Worried - cat not perking up after dental

[timtam23]

I just wanted a bit of perspective here in case I'm worrying needlessly about my cat being slow to recover. My 4 year old healthy cat went for his booster & checkup recently, all fine apart from quite a bit of tartar and gingivitis. The vet talked a bit about different dry food but I thought as he's young, go straight for a dental & start afresh with clean teeth. So he went in on Monday, had it done,uncomplicated procedure with no extractions needed & he had a metacam injection. I picked him up in the late afternoon. He did look pretty dishevelled and was quite zonked/disorientated, unable to purr or miaow (sore throat?). He didn't eat at all & we kept him in overnight. The next day he was still a bit disorientated & in fact couldn't make the big jump onto the shed when he went out, although he went up onto the outside wall in smaller steps. Again didn't eat (we had soft wet food out for him) although had some water. By Wednesday he was less lethargic but when I returned from work and he still hadn't eaten I took him back to the vet. Vet said it was unusual to have such a slow recovery - checked him over, everything seemed ok according to vet. Gave him 2 injections - one buprenorphine & one metacam. He did perk up noticeably Weds evening/Thurs, was trotting around and was sniffing at his food although not eating any of it. Today I'm back home from work late & apparently he's been asleep all day. Food from this morning is untouched. He's quite quiet, I took him downstairs & he's gone straight back up to the bed. Vet now shut until tomorrow. We were given post-op metacam but advised to give only with food so he hadn't had any due to not eating. However I've given him a bit this evening as he seemed to respond to pain relief before. I've had cats go for dentals before (elderly doddery ones as well) and they really did bounce back pretty quickly so I can't help worrying that this young fit one seems to be finding it quite tough. I was going to ring the vet again tomorrow unless any need for urgent advice overnight - can anyone give any reassurance or any ideas as to why he might not be wanting to eat? Sorry for the essay...

[Toddlerteaplease]

Mine had a scale and polish last week. One was fine. The other was quite restless. I wasn’t given any metacam as they’d only been cleaned. Metacam makes one of my girls sick. Could he be feeling off because of that. It’s a bits like giving ibuprofen on an empty stomach. Lay off the metacam and see if her perks up.

[thecatneuterer]

That doesn't seem right. Does your vet have an out of hours service you can ring?

[timtam23]

Thanks for replying
Toddler he had 2 injections of metacam which hopefully wouldn't have quite as much side effects on the stomach....I think the buprenorphine may have made the most positive difference on wednesday

TCN yes we do have out of hours vet. However after doing his dying duck act this evening, the cat's now come downstairs and is sitting on DH purring loudly. So maybe less of a worry in himself and I will try again later to see if he'll eat anything. If he stays a bit brighter but not eating, I'll call the vet first thing tomorrow. He's a very very nervous cat so I'm wondering if it's possible he could have been scared off his food by the vet trip/surgery somehow?

[Fluffycloudland77]

Perhaps.

Ours does the dying, dying, definitely dying.....over it routine.

Scares the life out of me.

[timtam23]

So he didn't eat overnight and we have both just got back from seeing the vet again. Nothing obviously really wrong & his hydration is good so she said he can stay at home for now, he has had an antibiotic injection as one of his lungs is a bit wheezy, also a morphine-based painkiller injection and I have some more of the same to give by mouth over the weekend. If he's not eating by Monday she says he'll need to go back and be admitted . Fingers crossed he's just a bit sore & the injections help

[lubeybooby]

Try him with some lily's kitchen fish or chicken versions. expensive but it got my one eating after dental stuff. If you can't get that experiment with different stuff till you find something he'll go for. Also, the vets can give an appetite stimulant if need be - its an antidepressant but it worked wonders on mine

[timtam23]

Thank you lubey I was planning to go out this morning to hunt for some tempting food so will get some lily's kitchen. Also have heard that lik-e-lix tubes can tempt a reluctant cat to eat so will try them too.

[Allergictoironing]

My cats are extremely fussy about what they eat, then I offered them some lik-e-lix the other day. Never seen anything vanish so fast!

Plus if his mouth is hurting, it's so soft he'll be able to shlurp it up no problem

[timtam23]

He ate one Dreamie last night and has had a few more this morning, so that's a bit better. He also did a bit of grooming last night for the first time. He sat by his food bowl & seemed interested but when I put food down (lily's kitchen pate, as recommended above!) there was lots of liplicking and he just turned away not bothered. He looks a bit subdued & scruffy but he is following his usual routine, going out to watch birds in the back yard, and he's definitely drinking. I guess it seems ok to wait today and see if he improves - or else it's vet again tomorrow

[Botanicbaby]

Has he declined his usual type of food OP? Also, I know this sounds silly but the more anxious I've been for them to eat something then they inevitably haven't and as soon as I put it down all nonchalantly as if I don't care whether they eat again or not, they've hoovered it up!

