Suddenly fidgety/stiff? Day after anesthesia... worried

rosegold

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Yesterday Chilli got her dental cleaning, which went fine. She came home really “high” and was just staring into space with giant pupils for most of the day. She seemed happy but a bit wired, strangely, and I don’t know if she slept much. Today she seemed better, purred a bit, and slept a LOT. Still seemed a little out of it and not herself, but I figured she was just tired from her very stressful ordeal yesterday. (I don’t remember her having such a hard time getting “back to normal” last time she had a teeth cleaning, so I wonder if a different anesthesia was used...)

This evening she was suddenly acting weird though. She was fine, ate a little dinner, and then suddenly was being fidgety and constantly changing position like she can’t get comfortable. Sitting down, standing up, wriggling around then crouching, going to another spot and same thing. I noticed her breathing rate went up too and her tail was lashing around. When she walked or climbed the stairs her gait was weirdly stiff and stilted. It seemed to me that her back/hips/stomach were the issue? Definitely not her mouth. I gently pet her all over and she didn’t seem to protest about any particular area.

This lasted for about fifteen minutes... She seems better now but I don’t know what to think. It kind of freaked me out. I offered her some lickable treat and she ate it just fine, seemed to calm down... now is sleeping / resting with her eyes closed, where she was at, breathing slower, fairly relaxed position on her side... I haven’t made her walk yet though to see if that’s better.

I’ve never seen any of my cats do anything like this (and I’ve had a lot of sick/hurt kitties in the past few years) so I have no idea what that was, or if it will happen again. Anyone else experienced this or have any ideas?
 

rubysmama

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I don't have any recent experience with cats and anesthesia, and don't really trust Google to find useful info, so don't have any helpful info to offer.

What time is it there now? Are the vets still open? If so, maybe give them a quick call.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. Sorry no one has responded to your post yet (oops, posted at the same time as rubysmama rubysmama )! I have no idea about a connection between her behavior and the anesthesia. But, you could call the vet and ask what they used and if what you saw with her could have been related. You could also check the invoice to see if it shows the names of the meds she was given - then, look it/them up and read about it before you call to consult with the vet.

Hope other members will come along soon and offer their first hand input!!
 

cat nap

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rosegold rosegold ...Hoping that your Chilli is feeling much better now.
How old is she, if that's okay to ask?

I wonder if the anesthetic was too strong, ...or perhaps they also gave her a pain medication like Buprenorphine to help her with any dental pain?

If you can do what Rubysmama and FeebysOwner suggested, and give the Vet a quick call, email, or check the invoice then that may help to know what was given.
Anyhow, I would definitely call the Vet clinic when they are open, and tell them about Chilli's reaction, and kindly insist that they write it up into her medical chart,...so that in the future...any side-effects would be noted.

(My previous rainbow cat Spotty was given Buprenorphine for pain, and it caused a very strong reaction with one pupil being larger than the other, restlessness, thirst, and being hyper. After about 10 or 20 minutes he was able to settle down and sleep. It really had freaked me out, at the time, too. It did help him with his pain, though, since he was able to sleep on his side, and not in the meatloaf position. But he was very sick with end-stage CKD, so not related to any dental cleaning.

All I remember for his Dental at age 13 yrs was that he was given an antibiotic injection, and pain pills for three days, afterwards.
I don't remember the pain pills names anymore. I was told that he was given gas anesthesia for his dental.)

Sending Fast Healing Vibes for your Chilli.... :vibes::vibes::caticon:
 
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rosegold

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Thanks for the tips everyone. It was about 10pm for me when I posted so couldn’t call my vet. (My 24 hr vet is very unhelpful over the phone unfortunately). I did send a message to my vet about her symptoms and he just got back to me... he wasn’t concerned... just said to give it a few days. I do have the receipt, but it’s very long and all in Korean and translating medical terms is not the easiest thing! So I don’t know exactly what she was given. I could probably ask the vet now that it’s open hours.

I somehow forgot to mention that she also had a rabies vaccination and combo vaccination on the same day. I don’t know why I didn’t refuse that... vet said it would be fine and it seemed preferable to making her stressed all over again with another vet trip... but I wish I had refused it.

Last night after I posted she was starting to really worry me. She could only take a few steps before lying down and breathing fast, and started shaking/quivering for a while. Her body felt very tense and stiff. I debated whether or not to take her to emergency vet but ended up just watching her through the night. This morning she is pretty much the same without the shaking. Just seems very sore and hesitant to walk more than a few steps.

