Not eating after anesthesia

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I'm worried about Jackie after his dental, ear cleaning and skin....issues. I picked him up from the vet on Tuesday 11/4/08 at about 4:30 pm. He was a still groggy from the anesthesia, but the first thing he did was go to his food bowl. I knew he shouldn't have much since he hadn't eaten since the night before, so I tried to hold him back a bit, but he was hungry and insisted on eating. He didn't throw up or anything, so I guess he was ok after that.

However, since then he is eating very little, if at all, and I don't see him drinking either. I first took him to the vet last Thursday, 10/31/08, and he has lost .6 pounds since then. Usually when he comes in from his walkies he heads right to the food bowl for a few crunchies, but now he just passes the bowl by and goes right to bed.

I did get him to eat some wet food tonight - not as much as I would have liked, but at least it was something. I'll try to get some more into him before we go to bed tonight, but I'm starting to get worried.

Does anybody have experience with their cat not eating after surgery or a dental? Robin had 5 teeth pulled and she was eating right away. Jackie didn't have any teeth pulled and he's not eating. I'm worried about my precious little boy.

[Cinder & Smoke]

Usually when he comes in from his walkies he heads right to the food bowl for a few crunchies,
but now he just passes the bowl by and goes right to bed.

I did get him to eat some wet food tonight - not as much as I would have liked,
but at least it was something.
I'll try to get some more into him before we go to bed tonight,
but I'm starting to get worried.

I wouldn't get too worried till he skips meals for another day.
He just might not feel so haot after the Stress and the Anesthesia.

Offer him a mix of wet and krunchies, along with any of his favorite Bi-Ped yummies.

He does need to drink, though. If he won't sip water on his own;
hopefully you have an old syringe that you can use to *squirt* a few
ounces of water into his mouth. REMOVE the needle part, and gently push the syringe
to the back of his tongue - then S L O W L Y empty the syringe.

If you can get some water into him, he can probably skip meals till Monday -
then it'll be time for another visit to the White Coat if he's still not eating on his own.

C'mone, CJ --- take a Byte!

[Emeraldgreen]

Has he been using the litter box and does it seem that he is 'regular'? If not, maybe he is a little constipated? My cats usually need a few days to get back to normal after surgery. I hope this is all it is with Jackie and that he starts to drink and eat soon.

[jenluckenbach]

It sounds fairly normal. But I know how scary it is when they don't eat. Keep tempting him with his favorites but give him a few more days.

[kb2yjx]

Have you tried to offer Jackie some baby chicken food?? That has great appeal. Also, is his nose stuffed up? Cats will not eat if they cannot smell....just a thought...hope Jackie will be OK...

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Turns out he has a raging inner ear infection which is why is still so wobbly and why he doesn't have an appetite. He is in the "hospital" as we speak, getting fluids, antibiotics and a steroid shot to help bring the inflamation down. Vet says the ear drum was close to rupturing.

My opinion.....never doubt a meowmy's instincts. I knew there was something wrong. My question now is....why didn't the first vet notice the ear infection when he was cleaning Jackie's ears? The first vet is having surgery himself right now, so another vet is taking care of him and found the ear infection - after we suggested looking for it. The second vet says there's a good chance Jackie had a mild ear infection to begin with, which was causing him to scratch his head, causing the scabbies on his head. So, again, why didn't the first vet find the ear infection when he cleaned his ears. Could have saved us a whole lot of grief and Jackie a whole lot of stress - and them a whole lot of time because I don't intend to pay for much that went on today after paying over $800.00 the first time!.

[Karen]

Poor Jack! Ear infections are no fun at all. I hope you speak to the office about them missing the infection in the first place, and tell them you expect a steep discount on the resulting complications!

I remember not being at all hungry after the only time I underwent general anesthesia, but I chalked that up to a) it being hospital food being offered and b) having absolutely no sense of balance (expected result of surgery), so being too preoccupied about that to think about food.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Debbie, I'm so sorry to hear this. I'd be complaining about the first vet for missing this too. CJ must've been in so much pain. I know that when I've had an ear infection that it was one of worst pains that I've ever had.

I'm so glad that you brought him back to the vet and that this time the second vet found out what was wrong with him. I hope that he'll heal quickly and feel better soon. Please continue to keep us updated about him.

[Medusa]

Yes, I would definitely let your vet know your displeasure at all this and that you expect a deep discount for your trouble and Jack's discomfort. Prayers going up that Jack heals quickly.

[katslady]

Having worked with vets. before I know it is most often a tech or assistant that does the dentals and ear flushing. No big surprise it was missed. Explain your concerns and maybe they will take better notice of your pets in the future.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Thanks to all your input, I talked to the office manager of the vet's office today. She agreed that the ear infection should have been caught the first time, so I got all but the first bill wiped out - saved me about $1,000. That means I paid for a dental, an ear flush, skin scraping & biopsy for the scabs and the antibiotics Jackie ended up needing. However, before this is all over, I'm going to end up paying about $1,000 in total, so it's not that I got anything cheap, but thank goodness I didn't have to pay $2,000 in total!

We also discussed who actually did the dental and the ear flushing and were told it was the vet himself, not a tech, and all we can do is believe them because we have no proof it wasn't the vet. Overall I'm happy with the second vet and the progress Jackie is making - oh, by the way, he's doing fantastic! He still wobbles every now and then, but he is soooo much more steady on his feet, and I finally got him to start eating hard food this past Monday. He's lost about 1 1/4 pounds, which is a lot for a cat that doesn't even weight 10 pounds to begin with!

So, as of right now, all is well again in Jackie=ville.....except he has to go back in about 2 weeks or so to have his ear checked to make sure the infection is really clearing up. But other than that, he has had plenty of outies already today and is snoozing peacefully on the bed right now. He's such a precious little boy.

[jenluckenbach]

I am glad to hear he is doing well.

[Randi]

I'm so glad to hear CJ is better now, and also that you didn't have to pay for the second vet visit. Now, CJ needs to eat and put some weight on.

Sending lots of good thoughts, and plaese give him some scrithies from me.

[Medusa]

It's good that you spoke up because it's been my experience that most vets take it for granted that you'll accept their word as gospel and when you don't, they respect you for it. It's even better that CJ is doing so well.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks for the update. I'm so glad that CJ is doing well and that you didn't have to pay another $1000 for the first vets mistake in diagnosis.