If your cat isn’t sleeping after dental surgery, it’s essential to diagnose the reason behind it.
One of the most common symptoms is lack of liquid in the nose. Or, he may simply refuse to breathe.
Whatever the situation, you need to act promptly to ensure that your cat’s health doesn’t suffer. So, why is cat not sleeping after dental surgery?
A fairly common reason why cats aren’t sleeping after dental surgery is pain. Your vet might prescribe medications to reduce your pet’s pain and thus help him sleep comfortably once again.
Alternatively, your vet may not prescribe any medication for your pet if he has minor or no pain. In this case, your vet may deem it essential for you to handle your cat’s pain yourself.
Let’s start now.
Why Is Cat Not Sleeping After Dental Surgery?
Cats are not great patients.
Cats hate pain just like people, but unlike people, they don’t show it. Because of this, it can be difficult to tell if your cat is in pain or not.
However, if your cat is in pain, you may notice some changes in behavior. For example, your cat may become lethargic and no longer want to play or eat.
They may also lie around and not sleep as much. This is normal after a cat has surgery, but it’s troubling if your cat isn’t sleeping at all.
If your cat is in pain after dental surgery, take him or her to the veterinarian right away.
How to Help A Cat Not Sleeping After Dental Surgery
Exercise Should Not Be Used to Tire the Cat
This is a typical error made by pet owners when they can’t figure out why their cat is not sleeping after surgery.
Don’t assume that encouraging the cat to tire himself out through exercise will help him sleep better after surgery.
You will end up endangering the pet if you do so because any sudden movement may cause a relapse of bleeding or infection inside the mouth.
Instead, during the first week, you usually need to take the cat to a veterinarian twice a day for dressing changes.
Use Medication to Calm Your Cat
If your cat is really cranky and refuses to sleep due to pain, a trip to the veterinarian is the only solution.
Your veterinarian may prescribe medication that will reduce pain and will calm your cat down.
These medications may be a combination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSA IDs) and acetaminophen for pain relief. You may also get tranquilizers to sedate the cat.
Place the Cat in a Quiet Area of the House
A cat should avoid being disturbed for at least the first three days following surgery, especially at night.
This means not putting it in the centre or on the upper floor of your home for the first week after surgery.
Provide Adequate Clean Water and Food
Your cat needs to be hydrated and fed after surgery. If it has been sleeping the whole day without much food, it will be tired at night and may refuse to sleep.
The cat will also not want to drink water late at night because doing so will result in an interrupted sleep. Thus, you should provide your cat with water and food during the day and leave it undisturbed until it gets hungry again at night.
Give a Small Quantity of Food
You’ll have a few things to choose, but stick to one food to begin with and introduce the other slowly later if you want to prevent stomach upset from the sudden change in diet.
Giving your cat too much of anything can cause an upset stomach, so be watchful of how much you feed it at first and how frequently you feed it after anesthesia wears off.
This will either lead it to sleep or it will refuse food and wake up in the middle of the night to look for more food to eat.
Instead, seek for moist cat food and dry cat food options as they will soothe the stomach, while also satisfying the hunger of the pet.
Keep the Cat Inside
Because the objective is to ensure your cat sleeps after surgery, you should keep it inside rather than outdoors.
Be watchful of the cat’s reaction to ensure that it is not stressed or irritated. If it passes the test, you should keep the cat inside for at least 24 hours, if not longer.
If the cat is stressed, it may refuse to eat or sleep, thus resulting in pain or discomfort. It also may cause your warm blooded pet to become aggressive towards other animals and people around it.
Allowing the cat to go outdoors will be harmful as it will encounter other animals that may attack it or even cause serious injuries to the pet.
This will prompt the cat to leave its home and seek shelter somewhere else, which may end up as a health hazard for the animal.
Instead, you should ensure proper post-surgery care by giving the pet a bath after it has recovered.
Allowing a cat to go outside in this circumstance is not advisable because it may get into a fight with another animal or cause injury to itself or another animal on the road.
Make Use Of A Heating Pad
This is one of the most practical ways of ensuring that your cat sleeps comfortably after a surgical procedure.
When a cat does not sleep following surgery, it means that it is suffering from pain or any other discomforts.
The ordinary cat is already nervous about being restrained and restrained again during surgery, thus causing pain and other inconveniences to the pet.
Also Read: Why Is Cat Sleeping In Closet?
Final Words
When it comes to a cat not sleeping after an operation, you should not worry about it too much.
Cat owners who are prepared to purchase a new heating pad for their cats can rest assured that their cats will recover fast from their operation and start.
The rehabilitation period will not be long because once the pads are turned on, the cat will lie down and relax.
Instead, your first aim should be to ensure that the feline recovers from the operation and sleeps comfortably by keeping it indoors and using a heating pad to keep it warm and comfortable.
When done correctly, you will notice how your pet starts to sleep soon after the operation is complete.
It’s also a good idea to talk to the vet about ways to calm your pet after the operation is over so that it doesn’t become irritable and agitated due to stress.