Mine turns her nose up at Lily's kitchen fwiw. I think keeping things the same as much as possible will help as cats hate change so much so maybe put down his usual type of food and don't give him any other options? I do hope he is okay and is back to his usual self very soon.

[Fluffycloudland77]

How about a hot rotisserie chicken?. Mouths heal really quickly usually.

[timtam23]

Thank you for all of the kind suggestions. I'm not sure what the problem is for him but he just seems unable to bring himself to eat & he isn't grooming (he's getting a bit smelly I noticed today ). I've offered him his usual food, and lots of other different things, smelly food, warm food, mashed food, little treats but he just licks his lips & turns away. He also doesn't touch it if I act nonchalant & just leave some in his bowl. I rang the out of hours vet this afternoon as dusk was falling & I was beginning to feel a bit sad & unsure about the cat & whether it was ok to keep him at home overnight. She thinks there's no immediate need to bring him in, as he's had a drink this morning, but she's booked him an appointment for first thing tomorrow morning. He's had some more buprenorphine & is dozing on the bed, seems comfortable.

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

Fingers crossed he perks up soon, it's horrible when they are poorly. Harry was subdued for a day or two after his last sedation and I hated seeing him like it.

[Fluffycloudland77]

I was thinking about him earlier, I had my first ga a few years ago & felt terrible for 10 days. I literally sat in bed staring at the wall & didn't want to eat or do anything.

Maybe it was the ga?.

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

I was the same Fluffy. Four days after my last GA DH was going to call an ambulance as I was grey, clammy, shaking and being sick.

[timtam23]

I am also wondering if it could have been the GA. Or maybe the metacam given immediately post-op upsetting his stomach. They also told me afterwards that they put packing around the tube down the cat's throat to stop water from the dental going into the lungs. So maybe he has some throat abrasions or something like that, from either the tube or the packing? Or some of the water got into his lungs by mistake (although he hasn't had a temperature and his breathing hasn't been fast at all). It's been such a shock, as I took a lively & perfectly healthy young cat to the vet last Monday for what should have been a minor procedure, and he's been a shadow of his usual self ever since

[Fluffycloudland77]

You could wipe him over with a damp flannel. If he's feeling rubbish then being grubby will feel worse.

I'd be furious too if it was my cat.

[timtam23]

That's a really good idea about the flannel Fluffy I'll do that this evening

[Hidingtonothing]

No advice OP, sounds like you're already doing all the right things just wanted to say I hope he picks up soon. Hugs to both of you

[PurpleBoot]

When my elderly cat went off her food after an op, the vet recommended syringing a really soft pate like food in to the side of the mouth. Wrap cat up in towel on lap (if possible!), syringe tiny amounts in. Maybe worth a try?

[Smileyeyes68]

Did he have Pre op bloods taken? Could be worth a general health profile blood screen to check there are no kidney/ liver issues exacerbated by the GA? Would be unusual at his age but possible. Also a high wcc could indicate if there is any post op infection?

[timtam23]

Smiley there was an option to have pre op bloods done but the vet didn't particularly recommend it as the cat is young and low risk. No previous sign of any preexisting illness of any sort. So I said no to the bloods although he did have a physical checkup from the vet. I'm fairly sure he will be admitted tomorrow & will have bloods done unless he rallies hugely overnight (which doesn't seem likely). Hopefully his liver & kidneys will be clear. He hasn't had a temperature when the vet checked it on weds and yesterday but he had empirical antibiotics yesterday in case of a chest infection.

[Toddlerteaplease]

Hope he gets better soon. Snorg has had a very congested nose since hers. It had improved pre op with a shot of antibiotics. Might have to take her back for some more, but she’s fine in herself.

[timtam23]

Thanks - there were times yesterday evening when he was behaving fairly normally (apart from not eating); wanting to go out, sitting on DH's lap, pottering around a bit; but overnight & this morning he still hadn't touched his food so the vet's admitted him for IV fluids, blood tests and observation as he's lost weight and is looking a bit dehydrated. Have to admit I felt quite tearful leaving him, we had old sick cats a few years ago so I was quite used to going back and forth to the vet but had kind of got out of the habit with this cat as he's been fit & healthy. I really wish I'd never booked him in for that dental now!

[YetAnotherSpartacus]

All the best Timtam cat (stand in for a bowl full of tuna emoticon).