My Kitten

[freebielover]

I haven't been on in a long time but I feel so terrible I just need to whine a little bit. I had an adorable 6 month old kitten that I brought in to be spayed yesterday. I called at seven pm last night to see how she was doing (they were keeping her overnight) and they said she was fine, just waking up and starting to walk around. Suddenly at 8pm I get the call that she didn't make it. The vet went back to check on her and found her dead. He performed an autopsy and found nothing and just gave me the answer of "it had to be the anesthesia". I am absolutely devastated, I loved that cat so much and suddenly shes gone because I tried to do the right thing and get her fixed. I feel terrible that I brought her there and left her there and she died all alone. Why is it that she dies when she was spoiled rotten, in perfect health and had all the love and attention she could ever need? Does anyone else have experience with a pet dying due to anesthesia? I've heard of it but I've never known anyone that this happened to. Thanks for letting me vent a bit.

[LitWtch]

I'm SO sorry that this happened to your kitten. There really was nothing you could have done to prevent this. You may find an answer to your question here:
http://www.petwebsite.com

Again, I'm very sorry.

[YankeeMary]

How tragic for you and your kitty. I am so sorry this has happened to you. I just had our Sally (our dog) spayed she came home yesterday after 2 days and I was so worried she wouldn't make it. I can't imagine what you are going through.
I am not saying what your vet said was wrong, I just thought it took longer for an autopsy?! I wish I could do or say something to make it better for you. I will say a prayer for you and I wish you lots of comfort. HUGS!!!

[Freebeemom]

Oh, I am so sorry. I would be as hurt, angry and very upset. I still think you were trying to do the right thing.... :(

[ang in NC]

So sorry!

[lisarae]

So sorry for your loss.

Do they normally have pets stay over night after being spayed or neutered?

[dv8grl]

OMG! Thats horrible, my deepest sympathies.

[YankeeMary]

Oh, I am so sorry. I would be as hurt, angry and very upset. I still think you were trying to do the right thing.... :(
I agree completely that you thought you were doing the right thing. People that have pets (furry kids) take responsiblitiy for their pets and you did. Again...HUGS!!!

[freebielover]

Thank you very much for your sympathy everyone. This vet was a new vet as I moved to a different area recently and he came recommended from some friends. My old vet never took my kitties overnight to be fixed so that made me extremely nervous I didn't want to leave her there. Also they did all of her first shots and physical exam that day with the surgery right afterwards which I have never seen a vet do. Then when he called and said she had passed away he asked to do an autopsy which killed me but I consented because I had to know and he came back with a "well I THINK its this". Its just terrible I truly think he messed something up which kills me because I was responsible for her and she couldn't protect herself, that was my job. Again thank you very much for all the hugs and good wishes, I just can't stop crying.

[YankeeMary]

Thank you very much for your sympathy everyone. This vet was a new vet as I moved to a different area recently and he came recommended from some friends. My old vet never took my kitties overnight to be fixed so that made me extremely nervous I didn't want to leave her there. Also they did all of her first shots and physical exam that day with the surgery right afterwards which I have never seen a vet do. Then when he called and said she had passed away he asked to do an autopsy which killed me but I consented because I had to know and he came back with a "well I THINK its this". Its just terrible I truly think he messed something up which kills me because I was responsible for her and she couldn't protect herself, that was my job. Again thank you very much for all the hugs and good wishes, I just can't stop crying.
You did the best you could do which was doing what was right out of love and care for your kitty. I think alot of you for taking her as many many others never have it done and then there are unwanted animals everywhere. I am positive that your kitty knew you loved him.

[ahippiechic]

I'm sorry about your kitty.

There are risks to any kind of sugery, even one as routine as that, although it doesn't happen often.

I'm sure your kitty knew he was loved. You did do the right thing.

[TX_Cowgirl]

i know you loved your kitten but how about checking out the spca or dog pound in your area and adopt a new one...i know she cant be replaced but you could give a unfortunate one a new home..and a new start...would be good for you and the new one....

[Willow]

I'm so sorry that happened. :( When I made the appointment to have our cat spayed they said to bring her in for 8am and then I could come and pick her up at 5pm. I have never heard of cats staying over night for something like that. If I remember correctly my mother was able to bring her two dogs home the same day as well but they are Yorkshire Terriers and were still puppies at the time so maybe it just depends on the size of the animal.

