Is having "off" days normal after surgery?

[hayleym72]

Last week i had taken my cat who was vomiting  A LOT and getting sicker to the vet and it was discovered she had 2 BB pellets embedded in her abdomen!! The next day she had surgery and they were successfully removed and her recovery WAS amazing for the first 3-4 days, then i noticed 2 days ago she was acting fine but her appetite wasn't there like it was before. Then yesterday she did vomit and it was bile, pretty sure from not eating and meds but i'm panicking Her incision is fine, she did drink water yesterday for sure, she's playing and woke me up 3x purring on my head last night wanting pets but her lack of appetite concerns me as we've tried a few different foods to no avail. The thing is she has/had been on many meds, all with many or different side effects and has recently stopped all and i know one i gave her the day before she vomited was to be given with food ( i didn't know for sure she had not really been eating as much as i thought, i have another cat and dog who like to get in there when i'm not looking and i can't put it up too high because of incision). So, it has only been 1 vomit and that was almost 24 hours ago but it seems there is NO interest in food now but she is acting normal and even when she saw the laser pointer she went nuts...so i don't know what to think? After i noticed her vomit i did give her an anti neasea pill i had left over for her and there's no other behaviour changes...kind of scratching my head but i'm thinking maybe it just happens? perhaps the med upset her stomach which it's known to do? but i'd think she'd have her appetite back by now? I will be calling the vet as soon as they open today, but i'm just wondering if this has happened to anyone else? I was so excited after so much upset and panic and now i feel i'm back at square one again and something's really wrong and "what if?"

 

[hayleym72]

I just wanted to mention she was sleeping on the couch and i placed food in her vicinity and she was smelling the air and it almost offended her and she jumped down and moved somewhere else:/

 

[catpack]

Contact your vet and give them an update. It is concerning with the sudden onset of symptoms when she had been doing well.

Let us know what you find out!

 

[hayleym72]

Just a bit of an update, which isn't much:/ She STILL hasn't eaten or shown interest in water but is playing and acting fine??? don't get it. Spoke with vet, she isn't panicking and said to start her on the antacid again which i did. She hasn't vomited except for the one 2 days ago but i feel if this keeps up she's going to with nothing in her stomach. My husband did give her water through dropper last night about an ounce and she kept it down but still no interest, i think i've tried every brand of food out there lol so vet said if she's still the same way today that she will give meds for appetite increase, I don't know how well those work but i'm starting to panic here. The only good thing is we've gone from 4-6 pre op vomits a day to just one in 1 week so i'm crossing my fingers it's just her being off still? ugh this is frustrating because once she's was getting better i was so happy as she was back to her old self, now this her stomach bio did come back and it showed gastritis but she said that could have been from what she was going through at the time, i just don't know anymore

 

[catpack]

So, she has gone 3 days without eating? Is this correct? This is concerning as she may be imdeveloping hepatic Lipidosis (Fatty Liver disease.)

Your cat needs both fluids (IV or SubQ) and she needs to be syringe fed until she is eating on her own.

Mirtazapine is the appetite stimulant I am familiar with and it works well. Typically starts working 24-48 hrs after the first dose has been given.

 

[hayleym72]

No, we're on day 2, but the night before she lost her appetite i gave her a medication she needed to have with food and may not have realized she was starting to lose her appetite and the med upset her stomach? or it could be the "norm" after abdominal/exploratory surgery. Our vet has been very diligent with her and i spoke with her a half hour ago, she is giving appetite med and also after recovery food to syringe her with. She said she is not concerned at this point because it's common and sounds like she needs a kickstart again. I know the bile vomit from this morning would be from not eating and it was'nt as violent or forceful as it was before the surgery. Also, i started giving her the antacids again yesterday and there was no vomit until almost 24 hours later but didn't know i could give her 2-3x a day and i only gave her one dose yesterday afternoon...so i guess what i'm saying is, although it's not normal behaviour, everything seems to make sense to me because of what she's gone through?? Also the biopsy came back normal other than the one thing and there's an explanation for that too...just think i'm being an over worried mamma:/ She said if it's worse or same to bring her in tomorrow so crossing fingers i don't have to have that visit

 

[catpack]

What has me concerned is that she did so well the first few days after surgery. If she had had these symptoms the first 2-3 days post-op, I could believe that she was still recovering. But, the fact that the issues started 4+ days after surgery means to me that we are having a setback, and thus where my concern comes from....why the setback after doing well?

