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I brought Tosker home an hour ago after he has had 4 teeth extracted, together with a leaflet on his aftercare, which warns me he may be drowsy and quiet

so I think I must have the wrong cat - I have one who is rushing around the house and garden like a mad thing, unable to settle for 10 seconds anywhere, and showing not the slightest sign of pain, discomfort or soreness

he has had a Convenia jab and a dose of metacam - could these be causing this hyperactivity, or the after effects of the anaesthetic? or is it just because he's thrilled to be back home?

has anyone experienced similar, and if so, how long does it last? he's wearing me out just watching him

Perfectly normal Kay! As much as vets say they may be drowsy, it doesn't happen that often in my experience, and especially not when neutering kittens!

Yes, several of mine have been like that after a GA, and Pugwash was like that last week after his dental. Hopefully, he should have calmed down by tomorrow, mine have all calmed down by the next day. Fusses to the lovely Tosker. xx

Mr G was like it after his dental, but I put it down to him being delighted to be out of the vets/carrier. He had also had an op to remove a small growth on his nose, and he had bashed his nose on the carrier on the way home and upset the stitches. I could not get hold of him to check it out!

Hope Tosker is ok. I gave Mr G Metacam for a week after his dental. He was amazingly absolutely fine and he had virtually all his teeth removed at the same time.

Ava and Henry were like that after their neutering ops as well. Mad as a hatter the day they came home and then boom / crash the next day and they were as good as gold

Fusses to Tosker x

well, I've had to block the cat flap, as he's already climbed out of the enclosure three times, and it's pi**ing down outside

it looks as if I shall conk out before he does

I remember the first time Clapton had a major dental. The vet said to keep him in at least overnight as he would be woozy. We blocked the cat flap off, but theminute I let him out of the carrier, he bashed his way through it and went to the end of the garden to have a drink from the pond. He did finally settle down, but wasn't at all woozy. He fell asleep on the garden wall.

Yep I've never had a drowsy one either!! Always the very opposite in fact!

at last he's flat out - but judging by the lump of flesh and blood, and copious mud I found this morning, on the bedside mat and in the bed itself, he had a very active night - and as there is no trace of any mouse remains other than that fleshy lump, it would seem losing 4 teeth has aided his ability to devour anything

which makes me think we underestimate the effect bad teeth have on them - I do think vets find basic dentals a bit of a goldmine, but when extractions are needed I reckon the benefit to the cat is worth every penny

Heheh, glad he's finally conked out, and is obviously feeling better!

Pugwash was a lot better after his dental, and a much less messy eater, I agree.

George was restless the evening after he had his dental done. He took a couple of days to sort himself out tho....sensitive little man!

When we got Kenzie home a couple of hours after his snip the vet said he'd be a bit drowsy.
He wobbled his first step out of the cat carrier then there was no stopping him bouncing about everywhere and jumping on and off the sofa ! He calmed down later in the day ha ha xx

I completely agree about the importance of dental checks. My childhood cat Smudge suddenly stopped eating and lost quite a lot of weight. Mum and dad (Id moved out by that point) tried changing his food, the vet felt his stomach etc.

My parents were really worried he wouldn't pull through, but when I came home to visit I tried feeding him some fresh chicken. His little eyes lit up so I knew he had an appetite, but as soon as it went in his mouth he dropped it. I asked mum and dad to take him back to the vets to check his mouth, and low and behold he had a huge abcess and needed 5 teeth out. He never quite gained all his weight back but lived another 6 years

Our current kitten Kevin was totally hyper for about 4 hours after he was neutered, then crashed out!

On the topic of being hyper after an operation, I'm taking in Hector later as he's having a bad time with his flu and nose, we've exhausted pretty much every avenue except pain relief. When I was talking on the phone to the vet yesterday I asked about side effects of the pain killers (thinking it might be Metacam which it wasn't) and she said it's Morphine based so they can either be spaced out or hyper, she said they often give it after ops and the cats will be going mad rubbing faces on bars and trying to get attention when they come round and they have to catch them when they open the cage as the leap into their arms!! So perhaps it's this that causes the hyper reaction that we've all seen, she said it lasts 6-12 hours.

This was all very interesting to read as my cat Cindy has just had a thyroidectomy but ever since the op she's been showing all the real restlessness symptoms of hyperthyroidism that she was showing none of before the op and I was beginning to think I'd paid a lot of money to put Cindy through an op she didn't really need, even though her blood tests clearly showed she had an overactive thyroid.

Hello!

Thank goodness I found this forum, and this thread in particular!
My cat is an amazing 17 years old and she had 2 back molars removed and a bit of a clean of the rest today. Got her home and she's high as a kite, I was like "is this my cat?!" lol
Her pupils are fully dilated and she's all over the place. Sits for a minute then wandering around the next. She can't keep still. Brought her back at 4pm, it's now 11.45pm and she's calmed down a smidge but still quite high.
I was terribly worried about the procedure purely because of her age but as the vet said, we had no choice as she had stopped eating and was in obvious discomfort. The vet was happy with her all round health and her bloods were good so we went ahead.
I can't thank God (and the vet) enough for looking after my baby!
Also glad this hyper-activeness seems to be quite normal!

Hopefully she will have calmed down a bit now and will sleep it off today. My oldies all coped well with dentals at a similar age - I wish her a speedy recovery.

Hi Crewella,

Thank you so much for your kind wishes

After a rather hyper and exciting day and night, Gabby is back to her normal chilled out self. Very sleepy today. I'm guessing that's because she hasn't sleep much since the dental.

Yesterday she was gulping her food down, but today back to normal, I'm sure it's because she is still a bit sore, but I'm just thankful that she's eating!

