Louie Died From Sedative Options

[Joanna]

February 21st will be a day I wil never forget the rest of my life. I took my healthy 2 year old cat to the vet to get neutered. They told me he would be there most of the day and they would call me when he was stable enough to come home. Needless to say I sat by the phone waiting for them to call me so I could bring him home. I wasnt worried about the surgery itself. Everyone I know has taken their cats in for the surgery. I felt it was the responsible thing to do. I thought i educated myself on the subject, everything I read said it was a routine operation and he would be fine. I was more worried about him being scared and alone or even getting lost. At 12:30 that afternoon my phone rang, it was the vet. I couldnt believe what she was saying to me. She told me they took Louie in at 11:30 that morning and gave him a sedative , at 11:36 he went into cardic arrest and they tried everything they knew to save him but they couldnt bring him back. The whole day seems like a nitemare I cant wake up from. Within minutes I was at the vets office looking at my best friend in the whole world laying life less in a little white box. Im having a real hard time dealing with this. The guilt Im living with is unbearable. The vet told me he must have had an allergic reaction to the sedative. Has anyone every heard of such a thing happening?

[Kurbysma]

First of all, let me say I'm sooooo sorry for your loss. What a horrible tragic thing to happen!!! I cant imagine what you are going thru right now.....

It's possible this could have happened but it's also possible they gave him too much sedative. I dont want to upset you by saying this....but is it possible to take Louie to another vet to have an autopsy performed? They should be able to tell you what he died from.

My heart goes out to you. I will pray for you and Louie tonight.

Kurbysma

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[Abbycats]

I am so sorry for your loss. I also lost a very special cat from a ketamine overdose(anesthetic), he went to the vet to get his teeth cleaned. He was 5 years old. This happened to me 2 years ago and I still remember that day. My cat suffered for 3 days going in and out of a coma. He died alone in a cage at the vets office on a saturday night. I had visited him for the very last time that saturday afternoon. You did what any responsible pet owner should do by neutering your cat. You are not at fault. Sometimes our cats can be sensitive to certain drugs. After this happened to my cat I only allow the vet to use ISO anesthetic on my cats. This is a gas and it doesn't interfere with kidney functions, liver functions and it's much safer. I understand what you are going through, it is not your fault.

Sending you healing cyber hugs.....

[Muffins]

Dear (((((((Joanna))))))):

I am so very, very sorry for the pain that you are feeling... And, I can understand your feeling of pure disbelief!! Again, I am terribly sorry.

You certainly were being a very responsible furbaby owner in having your sweet furkin neutered. It is what we all do -- whether a neuter or a spay. And, we all bring our kids in to have this minor procedure performed without ever giving it a second thought!

Unfortunately, I have heard of this happening, and both times I've heard of it had to do with the drug that "Abbycats" mentioned, "Ketamine". Ketamine is a drug that is used quite often in a veterinary setting, and given just enough in order for the veterinarian to insert the endotracheal tube, so that our furbabies can be hooked to a ventilator, to breathe during surgery.

Seeing that your precious furbaby was only 2 years old, I'm not sure that it was required for him to have pre-operative blood tests.
And, to be honest, it very likely was an allergic reaction to the Ketamine.

Please know that IT WAS NOT YOUR FAULT, and your sweet furboy knows that you love him very, very, very much!!!!
And, he loves you right back!!

I am going to send you a PM/e-mail.

God Bless You & Yours!!

Love, Denise

[cindi]

Joanna,
I am so sorry for your loss. I can't even imagine the nightmare you are living. But please don't feel guilty about bringing your Baby to be neutured, you were doing the right thing. It is as you said, done so routinely that you didn't even worry about the operation itself. I would try to get a second opion on what may have happen, because it could very well have been an error in the amount of medication given to him. The only other thing I can think of is that he may have had an undetected heart condition and the meds caused his heart to go off beat and stop. This happens sometimes in people with heart conditions when they are put under. But no matter what the reason, it happened and it hurts! Just know in your heart that your Baby is still near, watch for the signs, he is there, you'll feel his love around you.
Praying for you.
Cindi

[Kim R.]

Joanna,
I'm so sorry that you have lost your kitty in such a tragic way. I can't imagine what a heartbreak it must be when you take your kitty in for a procedure that you know he needs to have done and it have such tragic results.
So many times, when animals are being spayed/neutered, they are still young, which leads people to believe that preliminary bloodwork to check liver and kidney function are unnecessary, but it is critical that we do. { This is not to say that it would have changed things for your kitty, just an opportunity to put that info. out there for those who don't know} If it was an allergic reaction or an overdose, there is no bloodtest for that. Please don't let this scare you from having this procedure performed in the furture..it is our responsibility as kitty owners to do this for them, the rest is out of our hands. A huge misconception is, because spay/neutering is a surgery that is performed every day in veterinary clinics all over the world, is that it is 'minor surgery'. This is just not so. It is a 'common surgery', but it is surgery none the less, and any procedure that requires anesthetic is major. These things do happen, although extremely uncommon, and it certainly wouldn't ever stop me from having this procedure done on any of my babies. My heart goes out to you....
The fact is that you were doing exactly what you should have for your kitty because you love him, and that is something that you should find comfort in.......
Your friend in grief,
Kim

[Wanda]

Joanna
I am so very sorry for your loss. You were only doing what any responsible pet owner would do-neuter/spay. My thoughts and prayers are with you.



Whenever I take one of my furbabies in for surgery I am always asked if I want the bloodwork done and of course I want it done to be sure there isn't anything developing that we don't know about. I still worry though while surgery is being performed and I am a BIG WORRIER. As with any surgery there are risks even with humans.



Wanda

[LittleGirl's...]

I agree with everyone. This was not even 1% your fault. Not at all. You were giving your baby one of the best gifts that anyone can give---you were sparing him from those 'frustrations' and you were preventing any chance of contributing to the horrible problem of overpopulation.


My heart goes out to you in your pain! I am so very sorry.

I just had a thought.... Maybe for some unknown (spiritual) reason it was Louie's time. I know it doesn't make logical sense. But maybe it was, and at least his body went in peace, and his spirit knows only bliss from now on (especially when you join him )

But I can only begin to imagine what you must be going through----a horrible nightmare.

Louie doesn't blame you. YOur intentions were absolutely perfect. Remember that !! It will help the healing process. It was just a horrible medical accident.

God bless you. Please try and take good care of yourself---for Louie. If the roles had been reversed and you had passed on during surgery, you would want that for Louie. YOu would not want him feeling guilty.

Deep prayers of comfort,

Kathy