Quote:
Originally Posted by lindapalm
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He is on pain meds, and I'm supposed to put them under his tongue or gums and have the meds stay in his mouth....
but that doesn't work with a cat, he just swallows it.
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Here's the trick to giving Buprenorphine: You were given tiny pre-loaded syringes....instead of squirting the entire dose at once,
put only 1-2 drops into the mouth (either under the tongue or in the side of the mouth, withdraw the syringe, wait a few seconds and repeat....repeat this until the entire dose is given.
You are on the floor with him - holding him between your legs, one hand holds the syringe, the other hand is either holding his head back while medicating, or stroking/rubbing his head/ears/chin between each mini dose.
At the end of the dosing, continue the pleasurable handling for a few minutes - you don't want him to access water/food for at least 5 minutes....if you give him a treat after that, all of this will become a routine that he will (probably) look forward to.
With oral Buprenorphine, I find that it's effective ONLY for ~6 hours....AND that
it's critical to stay ahead of the pain....so, because Bup requires a short period to get through the oral tissue and actually into the bloodstream, I need to
medicate about 15-20 minutes before the end of the 6-hour 'working" period. (Most Rx directions are for 8+ hour dosing....that simply doesn't work.)
Post back if that's not clear.
** it is very common that Buprenorphine will cause urine retention. This does not usually persist in my experience, but I'd advise you keep an eye on his 'output'. I found that it was important to keep notes about litter box 'deposits' (and eating too)....otherwise, things get very blurry and potentially important info will be missed/forgotten (e.g. should he become constipated, there'll be no accurate info available, just guesses).
(I also sent you a PM.....?)