Kitten sore throat/cough after surgery

[stressystudent]

Hi!! My 10 month old cat just had FHO surgery on monday and is recovering great, however she had a slight croaky voice for a couple of days after which i expected and this seemed to resolve itself. This morning she had a very intense grooming session and afterwards had a coughing fit for about 2 minutes. She then stopped coughing, however has been very "croaky" ever since, e.g her purrs sound kinda croaky (although not when she's purring quietly) and when she sighs (like when she's napping and super relaxed) you can hear her throat croak sometimes. Her breathing is normal rate/she isn't struggling to breathe at all and is breathing quietly as normal, appetite and energy levels normal, she's just sounding kinda funny sometimes. She random does little coughs/clearing of her throat every now and then maybe once every few hours but no more extended periods of coughing since this morning? Does this sound like maybe a hairball? Or has she maybe just strained an already slightly irritated throat? Any suggestions would be great
She has a post op check up booked this coming Thursday anyway but just wondering whether it's worth getting her seen before then or we'll be okay to wait a few days and see if the throat improves?

 

[heatherwillard0614]

I think you can wait til Thursday I know when my girl was spayed she was the same way I'm assuming it was from intubation. Ever her meows sounded weird lol she has this real cute meow and talks all the time but when she came home the first 2 days she had no voice at the end of the 2nd day her voice started coming back but it was hoarse and lower in pitch.. it resolved after a few days. So with that I'm gonna take a guess and say that your little lady just has a little irritation from being intubated
This being said I'm not a vet and I just know how my girl was after her surgery..
If you are concerned you can call the vet just to see what they say since is has been since Monday.

 

[stressystudent]

I think you can wait til Thursday I know when my girl was spayed she was the same way I'm assuming it was from intubation. Ever her meows sounded weird lol she has this real cute meow and talks all the time but when she came home the first 2 days she had no voice at the end of the 2nd day her voice started coming back but it was hoarse and lower in pitch.. it resolved after a few days. So with that I'm gonna take a guess and say that your little lady just has a little irritation from being intubated
This being said I'm not a vet amd I just know how my girl was after her surgery..
If you are concerned maybe you can call the vet just to see what they say?

Yeah it does make a lot of sense! That is very cute though of your cat haha, ours doesn't meow hardly ever so I honestly wouldn't know how her meow is doing but she trills a tonnn and those have been sounding kinda gruff! The vet opens again on Monday so I think if she hasn't improved at all by then I'll give them a ring, thank you for the reassurance!

 

[Kwik]

Highly likely the sore throat and cough is due to the tube used to supply oxygen during the FHO surgery,it's to be expected and quite common

I don't suspect anything more that the normal healing process of the trachea taking place and I'm confident you can wait until Thursday to mention this to your Vet..... it's irritated,can take up to 3 weeks to fully heal the trachea -some less irritated will be fine anywhere from 1 to 3 days- others can take ,as I mentioned,as long as 3 weeks

If you are really concerned just call the Vets office and ask,I'm sure they will tell you this is normal- kitty will be back to a normal " meow" and all will be well-I do hope you feel a little better now but always be sure,don't take anyone's word for anything when it comes to your cats health and always check with your Vet to be sure .....

 

[heatherwillard0614]

Yeah it does make a lot of sense! That is very cute though of your cat haha, ours doesn't meow hardly ever so I honestly wouldn't know how her meow is doing but she trills a tonnn and those have been sounding kinda gruff! The vet opens again on Monday so I think if she hasn't improved at all by then I'll give them a ring, thank you for the reassurance!

No problem.. yea my girl talks A LOTTT lol and the first day into the second her mouth was opening but nothing was coming out lol then when she got it back she sounded so hoarse and the pitch was lower and I was like omg is she going to sound like this forever?!?! But she got her meow back just took a bit

 

[stressystudent]

Highly likely the sore throat and cough is due to the tube used to supply oxygen during the FHO surgery,it's to be expected and quite common

I don't suspect anything more that the normal healing process of the trachea taking place and I'm confident you can wait until Thursday to mention this to your Vet..... it's irritated,can take up to 3 weeks to fully heal the trachea -some less irritated will be fine anywhere from 1 to 3 days- others can take ,as I mentioned,as long as 3 weeks

If you are really concerned just call the Vets office and ask,I'm sure they will tell you this is normal- kitty will be back to a normal " meow" and all will be well-I do hope you feel a little better now but always be sure,don't take anyone's word for anything when it comes to your cats health and always check with your Vet to be sure .....

Thank you so much! I'll be sure to mention it then but I think I'll give them a ring if she's no better in a few days. Google has been telling me any cough over 24 hours after is bad news but I'm so sure in humans if they'd had a fairly lengthy surgery they'd be sore for much longer, so why not cats aha!? Thank you again for your reassurance

 

[heatherwillard0614]

S stressystudent I hope your little girl is healing ok from her surgery that is kind of a major surgery.. please keep us posted with her healing and her little throat

 

[stressystudent]

S stressystudent I hope your little girl is healing ok from her surgery that is kind of a major surgery.. please keep us posted with her healing and her little throat

Thank you so much I will do! It's been quite an intense few months bless her, we took her to the vets initially for a knee injury which seemed to not be healing.. But turns out the knee injury actually did heal, and it was discovered she has/had Legg Calve Perthes in her hip and it has very severely fractured, aka the cause of the ongoing limp! Still got a way to go recovery wise but she's doing great so far, even if she does resent us for making her wear a recovery suit lol!

 

[Kwik]

Thank you so much! I'll be sure to mention it then but I think I'll give them a ring if she's no better in a few days. Google has been telling me any cough over 24 hours after is bad news but I'm so sure in humans if they'd had a fairly lengthy surgery they'd be sore for much longer, so why not cats aha!? Thank you again for your reassurance

Well,Google doesn't lknow everything,lol..what's to be considered is the kittens tiny little trachea too,FHO surgery recovery differs from cat to cat-they can remain in the hospital postoperative for hours or days- depending on the procedure itself.... it's not that simple for a generalized answer.....
Consult your Vet,not Google..... I've had cats meow the moment they come to and others cannot for some time..... your cat underwent surgery by your Vet- he can answer your concerns-I am very confident your cat is fine.....

 

[stressystudent]

Well,Google doesn't lknow everything,lol..what's to be considered is the kittens tiny little trachea too,FHO surgery recovery differs from cat to cat-they can remain in the hospital postoperative for hours or days- depending on the procedure itself.... it's not that simple for a generalized answer.....
Consult your Vet,not Google..... I've had cats meow the moment they come to and others cannot for some time..... your cat underwent surgery by your Vet- he can answer your concerns-I am very confident your cat is fine.....

Agreed, I'm such a sucker for googling everything wrong with her and it always being the most awful things showing up but like you said recovery isn't a one size fits all sorta thing! She was very chatty the day after surgery but incredibly croaky, but I think she was just looped on painkillers She's already seeming better than this morning so I think she's going to be more than okay!