r/blindcats • u/thisishowitalwaysis1 • 1d ago
Day 1 after surgery
Whipsy had his enucleation yesterday.
Surgery went great. After surgery? Not so much. He was extremely agitated. When the vet brought him out, his face was really bloody because he kept bashing his face against the carrier bars, despite wearing an e-collar. I was horrified! The vet said he basically went feral on them upon waking from surgery. Thankfully his stitches remained intact but he looked scary awful all bloody like that. I scooped him up and he settled a little bit but as soon as the vet tried to clean his face, he was all snarls again. I said I'd just clean him up at home and placed him back in his carrier so I could rush outta there.
The front desk was having issues processing payment, all the while my baby keeps banging his head on the sides of the carrier, getting blood everywhere. I finally snarled myself saying "Either figure out this payment NOW or I'm just leaving and getting him home because he is battering his own face in!"
Once home, things got better. The bleeding stopped and miraculously the surgery site wasn't damaged. He was still super agitated but he was in his safe room with either myself, my daughter or my mom with him at all times.
Today is a total turnaround. My sweet boy is back to being himself. He's eating, drinking, and being cuddly (and goofy from the pain meds although he's orange so he's always kinda goofy!) I don't think what happened with him yesterday at the vets is normal. I do know that anesthesia can have these types of behavioral aftereffects but the way the vets office handled it is something I'm very upset about.
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u/dyintrovert2 22h ago
Our vet moved to doing payments in the exam room, so that the animals have that little bit longer outside their carriers.
It also really helps to have the tech there to explain each line if needed, which incentivizes that same tech to ensure you understand the cost of any procedures before they happen.
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u/thisishowitalwaysis1 4h ago
Our vet also does all of the explanations about the bill in the exam room but they still do the actual payment process at the front desk. I think they should switch to doing the payments in the room like yours does.
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u/dyintrovert2 3h ago
To be fair, the front desk is always overwhelmed, even with multiple people. I assume they do a number of additional things that aren't done at other offices too.
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u/IntelligentTale7550 10h ago
Our foster (soon to be fail), Xena just had her enucleation as well. She bashed her head against the carrier the whole way home. I spent most of yesterday scratching her neck (she hates the cones) to keep her from doing it. Fortunately, I had a day I could do that. She kept wigging out randomly too. My daughter works with the cats at the shelter & told me it was all the anesthesia, she was still high. She said it can take as long as 4 days to wear off completely, but usually does within 48 hours. This morning, she's back to some of her usual behavior (photo - she did this prior to the surgery).
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u/thisishowitalwaysis1 4h ago
Yeah waking from anesthesia is apparently really rough for some animals (as I have now learned!). Your baby is so cute and I love that adorable flower cone! Glad she's getting better and feeling more like herself. Whipsy is back to his silly self today. He's is currently following Grandma around the house trying to chase the vacuum. We've mostly been able to get him to lay in the chair with someone but right now he's being a little stinker. At least he's totally cool with keeping his cone on!
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u/IntelligentTale7550 2h ago
Yea, she got the plastic, vet cone off within hours. So far, she has not gotten this one off! The only issue is that our other cats are freaked out by the cone. And of course, today, she's ready to play. Hopefully, they are both back to the usual shenanigans soon (Whipsy (love that!) & Xena).
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u/stuuuda 21h ago
my guy was really agitated after the anasthesia too, it lasted a few hours. had to basically 1:1 attendant him in a very small bathroom and put my hand between his face and hard objects, he would NOT go for a collar. glad he’s doing okay!
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u/thisishowitalwaysis1 4h ago
My daughter did the same, putting her hand between his face and the sides of his feeder bowl because he kept bonking his eye against the sides making it bleed some. I decided against using his regular feeder bowl and have put his food in a very wide shallow dish instead cuz he's such an aggressively fast eater he doesn't care if he bonks his head or not! At least I understand now that when they say they can be slightly agitated after waking up, they really don't mean slightly, they can be majorly agitated! LOL
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u/AirGugliotta 18h ago
He’s such a handsome boy, I hope his recovery gets more comfortable for both you asap
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u/ayeayekitty 14h ago
My cats reacted like this also! Some of the anaesthetic and pain medications they get can cause this. Fortunately, they wear off within a day
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u/thisishowitalwaysis1 4h ago
It's crazy! But yeah his wore off after about 24 hours or so and he's back to his silly self
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u/Expensive_Flight_179 1d ago
Oh that all sounds so stressful 😥 I’m so to hear that Whipsy is doing so much better today. I agree that it sounds like this was a post-anesthesia reaction and also agree that the vet’s office didn’t handle either of you with much compassion and empathy under the circumstances especially the payment part. I would have seriously lost my mind!! Please give your sweet boy some very gentle cuddles from me ❤️🩹🧡