I noticed that when she lays down, the muscle in her back twitches back and forth (the one that relaxes when they pee). Not sure why.

I have to go work a really long day today. :( I’m trying to see if my pet-sitter or a friend can come check in on her during the day but it’s a long shot. Still worried about my girl.
 
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rosegold

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She is quivering again, breathing fast, and acting very restless. It’s about 30-45 minutes since I gave her the pill (which, as I found out, is actually a painkiller/antibiotic that was labeled incorrectly). I’m waiting to hear back on the name of that pill and if this is a normal side effect. She didn’t shiver yesterday until after she’d taken the pill, so I’m thinking maybe that is causing the tremors and restlessness. Before I gave her the pill she seemed to be in pain from her mouth, just sitting quietly. Now I think maybe she’s not in pain, but just very uncomfortable and restless. Squirming around and meowing at me and constantly fidgeting and acting agitated.

Have to leave for work in about an hour :(
 

scarlettleia

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Do you have someone who can take her to the emergency vet for you? I'm sure it's probably nothing to worry about and will all be okay but I hate to think of her not getting help if she needs it. We recently lost ours due to a sudden medical problem and had we managed to get him to the vets a few hours earlier, he'd still be here, so I'd say don't panic but better to be safe than sorry.
 
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rosegold

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Do you have someone who can take her to the emergency vet for you? I'm sure it's probably nothing to worry about and will all be okay but I hate to think of her not getting help if she needs it. We recently lost ours due to a sudden medical problem and had we managed to get him to the vets a few hours earlier, he'd still be here, so I'd say don't panic but better to be safe than sorry.
No, no one :( No one was available to come and check on her today either, and I can’t get off work.

I talked with my vet just now and he reassured me that everything used (vaccine brand, anesthesia, painkillers, etc) was the same as last time. He isn’t sure what is going on but said as long as she’s eating and drinking she’s probably okay. If she stops eating or drinking then I should bring her. She seems better right now. Not great, but certainly not emergency vet status. It goes in waves which is why I’m so confused about what to do.
 

scarlettleia

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No, no one :( No one was available to come and check on her today either, and I can’t get off work.

I talked with my vet just now and he reassured me that everything used (vaccine brand, anesthesia, painkillers, etc) was the same as last time. He isn’t sure what is going on but said as long as she’s eating and drinking she’s probably okay. If she stops eating or drinking then I should bring her. She seems better right now. Not great, but certainly not emergency vet status. It goes in waves which is why I’m so confused about what to do.
Is it possible that it could be some kind of intolerance to one of the medications? I'm not clued up on it at all but I know at least humans can develop allergies and intolerances to things they've previously been fine with.

As long as the vet is aware that it's going on then at least you can take her if it worsens! Keep us updated!
 
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rosegold

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Is it possible that it could be some kind of intolerance to one of the medications? I'm not clued up on it at all but I know at least humans can develop allergies and intolerances to things they've previously been fine with.

As long as the vet is aware that it's going on then at least you can take her if it worsens! Keep us updated!
That’s what I thought but the vet didn’t seem to consider that. I don’t really want to withhold the pills since it is her pain relief... It seems like she does the “best” and calms down about 2 hrs after the pill so I’m hoping it is helping somehow.

I just noticed that one of the canned foods I’d been tempting her with is expired. :/ Who knows. Clove ate some of it too and she’s fine.

I have to go to work now... won’t be home for about 9-10 hours :( Hoping that she’s improved or at least not worse when I get home.
 
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rosegold

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Chilli was doing great when I came home. Almost back to her normal self. Ate a lot, more than she has yet, and groomed herself a bit. She even was interested in playing with toys. But then I gave her her nighttime pill... about 45 min later... back to being lethargic and uncomfortable in a loaf position. :( I found out that the pill is a mix of doxycycline and prednisolone. It’s supposed to be given twice a day. I think I’ll ask my vet if I can try once a day. I personally am seeing a correlation between the time of taking medicine and a negative change in symptoms... which I already mentioned to him... he didn’t seem to think much of it but that’s my hunch.
 

rubysmama

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It definitely seems like there's a correlation between the pills and the symptoms. I hope the vet takes your concerns more seriously next time to speak to him.
 
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