Our new-ish kitty is at the vet getting neutered- updated: what a nightmare!

[stephanier.1765]

And I'm a nervous wreck. It's like I'm worrying about a child. I've never worried about any of our others who we've taken in to be fixed. Mainly, it's because he's still only partial tamed, which means he doesn't completely trust humans yet. Even though we've had him since October, we still can only pet him in certain situations. Just walking up to him and being able to reach down and pet him is almost always an impossibility. When we took him to the vet previously, he completely shut down. It was so sad. I know ultimately he's going to be fine but I'm so sad about him lying in a cage waiting for his turn for surgery. And I'm worried about how much trust we'll have lost after this. Yeah, I know I'm weird.

Edited February 13, 2023 by stephanier.1765

[happi duck]

Not weird!!

Many (hugs)

[Spy Car]

Not weird at all. Even as a person who is pretty new to having a cat in the family, it is easy to appreciate how marvelous the bond with a feline can be and how it isn't necessarily automatic.

I hope it all goes well. 

Bill

[MEmama]

6 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

And I'm worried about how much trust we'll have lost after this. Yeah, I know I'm weird.

Definitely not weird--feeling worried means you're a good cat minion!

It might be that trust won't have been lost. Vets are remarkably good at what they do, and calming scared kitties is one of those things. ((Hugs))

[fraidycat]

Not weird! My little guy who got fixed a couple weeks ago is still a little more skittish than usual about being approached and took longer than I expected to fully recover. So, I totally get it. I have one more to go, he goes next week and after this past one, I'm going to be extra-anxious.

Sending you and your kitty lots of love and calm vibes. Hugs.

[stephanier.1765]

The vet just called to say Blaze is up next for surgery and to give me some quotes for cost and the results of his bloodwork. According to his bloodwork he has elevated liver enzymes. Does anyone know what this might mean? What sort of questions should I ask when I go pick him up? 

[jrn]

Or hopefully he will see you as his safe place because he has returned to you. 
Give him space tonight while the drugs wear off. ((Hugs))

[stephanier.1765]

OMG! What a nightmare! While giving instructions, the vet said to try to keep the ecollar on him but, to be honest, he'll have it off by the time you reach the stop sign and then she laughed. So, that's what I'm thinking is going to happen. If not while still in his crate, certainly as soon as he is out of it. I should have known better. I should have known! He's still so much that wild animal surviving in the outdoors. He didn't gently walk out of his crate and then quickly figure a way out of that collar. No, he took off like a bat out of hell running into everything, getting stuck and banging himself again and again against furniture legs. I could hear panic panting while he was fighting with the world. It was horrifying and heartbreaking and I couldn't help. Any help I tried to give only made it worse. Thankfully, he hid himself in a back bedroom where I shut the door so the other cats wouldn't bother him and went and gave them dinner. Then I went back to check on him and he had worked himself into a spot where I could reach down and tug on the knot. I still ended up a little bloody but that thing is finally off him. He's probably busted every stitch he had but there's no way to check. I hate this. I hate this so much. My heart is in my throat. This is the first time when I've wondered if we made a mistake in bringing him inside. Maybe he's just too wild to be tamed. 

To make it all so much worse, they gave me 3 medications for him. Yeah, I can just see me giving him medication. No way. I can give it to him in his food but he's not that interested in wet food so I'm not sure that's going to work either. And then, they want us back in a month to re-check his enzyme level, as if he's every going to let me trick him in that carrier again. I don't what to do.

