Acting Different After Vet Visit

[BeignettheCat]

Hi all,
I just wanted to get your opinion on a situation. On Monday morning Benny (6yr, 20lb) threw up, and he threw up numerous times on Wednesday morning, so we took him to an emergency vet.

The vet gave him a shot to break his nausea cycle,
and some subcutaneous fluids. He had never had blood work done so I asked if they could do that too, just to rule out anything more serious. Benny is a fighter and does not like vet AT ALL. So they had to give him a little sedation. Poor guy was poked and prodded and man-handled but it was for his health.

We brought him home and he was still pretty out of it from the sedation. We gave him some boiled chicken and he ate quite a bit of it, and I think it helped perk him up a bit. He wasn’t snuggly or cuddly but he was purring when we would pet him.
Well Thursday morning he had a bit of dry food and some more chicken, he was going to the bathroom like normal but not drinking still- which I attributed from the subcutaneous fluids. Well all of Thursday he just kind of laid around on the floor of our bedroom, he’d come down occasionally to scratch on his scratcher but for the most part he just slept on our floor.

It’s now Friday morning at 3am and he’s still not drinking any water (from what I have seen) and just laying around on the ground. He will get up to use the litter box but will go right back to his spot. He doesn’t want to take any treat and just isn’t acting like himself.

Has anyone had experience like this after a vet visit? I’m sure it was pretty traumatizing for him. The doctor called and said his blood work came back fine but he had a few crystals in his bladder to monitor and maybe change his diet for.

 

[di and bob]

Poor boy! I think the sedation has knocked him for a loop, but he must start drinking soon. Especially with crystals. Set several small bowls of water around to entice him, especially near where he is laying. You might want to somehow mark the water level to see if he is drinking. There are several good supplements around on Amazon and other sites for crystals, you might research some and get some going. Research what his diet should be too. Right now the most important thing is to get his routine back and to get him eating and drinking. Get some lickable treats, those have more water and might entice him. Nothing bisque or milk-based, but maybe the stew flavors. He has been traumatized, so all this is not unusual. If he starts hiding and refuses all food and water he may have to go back. I pray for his sake he slowly starts to get better.
You might want to research how to tell if a cat has an emergency with a blocked bladder or can wait for a while before going in. You palpate, press in, on the lower abdomen. If you feel anything that resembles a ball, or a firm shape (some can get huge) get him in, it is an emergency, he is blocked. If it feels soft (you might want to check now to see what normal feels like) and no big firm bulge, the bladder, you can get him in when you can ASAP. crystals can turn serious in a hurry. All the luck, I will say a prayer for your sweet boy.....

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It can take 72 hours for sedatives to work their way out of the system. How is he doing this evening?

 

[BeignettheCat]

We have an update!
So we took Benny to a different vet, who was very thorough. They think he has some sort of gastrointestinal or urinary track inflammation, so they sent us home with an antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory, an appetite accelerant and some subcutaneous fluids.
He came home and had a little bit of food, and even drank some water! Now he’s been laying on the sofa with us and cuddled with us in bed.

 

[di and bob]

Good news! Thanks so much for the update. It's good to get encouraging news!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

That's wonderful news!