Don't panic. I know exactly what this is because it happened to my kittens when they were neutered/spayed and the Nurse I took them to for their check-up explained it to me.

There are two different types of anaesthetic. One of them knocks them out for hours at a time and can make them very drowsy for several hours afterwards. However, many vets now use a different kind that contains Ketamine and THAT is what makes them hyper! It does take a few hours to wear off, but I'm pleased to hear your cat is calmer now!!

Hi LittlePenBigHeart!

This is so interesting, thank you so much
With her being a senior cat (bless her!), the behaviour she was showing was so out of the ordinary, she was a different cat, she's slept much of today though, I imagine she must have exhausted herself out after all the energy displayed before hand!

it sounds as if vets need to update their info - clearly owners need to be warned their cat might display hyperactive behaviour after an anaesthetic, so we can if necessary plan a safe space for them to recover in at home

I completely agree, I went to the vets yesterday to make a check up appointment for my fur ball, and the receptionist/nurse asked how she was. When I mentioned she was totally hyper and bouncing off the walls she seemed quite surprised...however saying that, I'm extremely grateful to her and the vet for all they did for Gabby, such a relief seeing her feeling better

Oh bless her! I hope she's doing better once she's had a good, long snooze. It is terrifying to watch, isn't it!? We had Dylan and Pepsi neutered and spayed on the same day, and while it was no big deal for Dylan to be going a bit mental (think running from one side of the room to the other, skidding round and back again, then leaping over every bit of furniture in sequence and running off again....for HOURS), but obviously Pepsi had been cut open AND she'd haemorrhaged a little during the op so her running around madly was not good!! I shut her in the bedroom with me, but she kept jumping off the bed, then on the bed, then off, then on. Then she pulled leaves off the pot plant and tried to chase them...nightmare!! Thank God she was fine in the end!

But yes, if they are going to be given that type of anaesthetic, the vet should absolutely be warning owners that they should expect this behaviour. I had no idea until afterwards and I was so worried!!

It's fascinating how our gorgeous balls of fluff react to things isn't it

I agree that the vets should warn people that their cats might react in this way - I've never heard it mentioned!

Glad she's back to normal.

I am so thankful I found this thread. I brought my kitten Church (6 months) back home a few hours ago from his neutering appointment. He was groggy on the car ride, but as soon as I got him in and let him out of his carrier he has been going NONSTOP. He is completely restless. He usually likes to chew and carry his toys around the house, carrying them in his mouth, and that is all hes done for the past 4 hours. Carry his toy and pace, only stopping to chew for a while. I'm grateful he's not trying to jump or climb, like he usually does (my boy has some insane energy typically), because I am so worried he's going to open his wound, or overexert himself causing complications.
I'm glad to know that others have had cats act similarly. And it is so wrong that myself and others have not been warned that cats can have this reaction to anesthetics! I have been worrying myself to death that something was horribly wrong, if my husband hadn't pointed out that he was showing no signs of pain I would have rushed him to the emergency vet immediately. Just hoping now that he calms down soon.
Thank you so much, everyone here, for helping ease my worried mind. Will update tomorrow on how Church is doing. <3

I have the same thing happening right now, my 5yr old Bengal Ty has had 4 teeth out this afternoon & hasn’t stopped rushing & jumping around yet and it’s 11pm. He’s eaten 3 bowls of fresh cooked mashed chicken breast & doesn’t seem like a cat that’s had an op at all!
He’s also got a bit of a croaky voice - bengals are very talkative- but he’s normally clear & not kinda gurgling when he meows.
Has anyone else had this with their cat after anaesthetic??

Sore throat is not uncommon post anaesthetic because of the intubation - it should improve in a few days but check with your vet if you have any concerns.

This post has helped me so much, my 2 babies - one female, one male - have today been neutered and the male is fast asleep but my female Prada has been going crazy since she found her legs once out of the carrier. In theory she should be the one fast asleep as she has had major surgery but oh no, she hasn't stopped, she is trying everything she can to get outside, she will not stop jumping and she is calling all the time it's like she is having the strongest season ever, she's even managed to nearly out of her collar. Reading this post has helped me know this can be perfectly normal but I am worried she will do herself a damage with the jumping. Hopefully she will settle down soon and actually rest.
Thank you so much for this post

Thank the lord I found this thread! It's not directly after Mimis operation but I feel it must be linked somehow.

Mimi is 9 and had to have several back teeth out on Tuesday. She was fine when she came home that evening and yesterday, she was eating and behaving quite normally, but this morning her breathing was quite quick and shallow, she had no interest in food and was quite lethargic. As she wouldn't eat I couldn't give her her metacam and was worried she was maybe in pain. I took her back into the vet and they said her mouth smelled a bit and she possibly had an infection (everything else was normal, temperature ok, heart rate good, no untoward sounds from her chest and she had recent bloods indicating no issues). They gave her a metacam injection as shed missed this mornings dose and a buprecare injection so she'd feel better and I have some oral antibiotic fluid to give her (along with the rest of the metacam).

The vet said I could expect her to be a little drowsy which was normal and not to worry, but its the exact opposite. It's honestly like she's on speed! Up the stairs, down the stairs, walking around, wanting attention, miaowing, sitting by her dish pretending shes starving, sitting for a minute looking out on the garden (she's a house cat), then walking about again, big wild eyes, staring at stuff I don't think is there (but who knows). She wouldn't come and snuggle up on the sofa this evening like she usually does and she hasn't come and laid on the bed either. I don't think she's actually snoozed at all today.

It sounds similar to so many of your comments above. I'm hoping she chills out a bit soon, it's exhausting to even just watch her.