Questions about cat post anesthesia

[Michelle & Dusty]

Dusty got an emergency visit to the vet today because she had constipation and wasn't eating. The vet put her under, manually removed some pretty hard poo, and then gave her an enema. It sounds like things were pretty stressful at the vet because there was a very yappy dog housed near her. (It was also stressful because she got her full dose this morning (1.5 units) and then, shortly thereafter, threw up what little food she had eaten and refused all other food.)

She just got home about 20 minutes ago. Seemed interested in eating but when I put food in front of her (first some FF chicken classic, then some chopped chicken with some baby food mixed in), she took a couple of bites then stopped eating. I gave her a tablespoon or so of the chicken baby food by itself, which she happily ate. I plan to give her some more in half an hour or so if she hasn't eaten anything else before then. I'm worried, though, because she hasn't eaten anything significant all day. And I'm fairly certain she has also not had much, if any, water.

A couple of questions:

(1) Does a lack of appetite often follow anesthesia? Should I not expect her to be very hungry (or, even if hungry, willing to eat) for a couple of hours yet? At what point should I start getting worried about her not eating?

(2) Should I give her insulin tonight? Should I only give it if she's eating? Should I give her some (a reduced dose?) even if she's not eating? Her BG is fairly high at the moment (mid-300's), but yesterday she dipped down to the low 100's. I'd like to dose her, if possible, because I skipped last night's injection because she was 136. But I don't want to do so if it'll just put more stress on her already stressed system.

Thanks for any advice or help you all have!

 

[BJM]

Actually, some vets say to be cautious giving food after anesthesia as it can result in vomiting.

Was the vet certain there was no blocking higher up in the GI tract? That might reduce appetite.

Adding some water to the food may reduce the chances of more constipation happening.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

After the anesthesia and what he went not eating well is to be expected. If not eating normally tomorrow evening I would be concerned.

 

[Michelle & Dusty]

Thanks, BJM and Larry!

The vet took an x-ray to make sure she wasn't blocked further up.

We just got back from my sister's house (for Christmas) a day and a half ago, so the vet seemed to think that it was probably the stress and dehydration of the travel day that probably caused the constipation. We did talk, though, about perhaps adding some Miralax to her food. She already has her food watered down (a rough 1:1 ratio). I started doing this before her diagnosis, actually, because she loves gravy and have just continued the practice. ;-)

I'll keep an eye on her and will put up the food for an hour or two. Hopefully by the time she normally gets dosed (9:30) she'll have recovered a bit of the appetite. And I'll try very hard not to worry about it until tomorrow. (I worked myself into a state of high anxiety today, with Dusty at the vet's, not eating, and with a full dose of insulin in her. Still trying to calm down from that.)