I am glad you seem to have a good relationship with your vet and you feel like she is being diligent.

It's good you are getting an appetite stimulant and food to syringe. I'd also recommend some SubQ fluids, which will be more effective at treating dehydration than stringing water and can also help with appetite.

 

[denice]

I am glad you are talking to the vet.  The concern I would have if there was injury to the intestine that was repaired that there is leakage at the repair site.  I hope it is just side effects of the medications.

 

[hayleym72]

With success we were able to give our cat her first "meal" through syringe, she probably took 3ml if i had to guess, it was a bit messy but that was about 2 hours ago and it never came up! we also gave her a small amount of water via syringe shortly after, so this is good news. I also gave her an appetite inducing med plus her antacid a couple of hours before trying the food. So...i forgot to ask the vet how often it should be given if kept down:/ been a bit empty headed with worry lately anyway, i would think it maybe ok to give again? i just don't want to overfeed but really the amount she's had isn't much and i know not to over due it for sure, but i think another few ml should be good again, or do i just be patient and let this be a time thing?

 

[2bcat]

I'm wondering if your units are off?  3ml is a very small amount.  When I did syringe feeding we dealt in the tens of ml at least.  It's hard to translate exactly because cat food is sold by weight not volume.  But a 5.5oz can of cat food should have well over 100ml in it.

I never had a good experience with the syringe and my cat who we fed that way a couple years ago, but if you really only got in 3ml I think you're going to have to try for more.  The vet tech who looked after my cat for a few days during that time said she would try for really large amounts at a time, like 50+.  I could see not doing that much, when we did it ourselves I don't think we did more than about 30ml in one session.

It's kinda tough regardless.  If she's being patient with you generally, then multiple smaller sessions might be good.  If she's not being patient with you, then larger sessions might be better so she's not spending so many times per day doing something that she's fighting against.  The time spent is likely the same but you'll have to use your judgment about how much to give how frequently/infrequently.  The main goal would be to have her get enough food to maintain weight and/or more particularly hopefully get her kick started on eating some more by herself.

 

[hayleym72]

Ty for the reply! that helps a lot. I may have been confused with it being cc's, i've had med dosages and vet terms coming from everywhere lol LITERALLY right now i heard a noise and she is sucking up water from the bowl like never before!!!!! OMG i am sooo excited i could ball my eyes out!!!! now maybe leave the food out and see what happens, this IS the most promising thing yet!!

 

[2bcat]

Sounds promising.  Even if you have to keep syringing for a while, always offer some food in her bowls and see if she will come around to eating on her own.  That is always the goal. 

Oh and for the record, ml and cc are exactly the same amounts. :-)  I couldn't tell you why we use both terms but they definitely refer to the same amount of fluid.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

So I just finished reading about the post surgery issues, and am guessing she was re-checked and there is nothing wrong with the surgery site?  What does the Vet think the issue is that is causing her not to want to eat?

It IS a good sign that she is now drinking, but she definitely needs to consumer a LOT more food, either on her own, or with YOUR help

 

 

[hayleym72]

Just a FANTASTIC update!! She ate on her own! we force fed earlier and i've been diligent with both meds, seems to be working and just now she willingly ate, i know baby steps but this is SO what we needed! 

 

[hayleym72]

It's been about 10 days post op exploratory and BB pellets removed from 5 yr old cats stomach. Surgery went well and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, next day she was eating and drinking and "back to normal". But now every day it's something different and i feel helpless i am now starting to panic! Day 2 she would pick at food,no water day 3 and 4 nothing, day 5 hungry again, then nothing since:/ vet said it can happen and all the meds she was on could cause it, prescribed appetite meds and told me to continue antacid, also started force feeding her.

