Side Effects Of Being Intubated

[efrel]

Hi. My cat had to undergo some tests on Tuesday and she had to be intubated. Everything was fine for couple of hours and then on Wednesday she started hacking/retching (it is unproductive - she is not vomiting, it seems more like a severe coughing than anything else). She stopped eating and drinking also had trouble sleeping because of it. Also she lost her voice and her breath was noisy. Our veterinarian said all of this is because the tracheal intubation caused larynx inflammation and ordered some steroid drugs. It worked like a charm, cat is eating and drinking and she only has some mild coughs every now and then, breathing came back to normal also. The problem is, every time Rapidexon starts to wear off, all symptoms are back. We heard that irritation of larynx takes sometime to heal, but we don't wanna keep our cat on steroid for to long. Do anyone know how long it may take for her to stop feeling so bad? It's been 4 days already. We feel like every time she coughs so badly (when she's not on steroids) she irritates her throat/larynx/trachea even more prolonging the healing process
When on steroids cat behaves like her normal self.
Our veterinarian also ordered some antibiotics in case Srubka devoloped laryngitis but she's pretty sure it's not the issue here.

 

[babiesmom5]

I suspect your cat has Tracheitis secondary to anesthesia. Cats can and do sometimes develop this as result of irritation to the trachea when they undergo anesthesia for tests. I had one cat who developed Tracheitis following anesthesia earlier this year.

The symptoms can last several weeks. Four days is hardly sufficient time to recover!
It is good your Vet gave her a steroid to cut the inflammation. Give it time to work. Just don't stop the steroid suddenly if/when she begins to improve.

Just monitor her closely watching for any new symptoms, work closely with your vet, and give it time to heal. With my cat, it took over a month before she was fully back to normal.

 

[efrel]

Oh man, a month...
Thanks for replying it's relieving to know that my cat is not the only one
But now I'm worried - are we supposed to give her steroids for a month? Isn't that dangerous for cat's health? I read so much about steroids side effects...

 

[babiesmom5]

`I would follow your Vet's instructions for keeping her on the steroid. No, a month is not too long. The steroid reduces the inflammation, and thus prevents the coughing, allowing healing to occur. The steroid must be taken until the healing is far along. Your vet can advise.

I wouldn't be too concerned about steroid side effects for the duration of the tracheitis.

Steroids are very beneficial, in fact mainstays of treatment for some diseases. Some cats have to be on them for years, albeit at low dosage.

Your cat will be fine in a few weeks. My tracheitis cat is sitting on my lap as I type. She says to your cat "hey, I got through this...and so can you"! Hang in there.

 

[efrel]

Thanks, babiesmom5, tell your cat me and my cat are a lot less worried now

 

[efrel]

Hi. It's me again. So, my cat is not on steroids anymore. The last dose was 4 days ago. We were cutting it very slowly, adding couple of hours between dosages, reacting every time she showed up some worrisome symptoms.
Now she behaves normally, eats and drinks fine and all would be ok if not for that damn coughing that still occurs from time to time. It's not so severe as it was before and it doesn't happen as often but it's definitely still a problem.
Srubka doesn't have to take steroids anymore, my vet says, cause there is barely a risk now, she's gonna have trouble breathing. We have steroids shots at our place to be able to give her a shot if something happens, but it's definitely better than it was before. She doesn't have her voice back yet, but it shows up from time time. Also there's no noisy breathing or anything like that. She coughs couple of times and then gets back to whatever she was doing.
What's even more annoying then coughing is the fact that she begins to swallow a lot every time she starts to purr - this makes me reluctant to hold and pet her, don't wanna hurt her by accident

Anyway my questions is - is that normal? Will she stop coughing after a time? Will she be able to purr freely?
I know it probably will all be ok soon, but I really want to hear some reassuring news
Babiesmom5, can you tell me how long it took your cat to come back to her/his normal self after getting rid of steroids?

I'm so impatient, I know... I just want my babe to feel fine again

 

[babiesmom5]

I can well appreciate your concerns. You want your baby to hurry up and get back to normal.

Well, I can tell you that it took 6-8 weeks, a couple months at least, for my cat to get completely back to normal. Recovery was a s-l-o-w process. Yes, they do cough for quite a while afterwards as there is still that bit of residual irritation present. But the coughing should be less and less frequent until it completely goes away.

The good news is that YES they do completely recover, but it takes time.

You should be seeing gradual, but steady improvement in the days and weeks to come. If you see worsening of symptoms, then for sure take her back to the vet, but it appears she is on the road to recovery. Have patience mom!

My cat "Light" is right here with me. She sends Srubka warm healing purrs.

 

[efrel]

Hey, babiesmom5, I once again want to thank you for your reassuring words. Today it's about two months and 5 days after my cat had anesthesia and I can safely say that I haven't seen any of the symptoms (coughing, swallowing) for the last week or so. She even got her voice back. Sometimes it's still a bit raspy, but she's talking again and I love it. So yeah it took about 8 weeks, just like you said but she did completely recover. So for anyone reading that - if your cat is having the same problem as mine - rest assured - they will be fine again, just give them some time.
Again, big big thanks form Srubka and me

 

[babiesmom5]

Thank you for your very kind words. It brightened my day.

I am so glad to hear that Srubka made a full recovery! As you have seen, it does take a bit of time and patience to get over Tracheitis. Light and Srubka can raise a paw to that!

Here's wishing Srubka a very long and healthy life. Please give her a big hug from me.

 

[kat hamlin]

So glad to see Srubka has recovered! I hadn't seen this thread prior but this is a rare complication from intubation...sometimes when the cat is not sufficiently relaxed with pre-meds, or sometimes they just have an unexpected narrowing of the trachea further down. Usually though intubation is quite safe and keeps kitty on a mixture of anesthesia gas and oxygen during surgery.