Julia & Bandit (GA)
Very Active Member
Hi everyone,
Bandit had his tail partially amputated on Saturday. My boyfriend's brother accidentally shut his tail in the bathroom door, and ripped off the skin and fur from the end of his tail (it was horrible--just bone sticking out. :sad: ). Luckily, a board certified surgeon from Cornell was wonderful enough to come in on his day off and perform the amputation for Bandit immediately, so Bandit came home Sunday afternoon and is actually recovering really, really well. No antibiotics so far because there's no swelling, redness, or discharge, and he's on .4ml of buprenorphine 3 times a day. He's acting a little druggy but normal, and of course hates his cone of shame that he has to wear. His BG was through the roof for pre-anesthesia bloodwork they did (438), so I was expecting to start him on insulin again, but his BG was normal once he got home, so we lucked out there. I've been testing him 2-3 times a day to make sure, but so far the highest number I've gotten is 121.
The last dose of bupe I have for him runs out tonight, so I'm wondering if I should get some more from the vet? He's acting fine, but of course he's been on bupe since we got home so I don't know if that's why he's been acting fine. I called my regular vet and she said she'd give me more bupe, but I don't know if I should be weaning him off it already or not.
How long after something like this do you give pain meds? I don't want to cut the meds and cause him pain, but I don't want to leave him on them longer than necessary, either.
Also, is there anything else I can expect from a tail amputation? Loss of balance, for example?
Bandit had his tail partially amputated on Saturday. My boyfriend's brother accidentally shut his tail in the bathroom door, and ripped off the skin and fur from the end of his tail (it was horrible--just bone sticking out. :sad: ). Luckily, a board certified surgeon from Cornell was wonderful enough to come in on his day off and perform the amputation for Bandit immediately, so Bandit came home Sunday afternoon and is actually recovering really, really well. No antibiotics so far because there's no swelling, redness, or discharge, and he's on .4ml of buprenorphine 3 times a day. He's acting a little druggy but normal, and of course hates his cone of shame that he has to wear. His BG was through the roof for pre-anesthesia bloodwork they did (438), so I was expecting to start him on insulin again, but his BG was normal once he got home, so we lucked out there. I've been testing him 2-3 times a day to make sure, but so far the highest number I've gotten is 121.
The last dose of bupe I have for him runs out tonight, so I'm wondering if I should get some more from the vet? He's acting fine, but of course he's been on bupe since we got home so I don't know if that's why he's been acting fine. I called my regular vet and she said she'd give me more bupe, but I don't know if I should be weaning him off it already or not.
How long after something like this do you give pain meds? I don't want to cut the meds and cause him pain, but I don't want to leave him on them longer than necessary, either.
Also, is there anything else I can expect from a tail amputation? Loss of balance, for example?
