Post-surgery recovery complications

Hello all, I am new here and would appreciate any feedback about my special boy, based on your experiences.

My 13 year old guy was found to have a mass in his abdomen 2 months ago. It has been growing quickly enough to affect his appetite and cause him to be more lethargic. Our vet gave us the option to do surgery to remove it, or do nothing, in which case he might not have long with us. We weighed the risks and decided to try the surgery to give him a chance at survival. We were assured that though there were risks, the recovery from such a surgery was generally not too bad and complications are rare.

My boy had his intestines resected 2 days ago and a large mass was removed. We have not received the biopsy result yet, but the vet feels it was malignant and was beginning to spread in his digestive tract. Two days after surgery, he is still so lethargic he can barely move, is not eating, and vomited some bile earlier today. His blood work, which was normal before the surgery, now shows that he is anemic, white blood cell count is high, and kidney functioning is declining. He is in the hospital receiving antibiotics and fluids and the prognosis is guarded.

I feel I made a terrible mistake subjecting him to this surgery. I was not prepared for the possibility that he might not recover from it and hoped to give him a chance at survival by having the mass removed. Now I'm not even sure if he will be able to come home and I don't want him to live out his last days in the hospital, away from his family and everything he is familiar with.

Has anyone experienced similar post-op complications? What was done for your cat? What was the outcome? I want to make sure I am trying everything I can to give him a chance at recovery and a decent quality of life for whatever time he has left. I would love to be able to bring him home but he is so critical right now they haven't even been able to take him off IV fluids. 

Any help or recommendations would be more than welcome. My heart is aching for what my poor boy is going through.

Thank you.

It sounds to me like you definitely made the best choice you could given what you knew at the time. Doubts when something didn't go as planned are normal, but it's obvious that you love your cat and made the choice that seemed best for him.  Please don't feel bad about that.

I would definitely follow your vet's advice at this point and not attempt to bring him home until the vet thinks he is ready.  I know it is hard, but by listening to the vets now, you are giving him his best (and quite possibly his only) chance at a recovery.

Please keep us updated.  I am so sorry you are going through this.

I am so sorry you are going through this!

My now 16 yr old had exploratory abdominal surgery 3 yrs ago (then, thr same age as your kitty) due to a suspected mass in his colon. We got lucky (this is his name too) as there was no mass, just a large hairball, a questionable doughy substance, and lots of inflammation (biopsies were taken.) While Lucky's surgery was not as invasive, he stayed at the vet's for 7-10 days (I cannot remember exactly how long) and, also had a very guarded prognosis (especially since they weren't sure exactly what was wrong with him.) When I was able to bring him home, he remained crated for another 2 weeks recovering. He spent a lot of that time sleeping.

The older the animal is, the harder anesthesia and surgery is on the body and the longer it takes for them to recoup.

Again, I am so sorry you are going through this and I am sending lots of prayers and good vibes for your kitty's recovery!

Tulosai and CatPack, thank you both for your responses and kind words.

Wow, Catpack, 7-10 days of hospitalization! Thank you for sharing your experience. We were told before my guy's surgery he might be able to be sent home the same day or the next day, which is why I am so worried that after 48 hours he is still doing so poorly. Hopefully a bit more time will have a positive result in my Max's case as well.

Today is the 3rd day since my Max's surgery and he is still doing quite poorly. He didn't even lift his head when I went to visit him this morning. They tried syringe feeding him to get some nutrition in, but he was mostly just spitting it out. I'm so worried that he won't bounce back - the surgery has weakened him so much. I'm certain the hospital environment isn't great for him either. It was quiet over the weekend but today was so noisy and active, so many different sounds and smells. Please send positive thoughts and prayers for my boy's recovery!

Hate to hear that Max still isn't doing well. Definitely sending prayers and good vibes to both of you!

My dear cat friend, Franek, died 2 weeks ago. He also had a serious operation, but it was NOT the cause of his death so please, relax  

He had some teeth problems (we didn't know about it, as from the outside everything looked fine, however one of his teeth went very bad and probably hurt) which lead him to the point where he did not chew any food but swallowed it. It made his stomach and colon "stuck" to the point where he had to have it all cleaned during the surgery. In a meantime he also had a stroke (can you imagine this much of bad luck to meet one little cat?) from which he recovered almost completely within 8 days. 

After the operation I was able to take him home (the vet knows me very well and I begged him to let me do that), he was given lots of water by drip and I got enough instructions in order to take care of him. He started to feel a little bit better the next day, he held his head up, but he didn't want to eat or drink too. He vomited and looked very bad... I was crying all days. The thing is he felt much better after 4 days... He started to eat and tried to walk longer distances.

However, during one of the visit, after taking some injections he fainted and even though the vet tried to resuscitate him, we lost him. I am just happy I have hugged him until the last moments. What is important, I agreed for his autopsy in order to learn what the problem was. We found out he has had a heart defect which would lead to his death within the next few weeks or months anyway.

The point is, this is not the problem of your cat! My vet said that the recovery from the surgery might take up to 7-8 days,do don't worry! He also informed me that different cats react differently to narcosis. Some need to take more (my cat had to take more than usual because he didn't want to go to sleep) and some less. Narcosis causes dizziness so even if a cat eats, he vomits.  People do not recover from surgeries so fast too!  

I hope your friend will be home soon!

Thinking of you and sending vibes to all.

I am heartbroken to share that my beloved Max passed away during the night. The vet's office called me this morning. I don't know if I'll ever stop regretting the choice to try this surgery rather than let him live out the rest of his life at home until the masses in his tummy claimed him. Instead I shortened his life and he died in the hospital, alone and away from those who love him best. I am so worry for that above everything else. I already miss him so much. Please hug and love your babies an extra amount today.

Oh... I am so so so sorry I know what you feel... I felt the same way about my cat. However, you should remember that masses might become very painful too. What is more, it is possible he would not show signs of pain until it would be impossible to stand. I am still crying at nights because of my lovely cat who left us... but as the vet told me, at least he did not suffer for long... and he'd have died within weeks or months anyway (but in pain). 
Me and Tolek (the new addition to our small family) send you lots of hugs!

So sorry. You thought he had a chance, so you took it. There's nothing wrong with that decision. You did your best. Sending hugs and giving my little ones hugs.

Max did not suffer.  As posted Franny died 2 weeks ago today.  The vet came to the house but honestly my Franny was so out of it my heart said this is the right time.  Your Max, unlike my Franny which I kept home was in a safe place that if in fact he made it till morning would of had loads of attention to help him along.  It was Max's and Franny's time to leave us.  I cry today for both of us.  DO NOT second guess yourself.  Max may have suffered till he died if you kept him home.  You and I tried everything to make a better life for our little family but in the end things go wrong.  At the 2 week mark I am a little better.  I still look at Franny's spots and get sad.  But the tears are being replaced with beautiful memories of the 11+ years I had with her.  And that instead of being euthanized in a shelter she had a great life!  Cry a lot then celebrate your love Max!

I am so, so sorry to hear about Max! My heartbroke for you when I read the update. I understand the guilt; but, suspect it would have been even stronger had you not given surgery a chance. I, too, think you made the best decision you could given the circumstances.

Again, I am so sorry for your loss.