[mickthefitter]

Hi.

Having come through a pretty rough week with my old cat, who was very unwell following a vaccination that seems to have reacted badly on her, tonight I received some bad news about my next door neighbour's 8 month old kitten. He was called Buster and he was a black and white tom, full of life, mischievous, and in recent weeks fond of digging up my back garden to use as a toilet, which had me chasing him off as you would expect, especially as he used one of my cat's sun traps as one of his spots. I was due to look after him in less than a couple of weeks time while my neighbours went away, with them giving me a key to their house so I could go in and feed him and clean his tray. Unfortunately he died today on the operating table while having 'the snip'.

They used the same vetinary practice as me, which is the same one that my mother has used for thirty years, and which is a vetinary hospital with awards. I looked after Buster in his own home in August for two weeks while my neighbours were away then. Unfortunately I discovered, after the first two days (during which time Buster hid from me) that he and the house were infested with fleas, and that I'd carried them into my house and that my cat then had them. I treated both cats with Frontline and used an aerosol spray in the areas of my neighbours house that I had access to. They were devastated when they came back off holiday to see I'd had to deal with fleas (though to be honest, I wondered why they hadn't spotted the signs before they went away, it was that bad) but they had to have the house fumigated by an anti-pest expert.

Then today to see if it would curb his wandering ways, they dropped him off at the vets so he could have the routine snip and now they haven't got him any more. I can't quite believe it myself, so I don't know what they are going through. People on this forum have expressed surprise and shock at the problems I've had with my own elderly cat, seemingly as a result of over-vaccination, which I wasn't aware of at the time. My neighbour says the vet weighed his own cat to determine the right amount of general anaesthetic to use (not sure whether he witnessed it or was told that it had happened) but apparently Buster's heart stopped beating and he couldn't be revived. It seems so strange in such a young and apparently healthy cat. Unless he had a hidden health problem or the vet used too much anaesthetic on him by mistake, I'm wondering whether any of the flea treatments had affected Buster in any way. It is certainly making me question the wisdom of using this vetinary practice despite the awards and apparently high levels of care.

Has anyone come across anything like this before?

Mick

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[kirty]

This is nobody's fault, its just one of those thins unfortunately. There is a risk whenever any animal (or human) is put under a GA. Your neighbour would have had to sign something to say they acknowledged this risk when they dropped him off. It is very sad and thankfully very very uncommon, but it does happen. I have heard of it before but don't know anybody who has actually lost a cat. I have desexed dozens of cats and kittens myself and never had a problem.

It would not put me off using the vet clinic. And hopefully your neighbour is doing OK. If she wants to avoid the stress of desexing a cat again, suggest that she adopts a kitten from a shelter that is already desexed.

[Heather Sharada]

Hi Mick,
That is a very sad incident....my vet has 100's of de sex operations each week and claims to never have lost even one under an anaesthetic during de-sexing - one did die later after a blood clot moved for an op that was not only de-sexing.

It is not a common event - especially for a male op which only takes a few minutes - however sadly it does sometimes happen if there is a heart problem in existance. I suppose the possibility exists that the vet was negligent with the anaesthetic - he should have weighed the cat in question. Just wondering if he is a vet that sees a lot of cats.

Your friend must be very sad. BTW I don't think that the flea treatment would have had anything to do with what happened.....that was a few months ago now.

[mickthefitter]

Thanks for your reply.

I really don't think they'll have another cat next door. They lost a female one they adopted to cancer about a year and a half ago. She was fully grown but not very old, so I think it was a big decision for them to have another and now they've lost him. In theory both were their daughter's cat (she is nearly 13) but I'm told it was mum and dad who did all the looking after and feeding and cleaning...well, mum then.

I know you have to sign a consent form as I've done it myself and it is quite scary, but you don't actually expect something to go wrong, especially in a pet so young. I know mine wouldn't survive a general anaesthetic at her age now.

Mick

[Heather Sharada]

Perhaps somewhere down the track they will have another cat in their lives but yes they have had very bad luck....

How is your old puss nowadays.

[Trifon]

This is very sad. RIP little cat.

Did the owners do an autopsy to find out if there was an underlying health issue (such as heart problems)? It may give peace to take this step, I know it did for me when I had a young cat pass away suddenly (discovered she had a massive growth on her heart).

HUGS to everyone.

[CrazyFiasco]

sometimes it can happen, my parents have a two male cats, however one is allergic to anaesthetic, he went in once and died on the table however they were able to rescuitate him but he now has a warning note on his file.

it has been bad luck for them.

[mickthefitter]

Hi Mick,
That is a very sad incident....my vet has 100's of de sex operations each week and claims to never have lost even one under an anaesthetic during de-sexing - one did die later after a blood clot moved for an op that was not only de-sexing.

It is not a common event - especially for a male op which only takes a few minutes - however sadly it does sometimes happen if there is a heart problem in existance. I suppose the possibility exists that the vet was negligent with the anaesthetic - he should have weighed the cat in question. Just wondering if he is a vet that sees a lot of cats.

Your friend must be very sad. BTW I don't think that the flea treatment would have had anything to do with what happened.....that was a few months ago now.

