Broken Jaw Operation

[bobbys girl]

I've been out all day and have just logged on to say that A/D and a syringe has helped me with 2 post op. kitties, one of them with a broken jaw.
I am so sorry to hear the news. I had really thought he would be OK. You must be in bits. You are in my thoughts - God bless

[glendvd]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. It has been a dreadful day but i know from experience it gets easier slowly but surely. At least he is with his brother now and no longer in pain. Just trying through the heartbreak to be thankful for the 5 years of hilarity and joy he gave us every single day.

[glendvd]

So sorry Glen such a horrible experience!

Was the Metacam oral or injection as I have heard of some cats having a lot of issues with oral Metacam.

At least Moggy is in a better place now xxx

It was oral metacam using a syringe directly into his mouth. I've been wondering this myself. Do you think there's a possibility that by doing this the metacam ends up on their lungs rather than in their mouth? I sincerely hope not.

I have also read that metacam causes renal failure in cats which in turn can cause fluid on the lungs. The more i look into this the more i'm sure if i hadn't given him metacam he'd be on the way to a full recovery from his jaw instead of dead. I'll never know for sure so i just have to hope it's not true, that each squirt of that syringe was sending him closer to dying.

[lilynmitz]

So sorry to hear what a tough time you've been through, and that your poor lad was too badly hurt to pull through. Don't put yourself through the "what if's". You and your vet did the best you possibly could for him, and it seems the vet was fairly clear on why he went down hill.

Metacam does carry risks, but only with cats with pre-existing kidney problems, and even then, it is sometimes still appropriate to use it in some circumstances to deal with pain and inflammation. Without it, your lad would have been in much worse pain, would have felt even less inclined to eat, the healing process would have been slower, and he would have been miserable. I'm certain you were right to give it to him. Better a shorter pain free life than a long miserable painful one, every time. And if it had been going into his lungs, you would have known about it, as he would have been choking when you gave it to him, so it's very very unlikely that this was happening.

Please don't punish yourself. Guilt and questioning what happened is a natural part of grieving, but it does pass, and when the clouds have blown away, you will realise that you really had done all you could for him, and everything you did was in his best interests. Some things are just not to be, and had you not found him, and got him to the vet, the outcome for him would have been so much worse. At least this way he died with people he knew, trusted and loved, and who loved him back. Your relieving his pain when there was no hope was your final act of love for him. Just remember, it's all the years before that matter most, not his last moments, ie how he lived, not how he died. The pain will pass, but be kind to yourself meanwhile.

[Crewella]

As Lilynmitz says, please don't beat yourself up about this. No medication is ideal, there are always potential problems or side effects, but we use them because they do help in dire situations. I've used Metacam on several of my cats at one time or another, even older cats with kidney problems for a short time, and I was glad to relieve the pain they were in for the time they needed it, even though I knew the risks.

It's awful when you've tried so hard, and when you lose them just as you thought you were getting through it, but there could have been so many factors, or combination of factors, that affected the outcome - you will drive yourself mad trying to put the blame on something specific. You loved him, you did your very, very best, but sadly in this case it didn't work. I'm so very sorry, you must be in bits.