My cat had surgery, and now is more neurotic than ever

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

So my little boy, Sy, the soft, white, fluffy, neurotic cat, had surgery on his ear yesterday. I had taken him into the vet with what I thought was an abcess, most likely gained from wrestling with Carter, the big, stripy, macho, aloof cat. (they are gay lovers, by the way.)

But it wasn’t an abcess, it was an Ear Hematoma, caused from excessive shaking. Basically the skin on each side of the ear had pulled away from each other, and caused a great huge blood blister to form. If left untreated, it would cause some scarring, and since he already has a blind eye and a deformed tail, I couldn’t bring myself to do that to him. So surgery it was.

The doctor (ooooo, watch out, TMI coming up!) sliced open the ear to drain it, then placed five stitches in various spots, pulling the two sides back together. Sy is now wearing a big collar, takes medicine twice a day, and, I must say, is feeling mighty sorry for himself. Carter is hardly laughing at him at all!

So now Sy has been laying around a lot, is on top of me as much as possible (he likes to drape himself across my shoulders) and won’t touch much food or water. He has slept a lot the last couple of days, but did manage to run through the living room, into the kitchen and smack dab into a closed door. Par for the course!

The vet said he had to wear the collar for three weeks…I don’t know if that is possible…he is already pretty uncoordinated and has a lot of trouble manuevering around stuff. He generally walks backwards to get to where he is going, which lately is a corner. I’m also pretty sure he would like to wash his face, as it is covered with anasthesia drool. My poor little boy.

Does anyone else out there have any experience with this? Is his ear going to heal normally, or will it be kind of crinkly…it looks like a quilt right now! What about keeping the collar on for the full three weeks? Is it OK for him to be such a sloth on the day after surgery? The vet tech said he would be groggy for a couple of hours, but that was yesterday and he has been asleep a lot today…

thanks!

2

Considering the operation was on his ear, there’s a chance it may have affected his sense of balance, hence the uncoordination.
Some kitties take slightly longer to get over the surgery than others, similar to people.

I woudl suggest you phone your vet, tell him your concerns, and see what he says.
He’s the best person to put your mind at rest.

Good luck to your kitty!
:slight_smile:

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When I had relatively minor surgery it still knock me down for a week. I fatigued much easier, slept a lot, and stuff like that. I didn’t eat a whole lot, either, those first few days.

So if the kitty is napping alot that may be why. And for a couple days it shouldn’t be a problem and might even be good for him. Just make sure he IS drinking something.

Yes, do your best to make him wear the collar the whole three weeks.

4

Thanks, Tir Tinuviel and Broomstick, I appreciate the responses. I’ve been accused of being a little too connected to my cats, and I guess I’m just looking for some reassurances while my little boy is down. :smiley:

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Yes, do call the vet in the morning. I’ve found that just about all vets and their staff would MUCH rather reassure you than have an animal in unnecessary discomfort. There’s nothing wrong in worrying about your babies, it’s part of your responsibility as their owner.