cat just had teeth extracted and some issues followed...

[jackal2001]

Hello,
I'm hoping someone can give me some insight as I want a second opinion to my vets.   My 9 year old cat just got home yesterday from having oral surgery to have some teeth extracted.  He had this done 3 years ago and had no issues then.
1. When I got him back yesterday, his 3rd eyelid was closed in his right eye.  The Dr. told me this could be normal sometimes due to the extractions and should go away in 3 days or so.  My research on the internet only found a few cases of this and it didn't look so good.  They said if it didn't go away they could treat it with pregnazone I think but they didn't want to do it the same day he was released. I am concerned this will not go away as it is 2 days after his actual surgery and he still has it.
2.  If he shakes his head, he immediatly falls over on the right side.
3.  He hasn't eaten or drank anything in almost 24hrs now.

I am going to try and give him his oral antibiotics later today.

I am very concerned with my cats health and I am feeling that he is worse off than when he went in.  He had none of these issues other than licking his nose which indicated to me he was having issues with his teeth again.

[duranca]

Hi!  Thanks so much for writing.  I had already sent Jackal a direct message in addition to my post.  

My cat, Tigger, is almost 10 and just had 5 teeth extracted.  He was a mess when I picked him up.  Like Jackal's cat, Tigger developed Horner's syndrome, but only in his left eye.  It causes that third (inner) eyelid to rise, and the pupil is constricted. According to some info online, the problem usually resolves itself in a couple of months.  I hope this is true, because Tigger's eye looks droopy and he looks a bit disfigured.  

Also, like Jackal's cat, Tigger won't eat his regular food.  Finally got him to eat a Premium cracker yesterday.  He really reacted when he saw the bag of dry food so I put some of the food in a bowl and let it soften in water for a bit. I was relieved that he ate some of it. Today, I followed the same diet, crackers and moistened dry food.  He's not eating nearly as much as I'd like, but he's eating, so I'll take that for now.      

[opus88]

hi and welcome, you posted a question on an old post, almost from a year ago....maybe if you sent Jackal a private message you would get a reply...I don't think she's a regular on this forum anymore and won't see your question.

I hope your kitty has recovered by now for you?.....the balance issues should have resolved by now and as far as his eyes, do you mean they are dilated? this could be caused by the drug atropine used commonly during surgery to regulate the heart, and if this is the cause the eyes should return to normal as soon as the drug effects have worn off...

I hope her mouth is feeling better now, it will take a few days, give her soft foods that she enjoys...very important to keep her eating at least small amounts, her mouth should feel normal within a few days of the extractions.....is/was she on something for pain?

best to you both♥

[duranca]

Hi Jackal, I've read your discussion and your situation sounds eerily familiar to what I'm going through with my own cat now.  My cat is 9 and 1/2 years of age and I just took him for his first dental and he had to have 5 teeth extracted.  Like your cat, my cat developed Horner's sydrome in his left eye and he is having balancing issues.  I'm not too worried about the balancing issues since it hasn't quite been 48 hours since his dental procedure, but can you please tell me when your cat finally returned to eating normal amounts of food?  Also, please advise if/when your cat's eyes returned to normal.  Any insight you can thrown my way would be greatly appreciated.  I am quite worried.  
-Carole

[Jade59]

I'm so happy to hear your cat is eating!  That's the most important thing right now.  You sound like you know exactly what you're doing.  It's okay kitty doesn't eat hard food anymore.  There's been a lot of discussions about diet on this forum and it seems wet food is much better anyway...kitty needs the moisture and since cats don't normally drink a lot of water, this is a good way to keep those crystals from forming.  

[jackal2001]

We have gotten one can of Hills a/d just incase.  It states right on the can to use intermittently only.  We didn't open it yet.
Yes I know that Science Diet is as bad as all the other brands.

We did go to the store and got him some fancy feast.  He ate a 1/3 can last night with no problems.  This morning I gave him a nother 1/3 can and he ate most of it.

After years of eating nothing but good foods, I would hate to have him go solely back on fancy feast, but I will if I have to.

His solid gold, tiki cat, I also tried avoderm, etc are very soft foods as well.  I just don't know why he isn't eating them anymore.  Maybe because the vet gave him that hills a/d  now he wants the junk food.

Back when he had teeth and was eating dry food, the only good dry food that I was able to have him eat regulary was Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain:  http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/products/cats/rocky_mountain_feline_formula/

Now he won't be eating dry food anymore, so I will have to feed him whatever he eats and then slowly putting the good food along side of some commercial food later on and see if he starts eating the good stuff again.

[nancyjac]

I don't want to hijack jackal's thread into a discussion of the relative merits of different types of cat foods.  My only intent was to suggest a nutrient and calorie dense food that is easy to chew and digest given the particular's of his cat's current situation.  Different cats have different needs and even the same cat may have different needs under different circumstances.