Yes, it is a pretty big practice that sees lots of cats and dogs as well as the smaller furry mammals. I think there are about six vets, several nurses and care staff, a rota of receptionists....I moved to them two years ago from a one man, first-come-first-served operation when I started to get a bit uncomfortable with the grime in the waiting room and he seemed unable to cure my cat's diarrhoea, though to be fair it didn't clear up that quick at the new vets and was related to her age (inflammitory bowel disease - I stopped feeding dry food and it went eventually). Along with more care and attention came higher bills and more willingness to prescribe medication but without the internet you wouldn't know the side effects, as they don't tell you up front. My cat needed so little for years and years that I'm now becoming wise to having to check everything before it is given.

[mickthefitter]

Perhaps somewhere down the track they will have another cat in their lives but yes they have had very bad luck....

How is your old puss nowadays.

Mines come on really well, thanks. I've put some pictures of her on my other thread (about the Cartrophen) to show how well she is doing after her ordeal.

My neighbour has had really bad luck. Its so sad because in so short a time the tables have turned. Last week Trish was here asking me if I'd look after Buster and Sophie was struggling to walk across ther carpet to get to her water while Trish was here. Now Sophie is okay, bearing in mind her age and kidney condition, and Buster has gone. So strange.

[mickthefitter]

This is very sad. RIP little cat.

Did the owners do an autopsy to find out if there was an underlying health issue (such as heart problems)? It may give peace to take this step, I know it did for me when I had a young cat pass away suddenly (discovered she had a massive growth on her heart).

HUGS to everyone.

I don't think they'll do an autopsy because of the expense but I don't know for sure. I think this will put them off cat ownership because they've had such rotten luck. The cats come off worse but the family still has the trauma. It's all happened so quickly.

[mickthefitter]

sometimes it can happen, my parents have a two male cats, however one is allergic to anaesthetic, he went in once and died on the table however they were able to rescuitate him but he now has a warning note on his file.

it has been bad luck for them.

I'm glad yours pulled through. I recent years I had my Sophie's teeth descaled which required a GA. I was always a bit worried. The last time was at the 'new' vet and maybe getting on for a couple of years ago now. I think they did a more thorough job on the teeth than the old vet and I had more confidence, but was told on picking her up her lips had gone blue so they had to adjust the oxygen or something. I very much doubt she'll have it done again and I don't think she'd survive the GA at her age (17)

[raggiesrule]

Hi Mick,

So sorry to hear of the loss of your neighbours little man. Desexing a male cat is a very quick operation and requires very little anaesthetic. The only way to really find out what the reason for your neighbouts cat passing away during his desexing op would be to do a post moteum exam and most pet owners can not bring themselves to do that.

Whether you keep using this vet clinic or not would depend on how confident you are in their ability to care for your animals and what the other vet clinics you have access to are like. It should be remembered too that a clinic may have wonderful vets (and nurses) and be really well regarded and then have a change of staff and some clients will no longer be happy and go looking for a new vet clinic. Sometimes in a multi vet practise you may be happy with one vet and not another. You need to weigh everything up and then make an informed decision about which clinic will best care for your animals.

Goodluck with whatever you decide

Jo

[CatsRU]

Jo has given very good advice but I am so sorry that some of the outcomes have not been good.

[oriental cats]

I agree with Jo, my mum had a great vet but as the practise grew I was not happy with all the vets and found it hard to get to see the vet I liked, after seeing a vet who looked bout 12 and seemed to know less than me I changed to a vet who owns a small practise and was recommended by several breeders and a medical friend, I now can always see my very experinced Dr Phil. If you are unhappy change vets I am sure you can find one who is recommended.
Any surgery or procedure carries risks and people die and crash during sugery too, sometimes for no apparent reason, I have been a nurse for over 30 years and people do just die, but you sound unhappy with your vet, so I would urge you to think carefully if you want to continue to see this vet.
I am very sorry for your neighbour, our love to them, it is a very sad thing to happen
Sue

[mickthefitter]

Hi Jo

You are right about staff changes at a multi-vet practice. My mum isn't happy because at the same practice, she used to favour the vet who was for many years in charge and though not quite ready for retirement, he has for some reason resigned his postion and moved to another practice a little over 20 miles away. That is too far to go with her elderly dog and with our snarled up traffic problems! You can ask to see a particular vet and I favoured either of two men at my practice who have been there a while and in fact who are both directors, though my mum dislikes one of them. The one she dislikes gave my cat the vaccination that seems to have made her ill, but the one she does like and who I last saw with my cat (and who was very relieved she pulled through) still was surprised my cat reacted to the vaccination, so probably wouldn't have done anything different.

When my neighbour Duncan called yesterday to tell me I wouldn't be looking after Buster for the week starting the 24th, and the reason why, he said that it was a woman vet that their cat had been left with. There are at least two of them, possibly three, and I think one only started this year though presumably she is fully qualified. But I certainly am thinking along the lines that someone made a serious mistake. I cannot see why a young cat that was leaping around should go like that. On the other hand my Sophie reacted very badly to an off-the-shelf wormer treatment but when I showed the vet the packaging and told him what dose I'd given, he said I'd given the right amount, so it must have been her age that caused the reaction - in other words, a pre-existing condition. Sometimes you just don't know what to do for the best.

I think I'm currently thinking in line with my mother about who she favours at the practice now as he was very nice about Sophie and shows his feelings more than the other male vet, who is very clever but seems a bit deep. Whether she was over medicated is another thing but at least the last vet said he wouldn't give the same treatment in a years time if Sophie is still here. As for other practices, one of my former work friends who is a cat-loving lady who has now retired, still won't have a word said against the little one-man show with a shabby waiting room who I used to use!

Mick