Not Eating After Foreign Body Removal Surgery

[tdanley0906]

One of my cats had surgery yesterday to remove a piece of foam/rubber from a shoe that he ate. The vet kept him overnight to see if he would eat on his own but still hadn’t by the time I picked him up this morning. They syringe fed him and have given me some food and instructions to syringe feed him as well every 4 to 6 hours. My concern is they made it sound like he should have already been eating on his own even though it’s barely been 24 hrs post surgery. I fed him before leaving for work and set up a cam so I can watch him while I’m at work, and so far he’s done nothing but sleep since I left. They told me he did use the litter box at the vet this morning but so far nothing at home. I’m just curious as to what’s the normal behavior post op for this kind of surgery?

 

[lilmopeep]

I am kind of surprised the vet discharged the kitty after surgery, before he was back to eating on his own again - even if only a little bit...

 

[stephanietx]

I, too, am surprised they released him so quickly. If he's not eaten by morning, I'd call the vet. He is probably still sleeping off the anesthesia and the pain meds may also be causing his appetite to be diminished. I'd definitely be concerned!

 

[tdanley0906]

I think they released him early because I had to go to work and my husband wouldn’t be off work until after they had already closed so the next time either of us could pick him up would be tomorrow evening. So basically he’d have been there for 3 days if we waited. But he’s tolerating me syringe feeding him so he’s getting food. He just seems very tired still, occasionally perking up and then resting more. As far as the pain meds go I will hold off on giving him anymore to see if that helps with his appetite, unless of course he starts showing signs of discomfort. I’ve just never had a cat go through a surgery this major so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The only surgeries any of them has had is spay/neuter and those were a cake walk.