How long to continue pain meds for tail amputation?

Hi everyone,

Bandit had his tail partially amputated on Saturday. My boyfriend's brother accidentally shut his tail in the bathroom door, and ripped off the skin and fur from the end of his tail (it was horrible--just bone sticking out. :sad: ). Luckily, a board certified surgeon from Cornell was wonderful enough to come in on his day off and perform the amputation for Bandit immediately, so Bandit came home Sunday afternoon and is actually recovering really, really well. No antibiotics so far because there's no swelling, redness, or discharge, and he's on .4ml of buprenorphine 3 times a day. He's acting a little druggy but normal, and of course hates his cone of shame that he has to wear. His BG was through the roof for pre-anesthesia bloodwork they did (438), so I was expecting to start him on insulin again, but his BG was normal once he got home, so we lucked out there. I've been testing him 2-3 times a day to make sure, but so far the highest number I've gotten is 121.

The last dose of bupe I have for him runs out tonight, so I'm wondering if I should get some more from the vet? He's acting fine, but of course he's been on bupe since we got home so I don't know if that's why he's been acting fine. I called my regular vet and she said she'd give me more bupe, but I don't know if I should be weaning him off it already or not.

How long after something like this do you give pain meds? I don't want to cut the meds and cause him pain, but I don't want to leave him on them longer than necessary, either.

Also, is there anything else I can expect from a tail amputation? Loss of balance, for example?

 

Oh my goodness Julia and poor Bandit :sad: That must have been so horrible for the little guy. I don't have any answers for you, i just wanted to drop by and say hi to you and Bandit. Feel better buddy.

 

Hi guys .. no advice from me on the pain meds .. Just wanted to send a hug and a kiss bandit's way .. Glad to hear he seems to be recovering ok .. :YMHUG: :YMHUG:

 

OMG Julia! I am so sorry! I don't have advice on meds - just wanted to send my best wishes over to you and Bandit. I also read his profile - you are a great Bean, you two have been through a lot together.

Years ago my neighbor's young cat Maui (who was still very active and a little crazy) got onto a very high shelf and somehow managed to knock a huge vase over and it landed on her tail breaking it. The break was very close to the base of the tail so she only had a little stump left. As far as I know she did fine with the amputation and it looked very cute. They told me it still moved too. :lol:

 

Thanks, guys. He didn't lose much, maybe 3-4 in., but I've definitely been in tears the past few days over the loss. I'm probably far more upset about it than he's going to be once it heals.

 

What did the vet suggest as a time frame for giving pain meds?
I would guess as long as it's still healing that you can see, I'd continue the pain meds.
how long does the collar stay on?

 

Julia, a rescue cat that I fostered had a tail amputation, but it was at the base. We did pain meds for at least a week. I think maybe you could taper the dose at this point. I'd check with the vet about tapering.

Claudia

 

Well, the hospital didn't discuss a time frame for pain meds when he was released--they just gave me 3 days worth. So I called his regular vet today and asked about it, and she said she thinks he should continue pain meds, but was a little wishy washy if the frequency should be lowered or not (every 12 hrs vs. every 8). She said I should give them as long as I feel that he's experiencing pain, but I have no idea if he's experiencing pain because he's been on pain meds. So I thought I'd see if anyone experienced a similar situation so I could have some kind of time frame of how long I should continue the pain meds.

His collar comes off when he has the stitches out, which right now is scheduled for Feb. 2. They told me I could take it off as long as he was being directly supervised so that he couldn't work at his stitches, but after my awful first experience trying to get the thing off and on I decided to just leave it on all the time and use shedding wipes to groom him for the next 10 days.

 

Poor thing. I'll bet it's harder on you than him. He's a handsome guy...but then I have my biases for seal point boys!

 

Ok, the vet just called back and said she's reducing the dose to .15ml every 8 hours rather than going down to .4ml every 12 hrs. Does that sound reasonable?

 

I think I'd like to keep giving the bupe for longer, but do taper it off.
I'd get more bupe for sure; how does the healing look to you so far?

 

Sounds reasonable to me.

.4 * 3 = 1.2 total over the day <- was this where you were starting?

.4 * 2 = 0.8 total over the day, but might have low coverage over last part of the 12 hours
vs
.15 * 3 = .45 total over the day, spread out so there aren't any big gaps

 

It looks good, no redness, swelling, or discharge. I've been keeping a close eye on it in case he needs an antibiotic, but it's been healing well. The swelling was down within the first 24 hours of him coming home.

Yes, he was started on .4 * 3 = 1.2 total over the day and his last two doses of the .4ml will be at 6pm tonight and 2am, and then he'll get his first dose of .15ml in the am tomorrow.

 

HI Julia, I found this info on the internet:
Cats in pain display signs of panting or gasping for breath, excessive hiding, lethargy, reduced interest in eating and a reduction in social interaction, according to CatHealth.

I think it would be okay to slowly wean Bandit off the buprenex and if he shows any of these symptoms just start him back up again. Relief is quick from this medication so you can ramp it back up pretty quick. Jan

 

Thank you! I think we have a good plan now with the smaller dose. I also suspect that I would see pain in his BG numbers as well? I plan on testing him once or twice a day for a little while until I'm sure he's healing ok.

 

Oh Bandit your tail! I am so sorry you are having a rough time right now. You will still be gorgeous after you have healed. You will still be loved!

Baxter & I hope you feel better very soon. cat_pet_icon