She since has had NO appetite still! BUT when fed, keeps the food down so i don't get it?? she has vomited 3x since being home but never after a feed and it was bile and at the times she wasn't eating, so i'm not concerned as i know that's a common sign of an empty stomach. She is tired yes, but her surgery was very intrusive and she is bruised and still uncomfortable. I am also force feeding her water.

One minute she will play if her toys are out and then the next appear obviously not well, which i don't understand. I could cry, i thought we were over these hurdles and the appetite med would have kicked in by now(been taking it since thursday), i'm just glad she's keeping it down, but i feel it will never stop and always be like this and i'll have to say goodbye to her, then a part of me is saying, well as long as i'm putting it into her and its staying there it will get better i just need to give it time but i think too much time is going by and she should have an appetite by now

She is using litter box normal and other than baby food, i have tried EVERYTHING on the market! i will probably be taking her in tomorrow, i just don't know what could possibly be going on if she's keeping it down? I truly feel helpless and she's starting to avoid me now because i'm either giving her a pill or food or something she hates.

A quick question i have also is about her after eating. If she were to vomit due to stomach issues or whatever the reason, how long is usually the norm before i'd know? she badly wants to leave my room but i need to keep an eye on her to ensure she's kept it down. i think some of her lethargy and depression is as a result of boredom, not being with her other buddy and not being able to cuddle in her fave spots. 

 

[hayleym72]

I don't know if having an iv and staying at the vet maybe a good idea for our cat since she has no interest in food or water and is losing weight rapidly. We seem to know the cause of it and just need an appetite kick start to get her energy levels up again and start healing. i feel i'm not helping enough at home and i am not a professional, so monitoring her through the day is fine, but it doesn't give me any ideas or insight on what else i can. I just wondered if it would be a waste of time/money (i don't mine either) to have her stay maybe 2 nights with iv's and such or if i should keep force feeding her at home? she is keeping that down but not enough is being consumed to keep her healthy and i feel i'm getting no where, and i would think some iv fluids would do her the world of good and boost her energy levels...thoughts?

 

[Columbine]

I think I'd take the vet's advice as a start point. As we can't see your cat it's very hard to make that kind of judgement.

Having said that, I know that many members have found sub-Q fluids make a big difference to their IBD cats (I know you haven't said yours has IBD, but it's the example that comes to mind).

If you're struggling to get enough food and fluids into your girl, then some iv treatment might not just be a good idea, but actually be necessary to keep her from deteriorating further. I think this has to be a joint decision between you and your vet. I've generally found that my gut instinct is the way to go with my guys. If your instincts are telling you an overnight stay a the vets is a good move, then it most likely is.

Hope your girl get better soon

 

[stephenq]

 

I don't think its a food issue, i think its a medical issue.  And even if it wasn't a medical issue to begin with, with that amount of nont eating she could be in hepatic lipidosis, a liver illness caused by lack of food that serves to further kill her appetite.  If this is the case, the best way to deal with it (often) is to have a feeding tube implanted and you then inject the food into her stomach (quite easy to do) until she develops her appetite.  Lipidosis if not treated is generally fatal, but it usually responds well to therapy.  Regardless, your cat needs a vet again and some aggressive care.

 

[hayleym72]

Hi,

I appreciate your concern but it can be "normal" for a cat to go this long without an appetite after what she's gone through. I'm not sure if you've read my previous posts but this seems to be more of an appetite issue than anything. The reason i say this is because of the severity of her surgery and the issues that preceded the surgery. For a few weeks before it she hadn't eaten ANYTHING but we didn't know this until it was visually obvious as she was very overweight and "hiding" it well (we have other pets, presumed the food was being consumed by her) Then she started vomiting bile constantly, thinking it maybe a furball, we did give it time and then when we saw this wasn't changing and did a very close watch on her food consumption which we saw was none, we got her into the vets asap.

