Zoey's Transdermal Morphine Patch...

My 5 year old Zoey come home from the Hospital today after having gotten a Cystectomy to remove stones from her bladder. First off I have to say that I am amazed at how well she's doing after her surgery, but I have a question about this Morphine Transdermal Patch they've used as a pain killer for her.

They have attached this patch to her with staples of some sort and they attached this fabric to the patch itself with staples. They stuck it to the side of her body, ofcourse it's in a place where she can lick and bite it, and I'm foreseeing an E Collar for her tommorrow. She's already started shredding the fabric on top of the patch and I'm concerned about her ripping these staples out of her.

Was that the only place they could have put that patch? It doesn't seem like a very good spot for it considering cats instinctive grooming habbits.

-Monica.

Monica, wherever they put the patch, Zoey would have been able to reach it. They most likely put in on her side to get the maximum amount of skin touching the patch and therefore the best absorption of the Morphine. Yes, I'd definitely be getting her an e-collar, as it's important she gets the pain relief from the patch. In the mean-time, you can make a collar for her with cardboard if you can't get one soon.

I wanted to share a little about Zoey after her surgery as I had an interesting experience with this.

When I brought Zoey home from the hospital she had a transdermal morphine patch on her which she was licking off so I had her wear an E-Collar for a couple days until the patch came off. She seemed real good with the patch, not in pain, almost to a fault. I kinda thought she was a little too active for a cat who just had a significant surgery. I had set things up so she wouldn't have to jump all the way to get up on the bed... but she insisted on making the big jump. She had me a little nervous.

So, when Saturday came and I took her back to the vet to get the pain patch removed, I figured that some pain would set in and slow her down a bit and that that wouldn't be such a bad thing. I figured it'd be like when she came home from the vet after her spaying and she was a little lethargic for a few days.

I don't know whether it was the vet visit, the morphine wearing off, or significant pain setting in, but Zoey was *extremely* skittish after having been home for an hour or so. My purse fell over on the floor and made a noise and she bolted up the stairs. This was NOT what I was expecting to happen! Everything frightened her, sudden movements by me or the other cats, any noises. It was awful. Then later she went to the bathroom and it was obvious to me from the wimpering that she was in some significant pain.

I called the vet and had the doctor paged. The vet called me back and suggested that for tonight I give her 1/2 a childrens aspirin to help her out and if she was still bad the next day to bring her in to get another pain patch. The thing was she wouldn't be able to have another aspirin for 3 days.

Well the Aspirin did WONDERS! She finally laid down and slept and Mommy was relieved! She's been fine ever since and sleeping well, taking it really easy and getting stronger every day.

But if I had it to do over again, I might have waited another day on getting the pain patch removed... though I'm not sure that would have helped. I think there is a certain amount of pain that is just right for a cat. The amount where the cat isn't afraid of everything, but is aware enough of their pain to take it easy when they need to.