Cat refusing to eat post enucleation
I am wondering if anyone else has had a similar post operative experience with their cats?
My 8 year old cat underwent enucleation of his right eye due to an ocular mass this past Tuesday, May 30th at approximately 1200. Following his surgery, I was told everything went well and that he ate the majority of a can of wet cat food during the evening while he was recovering in office overnight. I picked up him to return home on Wednesday, July 1st at 1500. On returning home, he was having some difficulty with anxiety/agitation from the Zorbium he was given. He seemed eager to eat during that time, attempted few bites of wet cat food - he then gagged and began pawing at this mouth. At that time, I assumed this was related to the Zorbium.
However, the following day, he continued to exhibit the same behavior - gagging/pawing at his mouth predominately on the right side. I reached out to the clinic and they stated that it was likely due to his face feeling"weird" from the enucleation or post-op discomfort from the intubation. I then began to worry about his decreased intake - was giving him wet food mixed with water via syringe which he gladly accepted - no issues with swallowing or gagging when food is administered this way. I did not feel as though receiving his fluid intake the way was adequate and asked that he be seen in the office for subcutaneous fluid. They saw him in office this yesterday at 0900 - he received his fluids, the vet tech examined his mouth and stated that she could not see anything that could be leading to pain or discomfort in his oral cavity. They prescribed him two more days of Robaxin for pain management and she stated the effects of Zorbium should begin to wane today as that can cause odd behavior in cats. He also had this episode of gagging/pawing when attempting to groom himself.
Otherwise, when I or my family are around him, he is his usual affectionate self. He continues to seem eager to eat, but now will not even attempt a bite. His incision looks wonderful and he seems to be managing very well as long as he isn't eating. Our vet clinic does not seem particularly concerned, but I am so anxious. Has anyone seen this kind of behavior following an enucleation?