It was there that she did have blood work, xrays and exam and it was determined that she had 2 BB pellets embedded close to her intestines. Once operated on, the vet said she was surprised it wasn't as bad as she thought and the BBs were successfully removed, a biopsy of part of her stomach was sent away, which came back fine and like i said the next day she seemed to be on the mend, and for a few days after.

It comes and goes everyday:/ She will come when she hears the can, smell it and walk away, sometimes she will try to "cover it" for later with her paw. This morning she did willingly go up to water and have a few laps, i also force fed her food which she's kept down, she keeps down everything, that's the strange thing.

So all the tests have been performed, the vet and tech said they're going to try to come up with some ideas today and will call me back but said it was a very harsh surgery and afterwards it is very common to see this especially because they cut into her GI tract. If she were vomiting up her food or water or wasn't using her litter box i'd know what i needed to do but that's not happening. At this point i feel like i've been watching a sick baby and am exhausted with worry more than anything because i know i can keep her going but it's me that's having to do it, not her and it scares me.

She has ALWAYS been a picky eater, she walks away when given tuna or any wet food thats not pate, she's been like that for years but I'm panicking because she isn't doing what cats do, "everyone else" is saying this is bad...except for our vet and research i've done that does agree with what the vet has said. i keep wondering if the bile vomit from before has made her scared to eat because of vomiting, although i don't think cats think that way lol but the burn from the bile may have turned her off ?

I know no one can help with my situation without seeing her and getting an entire history, and i'm not trying to be ungrateful with everyones help so far, but all i've heard is take her in, she is dying, she needs food now and so on, but i have and that doesn't help with any basic questions i seem to have when the vets not open. I know to take my pets into the vet and i know what can happen in these situations, so advice on that end and repeating what i've been told when i've already done it, isn't helping me very much

I just can't believe there's no one here that's really gone through this since it can be common, I will update when i speak to her later. I hope i didn't come across as rude, i just love her so much and as everyday goes by, even though i know she's getting into her what she needs, i worry this is all in vain. 

 

[2bcat]

So it sounds like you are syringe feeding her, and she has at least some periods of good quality life (gets around on her own, goes to litter box, plays, etc), but she's not gone back to eating on her own yet.  Syringe feeding can be done indefinitely, but usually it's done with the expectation that the cat returns to eating at some point.  At 10 days, you are not yet at a length of time where it would be a concern that she'll never eat on her own again.  At least not to my knowledge.  I syringe fed a cat much longer than that looking to turn a corner.  Admittedly she did not ever turn that corner, but her problems were different (kidney disease plus congestive heart failure, a tricky mix where treating one thing was detrimental to the other).

Things that can keep a cat from eating include issues with smell (won't eat food that they can't smell), breathing problems, stomach upset, and probably several more.  One would reasonably expect stomach upset after that sort of operation as you're obviously aware.  Sometimes the first meds don't work and you have to try something else.  When I was in the middle of this kind of scenario I was on the phone to the vet every other day sometimes and we went through a few different visits there and so forth.  Having to go back and tweak the treatment when she doesn't respond at first just comes with the territory.

How does she take the syringe feeding?  Is it a big fight every time or is she doing ok with it?  My cat fought the syringe feeding, and given the amount of reports I've read where cats took pretty well to it, I've often wondered if the fighting it was down to the breathing issues she had from the CHF.  Not that I think your cat has that, but if she had any trouble breathing it would be another sure fire reason that she wouldn't eat on her own.

It seems to me you're trying to sort out whether you can be expecting her to recover further or not.  From where I sit, I don't think anyone could yet conclude that she will not recover.  No guarantees obviously.  But if she is getting enough nutrition in by syringe for now, and she is getting to where she has more good time than bad, I think that is ok.  You keep going forward, trying different options.  Everything has different options, from treating the stomach upset to appetite stimulant to ways of getting her nutrition without her eating on her own.  

I'll never forget what the emotional roller coaster felt like though when dealing with the eating/not eating cycles and stuff with my cat.  It's so draining.  Hang in there.  Hopefully you'll get some new things to try from the vet, either different meds for stomach upset and/or appetite stimulant or another exam that might reveal something else.