Post dental bathroom trouble? constipation?

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Teela Brown

Teela Brown

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Scruffy is recovering from his dental. He had 4 extractions, 2 abscesses and some tiny roots removed. There was a LOT of anesthetic. He is on antibiotics, and pain meds. His surgery was yesterday afternoon.

His BGL seem to be heading back to normal (fingers crossed that it does not mess up my OTJ trial!)

Is it normal for there to be some trouble going to the bathroom? He seems to keep going into his litter box a lot, but not really doing anything except tossing the litter around.
 
Re: Post dental bathroom trouble?

I hope Scruffy continues to heal.

Have you seen him pee yet? Is he straining? Does it look like it's a poo problem?

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some problems considering what he had done... I know in humans pain meds can constipate. Cats too???

I don't have any advice, but thought I would throw out some questions. I know my own animals have have difficulty recovering from anesthetic/surgery...it's a worrisome time. Any chance you could call the vet (do they have an answering service? 24 hr response?) if things just don't feel right?

Impressive his BG numbers are still good! Way to go Scruffy!
 
Re: Post dental bathroom trouble?

So far Scruffy seems fine. Not straining or meowing. But I am suspicious that he might be having trouble. I will keep an eye on things and maybe call my vet in the morning. All my reading suggests that any kind of anesthetic can cause issues.
 
Re: Post dental bathroom trouble?

Make sure that he is passing urine. Urethral blockages can turn serious very quickly.
 
Re: Post dental bathroom trouble?

Oh Teela I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier. Has he urinated? If so are you *sure* he's urinating? (Not another cat's, not old pee, definitely his.) It's possible for male cats to develop a blockage in the lower urinary tract and this is a medical emergency. If he is fussing and you are not 110% certain he has urinated, you need to take him to the ER right away. This shouldn't wait until tomorrow. Please update us as soon as you can.
 
Re: Post dental bathroom trouble?

Is the problem with feces or urine?

Feces: Anathesia can slow the digestive system down. So can opiate-based painkillers like buprenex.

Urine: AFAIK, there shouldn't be any major problem post-surgery. It's possible that he's developed a urinary tract infection, which can cause problems in passing urine. As the others have mentioned, if he becomes completely blocked, it's a medical emergency.
 
Re: Post dental bathroom trouble?

Ok he is peeing. (Trying to get my heart to stop pounding!)

Just might be having trouble pooping. I will keep an eye out.

Happy new year, friends!
 
Re: Post dental bathroom trouble?

Progress! Continues to pee?

Has he pooed yet?

Hope the boy is doing better this morning.
 
Re: Post dental bathroom trouble?

So far he has not.

I did some reading, and it suggested feeding him pumpkin. Not sure what it would do to his BGL, but as a one time thing, it may not be so bad? Everything is closed today. So maybe I will try and track some down first thing tomorrow. I find it hard to believe he will eat pumpkin.
 
I don't have enough experience with treating constipation to give you advice, but I see that Dian has mentioned Miralax. Just wanted to let you know that the Canadian equivalent of that product is called Lax-A-Day.
 
I've used pumpkin with my dog (GA) and possibly a (GA) kitty if memory serves me right...

You will need to mix it in with Scruffy's food cause I'm sure he won't eat it otherwise. We just went through a constipation nightmare in Oct. Try to get some extra fluids into Scruffy if it doesn't cause stress...

Wishing Scruffy a healthy poo today!
 
Re: Post dental bathroom trouble?

Teela Brown said:
I find it hard to believe he will eat pumpkin.
Click to expand...

While I undertand that many people have good luck with pumpkin, I would prefer miralax over pumpkin.

I tried to get my herd of cats to eat a small amount of pumpkin mixed with their food many years ago. Not a single one would touch the food.

Pumpkin is a source of fiber and I am not a fan of using fiber as a laxative in a species designed to eat a very low fiber diet.

Miralax is designed to simply add water to the feces - NOT bulk them up like fiber does.
 
Is it safe to assume that this is not blockage? That it is due to surgery?
I am terrified to give him a laxative if it is blocked.

How long can he safely go before this is an issue?
 
Hi Teela -

Obviously, you wouldn't want Scruffy to go this long, but Six didn't have a poo for 6-7 days (3 days at home - 3 days at vets). Obviously, not recommended...but this is the event that began us down the road that lead to the diabetes DX.

I guess what I am trying to say is if he is constipated, he should be ok until you can get him into the vet or start the Miralax as suggested.

Do remember if he went poo before surgery? I also imagine because he would have had to fast before surgery and maybe he's not eating as much because of the dental? Could that be effecting his poo pattern?
 
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