming it will take longer to heal. Perhaps i should keep an eye and call the vet if it doesn't improve by Monday? She had 12 stitches total.

She's not eating really well. She is drinking and nibbling, just not up to finishing her meals. She likes it if i add water to her food- drinks the broth, nibbles on the food, then leaves the rest.

just wondering if this is normal for recovery? I've had kittens spayed but never had to do surgery. Nothing like this! I feel like an overly worried mother!

She did get a convenia injection while at the vet to stop infection.

 

[denice]

I haven't had a cat that had surgery beyond spay/neuter so I really can't speak to the recovery, your vet would be the best source of information. I have had cats taking buprenex. My cats had no side effects other than they obviously felt better. I think sleeping more and maybe acting a little loopy are the main side effects that cats experience.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Between the after-effects of surgery and the pain meds, it is likely she won't eat as much. It should gradually pick up as she heals more and is able to get off the pain meds.

Feeby took buprenex after her bladder surgery (8 years ago) and I don't recall her having any issues with it. However, all cats are different... She was given it for 2-3 days after coming home, and I don't recall her having any real issues with eating either. But, tbh, but there has never been much of anything that she would let interrupt her from eating! She is a grazer, so never eats much at one time anyway. I trust by now Isabelle has used her litter box? It might be a smaller amount than normal until she is back up to eating her normal amount.

If the seepage on the 3rd incision is dried up, and doesn't shows repeated signs of seeping again, it's probably because it is the largest of the three sites, as you said may take a little more time to heal. However, it if continues to seep, a vet call is in order. If her eating hasn't picked up some by then, let the vet know that as well.

 

[Sandy Beach]

I’ve had several cats over the years who used buprenex with no adverse side effects. However, none of them took it for longer than 3 days.

Fast forward to Moon, who is almost done recovering from her most recent surgery. She was given 5 days worth of buprenex after a complicated spay, She was off the buprenex for 24 hours before she ended up in surgery again and was prescribed another 5 days of buprenex at twice the original dose.

We went through days where she refused to eat, to days where she wouldn’t stop eating. We got creative on her “off” days. Baby food (meat only, no garlic or onion seasoning), stinky wet food, salmon, tuna, lunch meat, scrambled or poached eggs...it was very trying. Chicken baby food was usually something she could not resist, but one day she only showed interest in poached eggs.
We always offered cat food during that time, but she usually wouldn’t touch it.. She’s been off buprenex for a week now and is doing well.
The most important thing is to make sure she’s eating enough. Cats can get fatty liver disease within days if they don’t consume enough food or completely stop eating. Don’t be scared to “bother” your vet with phone calls and questions in the meantime!