What to do when cat is agitated after surgery and meds don't work?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There may be reasons, based on health or blood work, why the Vet doesn't send the cats home with pain medications. Cats in general are more sensitive to NSAIDs. They can not metabolize them and can die from improper use. There are drugs like onsior that are approved for cats for 3 days. You can use gabapentin, tramadol and buprenex orally to send home. I tend to NOT send home my cat spays with pain medications, but for an enucleation I would. I think you should calmly and respectfully discuss your concerns for the lack of pain control in cats and see if they will share their reasoning with you. The Vet may not know that some of these cats are indeed very painful, you are their best advocate! I hope this helps and I wish you all the best!

Actually now the recommend medication is gabapentin. Ask your veterinarian for some and give it before the visit. With this the cats are just mellow, easy to handle and not as drugged as with the other medications. Diazepam is not used much in cats now due to it causing liver problems. Apromazine can make them sedate but doesn’t reduce the aggression. I personally don’t find Xanax effective. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your cat.

I'm glad to hear that Brady's surgery went well. I suggest you keep him in calm, quiet room by himself (no other animals, etc). I also recommend you get a Feliway diffuser to put in the room with him. Feliway is basically "happy cat" pheromones and it really works well to relax cats. ( https://www.petco.com/brand/comfort-zone ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Poor Dally ! I guess the symptoms you describe indicate that there is something bothering her. There is certainly some kind of pain somewhere. Is she going to the toilet ? Has she eaten ? I would not give her any more pain medications and just observe her without interfering too much. She might have some kind of abdominal discomfort and be unable to settle. It could be a tummy upset or cystitis for example. If this behaviour continues over the next 30-40 minutes I suggest that you have her checked over to understand what it’s happening and have some different pain relief if necessary. Hope she gets better soon !

Hi there and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Keeping a small kitten quiet can be a challenge especially if healing is to take place, certainly. You may want to ask your veterinarian about whether the use of a sedative may be useful in this situation to help keep him relaxed and calm. A drug such as Gabapenitn may be useful as it can be used as a sedative in cats and also provides pain relief. This medication can be prescribed by your veterinarian. I hope this helps!

Unfortunately, there is very little you can do in terms of pain management for a cat at home, as far over the counter medications. They are all dangerous and ineffective. A cat neuter is a typically very simple, quick, and free of complications. So, if he is experiencing this type of reaction now post-operatively, I would be concerned and get him back to whoever performed the procedure. If you take him to an emergency clinic now, they'll be able to do the same and get him medications that will help calm him down, and hopefully make him feel better. The one thing you can try to do if he'll allow it is, if the area where he was operated looks swollen, you can try icing it. Hope this makes sense.

Poor Button! I'm sorry to hear that she's painful after her declaw surgery. There are no human over-the-counter pain medications that are safe to use in cats, so I would definitely recommend calling your vet to let them know that she is still painful. He/she can prescribe a safe and effective pain medication for you to give at home for the next few days, such as gabapentin, buprenorphine, or tramadol.