[ktgrok]

24 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

OMG! What a nightmare! While giving instructions, the vet said to try to keep the ecollar on him but, to be honest, he'll have it off by the time you reach the stop sign and then she laughed. So, that's what I'm thinking is going to happen. If not while still in his crate, certainly as soon as he is out of it. I should have known better. I should have known! He's still so much that wild animal surviving in the outdoors. He didn't gently walk out of his crate and then quickly figure a way out of that collar. No, he took off like a bat out of hell running into everything, getting stuck and banging himself again and again against furniture legs. I could hear panic panting while he was fighting with the world. It was horrifying and heartbreaking and I couldn't help. Any help I tried to give only made it worse. Thankfully, he hid himself in a back bedroom where I shut the door so the other cats wouldn't bother him and went and gave them dinner. Then I went back to check on him and he had worked himself into a spot where I could reach down and tug on the knot. I still ended up a little bloody but that thing is finally off him. He's probably busted every stitch he had but there's no way to check. I hate this. I hate this so much. My heart is in my throat. This is the first time when I've wondered if we made a mistake in bringing him inside. Maybe he's just too wild to be tamed. 

To make it all so much worse, they gave me 3 medications for him. Yeah, I can just see me giving him medication. No way. I can give it to him in his food but he's not that interested in wet food so I'm not sure that's going to work either. And then, they want us back in a month to re-check his enzyme level, as if he's every going to let me trick him in that carrier again. I don't what to do.

Oh honey, big hugs! If it helps, I've assisted at spay neuter events for feral cats, and those cats go right back in the wild a few hours after surgery, and they do FINE. It's SUCH a tiny tiny tiny incision - worst case would be a bit of swelling. Seriously, he will be fine. And he was probably still a bit weirded out by the anesthesia, hopefully he doesn't even remember most of this incident. Just let him stay hidden, give him lots of places to hide, and let him be. 

What meds did they send home?

[Garga]

40 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

OMG! What a nightmare! While giving instructions, the vet said to try to keep the ecollar on him but, to be honest, he'll have it off by the time you reach the stop sign and then she laughed. So, that's what I'm thinking is going to happen. If not while still in his crate, certainly as soon as he is out of it. I should have known better. I should have known! He's still so much that wild animal surviving in the outdoors. He didn't gently walk out of his crate and then quickly figure a way out of that collar. No, he took off like a bat out of hell running into everything, getting stuck and banging himself again and again against furniture legs. I could hear panic panting while he was fighting with the world. It was horrifying and heartbreaking and I couldn't help. Any help I tried to give only made it worse. Thankfully, he hid himself in a back bedroom where I shut the door so the other cats wouldn't bother him and went and gave them dinner. Then I went back to check on him and he had worked himself into a spot where I could reach down and tug on the knot. I still ended up a little bloody but that thing is finally off him. He's probably busted every stitch he had but there's no way to check. I hate this. I hate this so much. My heart is in my throat. This is the first time when I've wondered if we made a mistake in bringing him inside. Maybe he's just too wild to be tamed. 

To make it all so much worse, they gave me 3 medications for him. Yeah, I can just see me giving him medication. No way. I can give it to him in his food but he's not that interested in wet food so I'm not sure that's going to work either. And then, they want us back in a month to re-check his enzyme level, as if he's every going to let me trick him in that carrier again. I don't what to do.

Try pill pockets for the meds if they’re pills. Some cats love them, and some hate them. We can only hope your kitty loves them.

Pill pockets are very soft treats that you smoosh around the pill. The kitty eats the smooshy treat and swallows the pill without realizing it. But it only works for pills and not liquids.

Edited February 13, 2023 by Garga

[stephanier.1765]

15 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

Oh honey, big hugs! If it helps, I've assisted at spay neuter events for feral cats, and those cats go right back in the wild a few hours after surgery, and they do FINE. It's SUCH a tiny tiny tiny incision - worst case would be a bit of swelling. Seriously, he will be fine. And he was probably still a bit weirded out by the anesthesia, hopefully he doesn't even remember most of this incident. Just let him stay hidden, give him lots of places to hide, and let him be. 

What meds did they send home?

Thank you, that helps a lot! For the first time since we got home, I can feel my own stress level starting to go down. I couldn't eat dinner. The other cats didn't eat dinner either. I think his freak out traumatized the whole house.

I must have misheard about having 3 medications because she referred to one medication as a capsule and then later said tablet so I thought it was two different meds. So the two I was sent home with are Denmarin for his enzyme levels and oral buprenorphene.

