Facial Paralysis after injury

[xenotomix]

2-3 weeks ago my cat has been attacked by someone, we suspect a kick or something similar to the head. Apart from the bleeding, some pharyngeal edema and a chin fracture, half of his face has been paralyzed. He can't close his mouth and his left eye and I think he can't smell very good also. We've been giving him some prescribed drugs and I feed him with a syringe, but his condition does not seem to improve. My question is this: how long does it take for nerve damage to heal, presuming the injury wasn't very serious? Any advice is also welcome.

[critters]

While it could well be plain facial paralysis, he might also have a bit of brain damage; it can be hard to tell. Nerves, and brains, recover very slowly. My main concern would be not closing his eye, and I guess that's being addressed? What a handsome fella he is!!

[xenotomix]

While it could well be plain facial paralysis, he might also have a bit of brain damage; it can be hard to tell. Nerves, and brains, recover very slowly. My main concern would be not closing his eye, and I guess that's being addressed? What a handsome fella he is!!

The vet said that the eye issue is tied to the mouth not closing, because some common nerves got damaged in the attack, causing the problems. As for dealing, I have to close his eye a few times a day, so that it doesn't dry out.

[BendyMom]

hard to know if the nerve is inflammed or actually damaged. has the vet tried him on any kind of anti-inflammatory?
Onsior? Metacam? Prednisone?
getting inflammation down will help the nerve recover, in general nerves takes months to recover.
I have heard of nerves taking as long as a year to recover from inflammation. The inflammation is not always visible, there isn't necessarily a lump or even a swelling that you can feel, it doesn't take much to compress a nerve.
If you haven't already discussed anti-inflammatories with your vet then it is something to ask about.
Is he eating ok?

it is very likely he will not have a 100% recovery, but it's the kind of thing that it hard to predict.

[xenotomix]

hard to know if the nerve is inflammed or actually damaged. has the vet tried him on any kind of anti-inflammatory?
Onsior? Metacam? Prednisone?
getting inflammation down will help the nerve recover, in general nerves takes months to recover.
I have heard of nerves taking as long as a year to recover from inflammation. The inflammation is not always visible, there isn't necessarily a lump or even a swelling that you can feel, it doesn't take much to compress a nerve.
If you haven't already discussed anti-inflammatories with your vet then it is something to ask about.
Is he eating ok?

it is very likely he will not have a 100% recovery, but it's the kind of thing that it hard to predict.

I don't really know the equivalent of the drugs the vet has prescribed, but from the general description, she has been giving him vitamin B12 for nerve recovery and some other pills with different vitamins. As for eating, for the past 3 weeks he couldn't eat anything because of his mouth not being able to close properly. In the past few days, I've been giving him soft meat and store bought cat food and he is showing signs of recovery, as he eats them. To sum up, he is doing much better than 3 weeks ago.

P.S. Sorry for my bad English, medical terms are still a bit fuzzy.

[BendyMom]

Your English is fine.. I'm glad he is doing better. Very glad you found a way for him to eat.
Can he drink? You might be able to give him meat broth, just a thought if you aren't already.
what i meant about the medicine is do you know if he is being given something for swelling? comparing medicines from different countries is tricky as different countries use different things, B12 is very very good for nerve recovery.
will he let you put a cool compress on his face? doing that every day could help the swelling.

[xenotomix]

Your English is fine.. I'm glad he is doing better. Very glad you found a way for him to eat.
Can he drink? You might be able to give him meat broth, just a thought if you aren't already.
what i meant about the medicine is do you know if he is being given something for swelling? comparing medicines from different countries is tricky as different countries use different things, B12 is very very good for nerve recovery.
will he let you put a cool compress on his face? doing that every day could help the swelling.

The vet did and x-ray scan, and there were no signs of swelling, but I think she gave him something for that too. I suppose the only thing I can do right now is keep giving him his medicine and hope for the best.

[BendyMom]

Sorry things got hectic here with one of my gang.
With nerve injuries we have to try to be patient. Ih ope function comes back with time.
I'd love to hear how he is doing and how you are taking care of him.

[xenotomix]

Sorry things got hectic here with one of my gang.
With nerve injuries we have to try to be patient. Ih ope function comes back with time.
I'd love to hear how he is doing and how you are taking care of him.

It show great progess. He started eating, his mouth is still a little bit open, he can't close his eye, but overall, he's better than a week ago. I was worries about the fat that he couldn't eat, but that is out of the way now.