# Severely Skittish After Vet Visit



## Knudson (Jan 31, 2017)

I recently took my 15 year old male to the vet after a bout of five-day bout of constipation. He stayed in for the day where he received an enema, x-rays to check for megacolon (negative; good intestinal and colon health), and a high amount of pain relief to assist with both the constipation and a new diagnosis of arthritis. He was given a decent bill of health besides slightly elevated kidney parameters, which were put down to his hyperthyroidism and recent adjustments to meds that were done to encourage quicker clearance of a cat flu he had in mid December and discharged before closing.

Since coming home yesterday evening, he has become extremely skittish and agitated. The slightest sounds and movements will cause him to run away frightened. He doesn't seem to recognize the two other cats in the house either. When one of the cats he's close to went to give him a little head bump this afternoon, he darted up the stairs and has been hiding under my bed since. I am able to pet him under the bed, but encouraging him anywhere else will send him running. This is very out of character for him as he's usually a relaxed cat who is around for family and petting time and responds well to the general stresses of multi cat living. Now? He seems to be confining himself to small spaces wherever he can and staying completely out of sight.

He was eating wet food in decent portions downstairs when he was willing to come out, but this has decreased throughout the day. I did bring a dish of food up to my bedside and he heartily ate it when I left him in peace. He doesn't appear to be in any visible pain or distress under my bed and he's sleeping soundly. Still, these very sudden character changes have been very concerning. I did speak to two vets today during a brief check up call who felt his response is very unusual, but isn't related to any drug toxicity. They both felt there's no reason for immediate concern so long as he's taking care of the essentials on his own: eating, drinking, toileting. I don't think he has gone to the litter box since coming home. (* Edit: did just have a small bowel movement after posting)

The question is what can I do to ease this stress and get him more involved with the household again? He is due for a general thyroid checkup and now unlikely bloods on Friday, but I'm becoming reluctant to take him at the moment if he's this traumatized by the whole experience. Does this sound behavioural in nature or is something more sinister possibly going on?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hi @Knudson and welcome. 

Your cat certainly sounds upset, and possibly in discomfort or feeling disorientated as he is hiding. Good that he is eating though, and I would continue to take plenty of wet food upstairs to him so he can eat on his own for now. Also does he have access to a litter tray upstairs near his hiding place? And a water bowl? Make sure all are near to him.

I am assuming as he had an enema and an x-ray at the vet's that he must have had a general anaesthetic? Neither of those procedures would be done without a G.A. or very heavy sedation. So therefore I think he is still getting over the GA, which can take several days, or in the case of one my own previous senior cats, 4 days. I hope the vet gave your cat IV fluids through the GA and afterwards to protect his kidneys?

The after effects of a GA can make a cat feel quite spaced out and unreal, a feeling a cat finds very frightening, hence why they hide themselves away.

If he is eating plenty of wet food I would expect him to be urinating normally in his tray. If he is still not eating much then make sure his fluid intake is high e.g. water, home made chicken broth or even a bit of goats' milk if he can tolerate it. No dry food at all at present.

As he has had an enema it will effect the 'tone' of the bowel causing it to become inactive for a day or so. Then normal tone returns and the bowel begins working again.

Has the vet prescribed a high fibre diet for your cat ? Or some fibre to add to his food? You will want to avoid at all costs him getting constipated again.


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## Knudson (Jan 31, 2017)

The vet's initial impression was his constipation and associated issues (straining, poor hunched posture in box) is largely arthritic related as opposed to diet. However, he did prescribe a few days of stool softeners to temporarily help with his bowel movements and pain reduction. I'm checking over the itemized receipt for his treatment and I actually don't see any listing for GA - although the enema listing states "not inc drugs". He did have 0.31 vetergesic megadose and 0.13 Meloxaid injections. He also went into the vet with another one of my cats, who was having a feeding tube placed due to early HL and that receipt does list GA specifically. In fact, IV fluids aren't listed for either cat, but the vet did tell me he was receiving them - although my feeding tube patient wasn't on a drip when I saw him. Hmm...

Yes, I've made sure he has convenient access to what he needs in my room. He is, thankfully, starting to calm down a little bit and made a more relaxed appearance during dinner tonight to have a small pouch of wet food and was tempted with a few little bites of chicken and cheese (with his usual hidden Vidalta). He also made a stop in his regular litter box to try urinating, but I'm not entirely convinced that he passed a large amount - if any. He did stop to cover up as if he did urinate and spent a slightly longer than normal time in the box (no yelping or obvious straining) when he would normally just jump out and find another spot at least in the case of not defecating, so I'm hoping my ears just missed the sound. I was initially worried about a urethral blockage during his constipation and was moments away from taking him to emergency before he decided to go in the box and urinate with normal flow and good posture.

With all that being said, he's returned to his hiding place under my bed. The vet suggested I forego his Tramadol tonight in hopes of letting him calm down a bit overnight and see where he is in the morning. I guess all I can do is monitor the situation and hope for a better tomorrow.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

One of my previous cats was prescribed Tramadol for pain relief and it made her so spaced out and scared I had to stop giving it to her. I have also had Tramadol prescribed for myself in the past and it made me hallucinate.  I would take your cat off it and see if he is any better.


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

I agree with chilliminxs comments. Hope fully with peace and quiet hiding a way for a bit he should feel better soon.

