Please Help, has anyone experienced this? Options

[pandora6991]

Hello,
I just found this forum and need advice or information from anyone. Two nights ago I rushed my beautiful, healthy, happy, 4 yr old male cat, Scooby to the emergency center. He was diagnosed with those crystals blocking his urinary track. The vet immediately took him into surgery and I am told there was no problem with the actual surgery but as soon as I arrived home I received a call from the vet saying Scooby had died. I was told that when Scooby awoke from the anesthesia he was so frightened that he went crazy, scratching and crying then collapsed. He just died.

Scooby was not a timid cat and had been to the vet before. He had been neutered at six months with no reactions or problems to anesthesia. I just don't understand and maybe it's my grief and anger over losing him but I am suspicious. I have been in rescue work for years and have never heard of a cat so frightened and wild after anesthesia that they die. Please has anyone ever heard of this occurring? Any information might ease our family's grief. We are in such shock and just devastated. Thanks for any help.

Lesa

[Romeo's_daddy]

I've spoken with many people who have lost animals after bringing them to the vet and unfortunately I've never heard of a vet taking responsibility for such a tragedy. People told me I should sue and would be able to sue for loss of personal property, because you can't sue for negligence or medical malpractice. My feelings were that of "what's the point?" Is 500 or 1000 dollars going to bring my baby back? Is it going to make it hurt less? Those of us at this site know the answer is no. But in my mind and heart I knew who was to blame even though I knew I would never get an admission of guilt. My situation was very different from yours in that my cat was just going to have his ear looked at, no surgery or anything like that, so it was easy for me to stop payment on my check and my vet also paid for the cremation expense. Unfortunately in your case surgery was needed so it kind of muddies the negligence factor.

I know you have learned a very hard lesson, same as I did. I have a 13 year old dog who needs surgery on one of his eyelids and I honestly don't know if I'm going to have it done, even if he goes blind in one eye by my not doing it. I'm just too afraid. There are a lot of things our vets don't make crystal clear to us. Yes, animals can die from anesthesia, just like people can. But a lot of people don't know that our animals can die from bad reactions to vaccinations as well. Some say that you shouldn't get yearly vaccinations for your animals (except for when they are puppies or kittens) unless they are around other strange animals, being boarded, etc. I have a friend who is a vet tech at Banfield Animal Hospital and she told me that they have had dogs who have died from reactions to distemper shots, etc. When an animal has a reaction to a vaccination you literally only have a couple hours at most to get them back to the vet. I don't know if the same holds true for rabies shots. For 13 years my dog has been getting distemper shots and nobody ever told me he could have a reaction and die from it. The best we can do is to try to educate ourselves, I guess.

I know my words aren't very comforting and maybe I'm too far removed from the raw emotions I felt in the months after Romeo died. Eventually you will stop thinking about "the end" so much and who is to blame, and you will only (at least the large majority of the time) remember those things that made your baby so special. In your heart you will always know the vet failed your baby, but I guess trying to get confirmation of that becomes like trying to get blood from a stone, it simply isn't going to happen. Continue to cherish and spoil that Lab lying at your feet, as I know you will. We have learned too late just how quickly we can lose our beloved pets.

My sincereist regrets and well wishes to you and your family (pets included).

Steve