10 minutes ago, Garga said:

Try pill pockets for the meds if they’re pills. Some cats love them, and some hate them. We can only hope your kitty loves them.

Pill pockets are very soft treats that you smoosh around the pill. The kitty eats the smooshy treat and swallows the pill without realizing it. But it only works for pills and not liquids.

Thank you, I didn't even think to try those. I have a dentist appointment in the morning so I'll pick some up on the way home. If it works for the pill, that's thankfully one less thing to worry about.

[Pawz4me]

The vet didn't give you a quote when you made the appointment for his neuter? They waited to call and tell you the cost right before surgery?? The two vets I use both give detailed quotes at the time an appointment is made.

Maybe cats are different (it's been a loooooong time since I had one s/n), but my vet uses internal stitches (and maybe surgical glue) for dog neuters. It almost never seems to bother the pups at all. The vet usually doesn't even recommend an e-collar.

Liver enzymes -- I'm thinking they must not have been very high, or the vet wouldn't have done the surgery. If you really don't think you can get him back into a crate then you could see if there are mobile vets that serve your area.

I'm sorry it was such a bad experience. Hopefully he'll forget about most of it and calm down soon.

Edited February 13, 2023 by Pawz4me

[stephanier.1765]

1 minute ago, Pawz4me said:

The vet didn't give you a quote when you made the appointment for his neuter? They waited to call and tell you the cost right before surgery?? The two vets I use both give detailed quotes at the time an appointment is made.

Maybe cats are different (it's been a loooooong time since I had one s/n), but my vet uses internal stitches (and maybe surgical glue) for dog neuters. It almost never seems to bother the pups at all. The vet usually doesn't even recommend an e-collar.

Liver enzymes -- I'm thinking they must not have been very high, or the vet wouldn't have done the surgery. If you really don't think you can get him back into a crate then you could see if there are mobile vets that serve your area.

I'm sorry it was such a bad experience. Hopefully he'll forget about it most of it and be calmed down soon.

That's so good to know about the liver enzymes! His paperwork says, "Bloodwork showed an increase in BUN and 3x on ALT. Also the WBC was low with RBC high." All gibberish to me.

They did give me the quote for the neutering but at drop off I reminded them there is no way for me to give him medication because I can barely even pet him, so if anything can be given by injection to please do that. The vet tech wasn't sure if the vet would want to do an antibiotic shot or not nor how much it cost, so he called to give me a quote on the shot, as well as his blood results and how much the medication for that would be.

[Garga]

To get kitties in the crates, you can try taking the top completely off. Put the kitty in the crate, holding them down tightly with one hand, while you put the top of the crate down over the kitty. Your arm is placed to be through the door of the crate. Then, snatch your arm back fast before kitty can scratch, and close the door.

You can try tossing a blanket over kitty before starting, to somewhat pin down the paws, but that doesn’t always work.

I have a kitty that I inherited from dear friends who had so many medical issues they could no longer live in their house alone and had to move somewhere with no pets. She still barely lets us touch her and it’s been 8 months. She’s slooooolwy getting better. It’s mostly that one of my other cats and her don’t get along and that’s hampering her ability to relax around us.

Anyway, I know what it’s like to care for a kitty who rarely lets you pet them. You just do the best you can and hope they come around eventually. And even if not, you’re providing the best you can for kitty.

Edited February 14, 2023 by Garga

[Carrie12345]

You’re not weird. Dd just had her kitten spayed and was a wreck. Older cat was really mad at the kitten when she came home. Pet parenting is hard!

[MercyA]

You're doing the right thing. Our beloved outdoor cat was only a year old when we lost him, probably to a coyote. 😞 

My cat did great after his neuter with no e collar at all. He went right back outdoors (with access to his "room" in the garage) and he was just fine. Your cat will be okay, too. And neutering kept my male cat a homebody. He would have been much more restless and liable to roam if he had not been fixed, I am sure. 