My boy cat had tramadol and was very spaced out. He hated the feeling and it made him very agitated and upset. He voted with his paws in the end, broke through the locked cat flap and stayed away for a day and a half. Once off the tramadol he was back to his normal self.

If you think yours might be struggling, either with recovering from the vet visit or because of the tramadol, perhaps give the vet a call and discuss it with them.


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## Knudson (Jan 31, 2017)

There's been some minor improvement overnight and today. While he's still hiding under my bed and sleeping soundly at the moment, he's coming out more willingly and going downstairs to use the litter box (ignoring the one in my room) and eat/drink. I'm not entirely sure about his urination, but I am seeing bowel movements that are slightly difficult for him to pass. His posture is definitely compromised in the litter box. He did venture out from hiding around 1 AM last night and I followed him as he guided me down to his food dish. Interestingly, the other cats came down for a feeding alongside him and they were all able to eat and sniff each other without any agitation. He's not as keen to get away from the "danger" it seems. However, I don't know if that's his mobility becoming more restricted as the pain meds wear off or he's actually calming down. There does seem to be less urgency as he heads up the stairs back to his hiding spot.

I haven't been able to give him his Tramadol today (or last night after vet suggestion). I'm usually able to slip pills in a piece of cheese and he'll take them without complaint, but he's spitting out the Tramadol like poison and won't go anywhere near it. I will manually pill him if need be, but I'd much rather he gets back to some degree of comfort and normalcy before reassessing where to go regarding his pain management.

The vet did call to ask for an update earlier on. I'll return it ASAP.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

If the arthritis is making it difficult for him to poo he might manage better in a larger tray, with one low side for access. Add a fine granule litter in just a thin layer in the tray so it doesn't shift under his feet much. As you know when cats defecate they squat in an almost upright position and their balance can be affected if they have arthritis.

There are other types of medication for long term pain relief of arthritis. Have you seen this helpful article from International Cat Care re: management of feline arthritis?

https://icatcare.org/advice/cat-health/arthritis-and-degenerative-joint-disease-cats

I hope he continues to feel better.


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## Soozi (Jun 28, 2013)

Knudson said:


> There's been some minor improvement overnight and today. While he's still hiding under my bed and sleeping soundly at the moment, he's coming out more willingly and going downstairs to use the litter box (ignoring the one in my room) and eat/drink. I'm not entirely sure about his urination, but I am seeing bowel movements that are slightly difficult for him to pass. His posture is definitely compromised in the litter box. He did venture out from hiding around 1 AM last night and I followed him as he guided me down to his food dish. Interestingly, the other cats came down for a feeding alongside him and they were all able to eat and sniff each other without any agitation. He's not as keen to get away from the "danger" it seems. However, I don't know if that's his mobility becoming more restricted as the pain meds wear off or he's actually calming down. There does seem to be less urgency as he heads up the stairs back to his hiding spot.
> 
> I haven't been able to give him his Tramadol today (or last night after vet suggestion). I'm usually able to slip pills in a piece of cheese and he'll take them without complaint, but he's spitting out the Tramadol like poison and won't go anywhere near it. I will manually pill him if need be, but I'd much rather he gets back to some degree of comfort and normalcy before reassessing where to go regarding his pain management.
> 
> The vet did call to ask for an update earlier on. I'll return it ASAP.


As an additional comfort can I suggest a heated pad? It might help his muscles and joint pains and the stiffening in his legs. Hope he's soon a lot better. xxx


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## Knudson (Jan 31, 2017)

Thanks, everyone. He isn't using his hiding spot now and has been more himself over the past couple of days. He had a check up yesterday and the vet was more than willing to take him off Tramadol (never used; never managed to dose him as he would produce a high amount of saliva and drool after retching out the pill) and he's now using Amantadine for an enhanced diagnosis of bridging spondylosis. It seems to agree with him at the moment in terms of his personality, but I am noticing some defecating of dry feces outside of the litter box again after a single dose. The vet did feel around his colon and was able to contract the region easily, which suggested to her that his stool was soft and manageable - certainly no hardened masses. I think this is going to become a trial and error thing, but for the time being he's generally looking and behaving a lot better than he was earlier in the week.


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## Soozi (Jun 28, 2013)

Knudson said:


> Thanks, everyone. He isn't using his hiding spot now and has been more himself over the past couple of days. He had a check up yesterday and the vet was more than willing to take him off Tramadol (never used; never managed to dose him as he would produce a high amount of saliva and drool after retching out the pill) and he's now using Amantadine for an enhanced diagnosis of bridging spondylosis. It seems to agree with him at the moment in terms of his personality, but I am noticing some defecating of dry feces outside of the litter box again after a single dose. The vet did feel around his colon and was able to contract the region easily, which suggested to her that his stool was soft and manageable - certainly no hardened masses. I think this is going to become a trial and error thing, but for the time being he's generally looking and behaving a lot better than he was earlier in the week.


I am so sorry you are having to go through all this but as you say meds are trial and error so hopefully the new meds will help his system might just need to adjust! Wishing him well Hun. xxx


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

I am glad to hear he is settling down for you.
I know @lorilu has recently had good results with Green Lipped Mussel extract for a cat with arthritic pain, would you be willing to give that a try?
As for the constipation there are lots of things to try....I would start him with a little extra fat in his diet, mine all like the duck or goose fat you can buy in supermarkets these days or many cats like a blob of butter to lick.


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