Cat won't pee after dental surgery

[tinytangerine]

Hi all,

I've gotten a ton of thoughtful insight in the past and wondering if there's more out there for me today.

My guy went in and had 6 teeth extracted on Thursday morning. He was given an antibiotic shot and buprenorphine. Thursday evening he was vocalizing in the litter box and squatting but not peeing. We took him to the vet Fri, where they expressed his (very full) bladder and took a look under the microscope - no blockage or infection. By Saturday afternoon (today), he had still not urinated on his own, and in fact hadn't even tried - had not visited the box. We took him in to the vet again this afternoon and they expressed him again and checked his legs, tail, etc for movement and to make sure everything seemed fine neurologically (it did), & still no sign of blockage or infection.

I'm at a bit of a loss, and this point. I know not urinating can be quite dangerous for kitties, especially boys, but I can't keep taking him in so frequently and there doesn't appear to be a specific medical reason for not urinating. Our vet is closed tomorrow (Sunday). Is he safe if he doesn't pee between ~3:30pm Sat and ~8am Monday? Is that a super unsafe risk?

Other than not urinating, he is behaving super normally for him. Eating and drinking normally, normal activity levels.

Has anyone come across something like this before? Would love any thoughts you all have!

 

[pipperoo]

I'm sorry to hear this. I have read that opiates can cause this in addition to causing constipation. Is your kitty on pain meds still?

The lack of peeing Thurs night doesn't surprise me (he would have been fasting pre surgery and probably didn't eat/drink much when he came home + being a bit high his mind/body was probably a bit confused)

I'm no vet, but I would try placing him in his litter box, petting him to relax, maybe holding a warm washcloth or drizzling some warm water over his nether regions - these are just silly suggestions, but not harmful and maybe at this point, he just needs a little warmth and relaxation down there to get the flow started.......

I've also read on line about idiopathic (ie no known cause) cystitis and it can be caused by stress/trauma which dental surgery definitely is - and as two additional vet visits are.

I would not wait until Monday to see a vet though. I would head to an ER vet or try for a phone consult.

Best of luck. I hope your little guy is feeling better very soon.

 

[neely]

Can you increase his liquid intake and encourage him to drink? Even try putting some tuna juice in his water or else use a syringe to give him water. Hopefully if he drinks more liquids he will use the litter box to urinate.

To answer your question whether it's safe to wait from Saturday until Monday if he hasn't urinated, sorry but the answer is No.

 

[tinytangerine]

Thanks both. You've essentially confirmed my thoughts and I'll make sure we bring him in at some point tomorrow afternoon if he hasn't gone. To be clear, he was expressed today at ~3pm by our vet so he is not in imminent danger right now. He has been on oral buprenorphine 2x/day which we have discontinued per vet advice in case that is creating some of the issues with urination.

I'm scratching my head a bit on what to look for going forward if this doesn't resolve quickly. Like mentioned, he has no blockage and no UTI....but I can't keep bringing him in daily to be expressed forever .

 

[hipchk41]

Thanks both. You've essentially confirmed my thoughts and I'll make sure we bring him in at some point tomorrow afternoon if he hasn't gone. To be clear, he was expressed today at ~3pm by our vet so he is not in imminent danger right now. He has been on oral buprenorphine 2x/day which we have discontinued per vet advice in case that is creating some of the issues with urination.

I'm scratching my head a bit on what to look for going forward if this doesn't resolve quickly. Like mentioned, he has no blockage and no UTI....but I can't keep bringing him in daily to be expressed forever .

 

[hipchk41]

Hi Tinytangerine,
May I ask how long after the teeth extraction did it take for you cat to finally pee on his own? My cat had extractions done on Tuesday and it is now Thursday and she still hasn't peed.

Thank you,

 

[Cburitz]

Hi Tinytangerine,
May I ask how long after the teeth extraction did it take for you cat to finally pee on his own? My cat had extractions done on Tuesday and it is now Thursday and she still hasn't peed.

Thank you,

Did your cat finally pee? My cat had a dental cleaning yesterday and one extraction and didn’t pee for over 24 hours so I just had the vet manually extract the pee from his bladder. They think he’s so stressed and that’s why he hasn’t peed on his own. Someone make me feel better. Did yours pee on his own eventually?

 

[hipchk41]

Did your cat finally pee? My cat had a dental cleaning yesterday and one extraction and didn’t pee for over 24 hours so I just had the vet manually extract the pee from his bladder. They think he’s so stressed and that’s why he hasn’t peed on his own. Someone make me feel better. Did yours pee on his own eventually?

Yes, my cat finally peed on her own. I caught her in the litter box 2 days later. I think you are right that stress may play a part in them not being able to pee. I tried to keep her calm and talking to her in a reassuring voice. Also, my cat had not eaten or had water from midnight before surgery and possibly longer than that, so she really didn't have anything in her system besides the antibiotics and anesthesia.
I hope your cat feels better soon.

 

[tinytangerine]

Hey! Sorry for the delay in responding.

We actually had to bring my guy in to get his bladder expressed three days in a row. The vet recommended we stop the pain meds on that third day in case that was the issue, and he peed on his own that day.

It sounds like the delayed urination can be from a lot of things, including limited water intake, stress, and meds. In my guy's case, it seems like it was primarily due to the pain meds, which have been known to cause 'urine hesitance' in humans (not studied in cats). In his case, the vet said once the expression started the bladder emptied fine, but he had trouble getting it started because of the meds.

Fingers crossed for your kitties that they are just fine and start going on their own soon <3. Not urinating can be scary, especially for male cats, so my #1 piece of advice would be just keep in touch with your vet.