Help please, I think I broke my cat

Question
Hi, Jessica!
This past Wednesday morning, I took my 15 year old domestic long-hair to a vet to have a tooth extracted and to have his teeth cleaned. They removed 4 of his back teeth (top and bottom)and sent us home with transdermal (piece of cake)Tramodol for pain and the (horrible fight & flight inducing) antibiotic, Clindamycin. By Friday afternoon, he had not eaten nor drank anything, had not used his litter box, and wouldn't get out of bed. He was/is still bleeding and having problems swallowing, so I took him back to the vet. He was given subQ fluids and they asked us to come back on Saturday so they could again anesthatize him and examine his throat and mouth. We did. The only thing they found was a 1/4 inch bleeding bump adjacent to one of the extraction sites that they would not own. They changed his prescriptions to (horrible fight and flight)Buprenorphine and Clavamox, gave him more subQ fluid and told us to come back again next week. He urinated twice and I did get him to eat a tablespoon of wet food last night. This morning I noticed that he has pulled a 2 inch circle of fur from his side. It is not bleeding, but is very raw and oozing. He will not get out of bed, eat nor drink and he hates me for forcing him to take his medicine. Why is he doing this, what could be going on with him, and what do I do?
Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

Answer
Hi Patti,

Oral surgery is extremely painful for some cats. Each cat reacts differently, and there's no way to predict which cats will suffer a great deal of pain. Some cats eat as if nothing ever happened. Others can take weeks before they start to feel normal again.

If your vet has a license to prescribe it, I would consider a Fentanyl patch. This is a strong transdermal medication that is administered through a paper patch applied to the skin. The vet will apply the patch. The patch may fall off as it wears out, or you may need to remove it in about a week. One application typically provides pain relief for 4-7 days. Vets don't generally prescribe Fentanyl for dental procedures because they aren't typically so painful, but I had one cat that absolutely needed it following oral surgeries. Fentanyl is most often prescribed for dogs with pain, but the patches can be cut to an appropriate size for cats. You have the added benefit of not needing to give anything by mouth, here.

As for the antibiotic, if they really feel something is warranted, ask for Convenia. This is an injectable antibiotic that covers him for 10-14 days. No oral antibiotics to worry about. And it's great for oral infections.

Cats will often pull fur as a response to pain, and I would suspect this is the reason for his bald spot. You may want to have the vet check it out for the appearance of any infectious causes like staph or ringworm, or potentially allergies. But barring those causes, putting a little Neosporin cream on it should protect and heal the skin once his pain is under control.

It is extremely important to keep him eating and hydrated. If possible, try to water down everything to a consistency where he can lap it up. I would recommend asking the vet for some Hill's a/d or Royal Canin's Recovery RS. These are nutrient rich canned foods that will help him reach his caloric needs more easily. They are also highly appetizing and mix well with water or broth. They can be easily fed with a feeding syringe if required.

Good luck!
Jessica