Hugs to you and bless you for taking care of the kitty. ❤️

[TechWife]

Some encouragement on the cat calming down - we had one feral that adjusted to being inside. Continue to provide that small space and gradually expand its area when it’s comfortable. Don’t be surprised if weeks go by before kitty is comfy enough to expand space. We did have another kitty that adjusted to being inside, but remained very skittish, only letting me & ds pet her for a few years. She eventually warmed up to dh. She lived for 14 years with us, much much longer than she would have lived outside. She never completely stopped being skittish and always needed a quiet space under our bed to retreat to, but she was a beautiful, happy, purring girl! I still miss her, even as I have another cat on my lap as I type. 

[TechWife]

One thing you might  do with your scaredy-cat that helped ours was one of us would go into the room where she was hanging out and sit quietly on the floor reading a book or magazine. This gave her an opportunity to check us out on her terms and eventually got closer to us by increments and then when she was close enough to easily reach, we’d slowly touch her, then that turned into petting, then lap sitting, then following us around the house and snuggling on demand. 
 

ETA - we stayed in the room 15-30 minutes each time over several weeks as she crept her way toward us.

Edited February 14, 2023 by TechWife

[ktgrok]

Oh, and I never used an e collar on a cat for neuter or spay. Dogs, yes. Dogs are idiots. 

Also, you could get some feliway spray or the room diffuser, to help kitty feel calmer. I swear those things really work. 

The buprenorphine doesn't even have to be swallowed, if it gets in the mouth at all it can be absorbed through the gums, if that helps. It's a narcotic, but if it stresses the cat out more giving it than it relieves pain I'd skip it. 

[stephanier.1765]

11 hours ago, ktgrok said:

Oh, and I never used an e collar on a cat for neuter or spay. Dogs, yes. Dogs are idiots. 

Also, you could get some feliway spray or the room diffuser, to help kitty feel calmer. I swear those things really work. 

The buprenorphine doesn't even have to be swallowed, if it gets in the mouth at all it can be absorbed through the gums, if that helps. It's a narcotic, but if it stresses the cat out more giving it than it relieves pain I'd skip it. 

You were absolutely right about the possibility of him not remembering the whole freak out episode. When I opened my door this morning, he came to greet me along with his emotional support cat (our mama cat) like they do every morning. Some mornings he'll let me pet him if I sit in the floor, some days he won't. Today was all about the love. He's never let me pet him that long and he even, at one point, rolled over and showed his belly while I was scratching his face. The two times before when I had taken him to the vet I had a lot of make up work to do to regain lost trust. It took a couple of weeks but it seems as if this time the drugs might have messed his memories enough that we are okay.

I don't know how the medicine giving went this morning. The vet said if we can't give him medication to go ahead and put it in food and DH is the one that feeds them breakfast. Since he didn't leave a note or text me, I'm hoping that means that it went well. I'm still going to grab some pill pockets and hope they make things even easier.

My stress level was so high that I had reflux last night. I've never had that before. Didn't like it one bit. And my body feels like it's been through the wars. But today is looking like it's going to be a much better day. Thank you for helping yesterday.

[Pawz4me]

Yay! So glad things are better this morning. Hopefully the neutering will help calm him down. It will take a few weeks, though.

[stephanier.1765]

4 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

Yay! So glad things are better this morning. Hopefully the neutering will help calm him down. It will take a few weeks, though.

Thank you for mentioning that it might take him a couple of weeks to calm down. I had been hoping to wait until we had a much better trust level before having him fixed but his behavior lately didn't leave us much of a choice. He had begun spraying and would periodically, during the day, cry to go out and the crying could go on for some time. This morning he has already begun the crying, which was a bit of a let down, but at least now I know it will still take some time and that will make it a bit easier to listen to. On the plus side, it was the shortest bout of crying he's ever done so maybe it won't be too long before he stops.

[stephanier.1765]

DH just called and the medicine in the food didn't work out well this morning. He said he took 3 licks and that was it. I'm definitely grabbing some pill pockets today and crossing my fingers that they work.