Vomiting 2 days after spay - normal?

[valer4ik]

Is it normal for kitty to vomit 2 days after spaying? She eats her food (in smaller amounts than usual) and then throws it all up. She was quite lethargic yesterday, but today seems more active. She got a dose of meloxicam yesterday, but we haven't given her any today yet. I'm afraid she will throw it all up anyways. Is this normal? Thanks!

[laurief]

Metacam can cause liver and/or kidney damage in cats and is NOT labeled for oral administration in cats AT ALL. My vets all have strict instructions NOT to administer Metacam to any of my cats in any form for any reason ... EVER! If I were you, I would NOT give any more Metacam to your cat, AND I would take her back to your vet tomorrow for bloodwork to have her liver and kidney function checked to make sure that the drug hasn't damaged them.

Hopefully, the fact that your girl seems a little more active today indicates that no substantial damage has been done, but the inability to keep food down is definitely concerning.

Get her back to your vet and insist on bloodwork.

Laurie

[valer4ik]

Wow, I didn't know this drug was so dangerous! After we gave her some yesterday, she threw it all up almost right away and we called the vet and he said its ok to give her some more, so after a few hours I gave her about half the normal dose...

[laurief]

Read these links:

http://www.metacamkills.com/
Metacam Injection for Cats Veterinary Information from Drugs.com
Meloxicam

[laurief]

When you take your cat to the vet for bloodwork to check her kidneys and liver, make sure you get copies of the lab results both from this new bloodwork AND from the bloodwork that was run prior to her spay surgery (assuming the vet ran pre-surgical bloodwork). You should ALWAYS obtain and keep copies of all labwork run on any of your pets.

Laurie

[valer4ik]

Thanks. They didn't do any blood work before the surgery, they said that for young cats it's usually not needed. We are on a very tight budget... Do you think it's absolutely necessary to do the blood work if she feels better tomorrow? She seems to be recovering, she is more active today, the vomiting is the only thing... Also, I don't think she pooped at all after the surgery, unless what I thought was vomit in the litter box was really watery stool.

[laurief]

If she is able and willing to eat AND keep food down tomorrow, then you may be able to hold off on the bloodwork. You need to understand, however, that even if she does start eating and keeping food down, that doesn't necessarily mean that damage hasn't been done by the Metacam. Bloodwork is the only way to check her organ function and know for sure.

If she can't or won't eat or can't keep food down tomorrow, I'd definitely recommend taking her to a vet immediately for bloodwork. Any cat who doesn't eat for more than 24 hrs is at risk of developing potentially fatal Hepatic Lipidosis, and the longer she goes without eating her normal amount of food, the greater that risk becomes.

Vomiting in apparent response to Metacam is a HUGE red flag for me.

Laurie

[valer4ik]

Thanks a lot for all the info. I will monitor her closely and will take her to a vet if this continues

[laurief]

If you can take your girl's temperature, that may tell you in she's developed a systemic infection of some sort.

Laurie

[valer4ik]

Oh, forgot to mention that when we went to a vet yesterday he said she had a slight fever 39.5 and he gave her a shot of long-lasting antibiotic (I think it's supposed to work over a 2 week period). Could that be damaging to the liver, kidneys, etc on top of metacam?