[cls]

I'm SO sorry

[Eyore]

I'm sorry you lost your kitten. I'm sure that was shocking to find out he had passed so unexpectedly. I've heard of this happening but never had it happen to any of my cats. (((Hugs)))
Try not to feel to bad that what you did was wrong. You were doing the right thing by getting it fixed, all mine are fixed. Something just went wrong. Again I am sorry and I'm sure your hurting and feeling really bad. I know I be upset if that happened to me.

[cSoReNSoN]

I'm so sorry that happened. :( When I made the appointment to have our cat spayed they said to bring her in for 8am and then I could come and pick her up at 5pm. I have never heard of cats staying over night for something like that. If I remember correctly my mother was able to bring her two dogs home the same day as well but they are Yorkshire Terriers and were still puppies at the time so maybe it just depends on the size of the animal.


Same here. Of all the varying size animals (cats and dogs) I have had spayed/nuetered none have had to stay overnight after the surgery. It was only a possibility, if the animal was still a bit tipsy by closing time.

[mrssnoop1]

I'm so sorry about your kitty. We have 2 furbabies and they sure can steal your heart. Our vet kept them over night for that surgery. He said it was so they could keep a eye on them (they are brothers) and make sure everything went okay. They have someone there 24/7. Again, I am so sorry.

[heartlvrs]

http://www.freewebcards.com/cards/petsympathy/pet_sympathy4.gif

[Blondiex46]

I have to take my dog which is about 8 months to get fixed and am concerned. I am so sorry

[YankeeMary]

We have 3 dogs. 2 big ones and one med. size dogs. The med. one didn't stay the night. The 2 big ones had to spend 2 days at the vet. They said its what they do with bigger dogs.

[LitWtch]

It is not completely unheard of for them to keep the animals over night. We got ours spayed recently, and they went in the night before, as a courtesy, and they we kept over night as a precaution. We went ot a well respected vet in our area, though she was new to us.

[Jaxx]

So sorry to hear about your kitten :(

[xtrememom]

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your kitty. There is a beautiful poem that was written about our precious four legged, winged and water loving babies who have crossed over "The Rainbow Bridge" Perhaps it can bring you some solace during this time of sorrow in your life.

http://www.petloss.com/poems/maingrp/rainbowb.htm

xtrememom

[freebielover]

Thank you very much for your kind words everyone, I feel a little better although today was the first day I had to come home from work and she wasn't there. Usually she comes running to the door when she hears my truck and waits in the window for me, then follows me upstairs and sits with me and watches tv for an hour or so. Its extremely depressing, I truly hope NO other pet owner ever has to go through this. If she was older it wouldn't be so hard but it was SO unexpected. And thank you xtrememom for the poem and that website, it is very nice. And thank you all for letting me whine and cry a bit, I really have no where else to turn to.

[Njean31]

i'm sorry :( our kitty had to stay overnight for that surgery.

[Trishntx]

My heart goes out to you. I just recently had to have a tumor removed from my kitty's tail and she had surgery at 10:00 am. I picked her up at 5:00 pm, upon vets request and my cat literally could not even stand on her own. I sat up with her until nearly 2 in the morning before she could settle down and sleep. She would try to get up and turn circles. It was the oddest thing. The vet told me the next morning, some animals can have severe reactions to anesthesia , almost like an allergy. It was something like 16 hours for the anesthesia to wear off!!!!!

[redrig]

Hugs to you, but you did the right thing by having her fixed. Hopefully you can find a kitten in need of your love at your local animal shelter.

Trust me, it wouldn't have been any easier if she had been older. If anything, it's harder. Scruffy had her annual check up last month and the vet said she can easily live another 6 years or so (she's 14 now)...but I wish she would live another 60!

[rlynn411]

I know how you feel. I took the 3 kittens we kept from a stray into be spayed the week after I spayed the mother. Vet called and one of them didnt make it. The vet took it to OSU and had an autopsy done and there was nothing conclusive. She did say her heartbeat became a bit irregualr once she was put under the anesthesia.

I was shocked and crushed when this happened. This was my favorite kitten of the liter.

(((hugs)))

[Urban Cowgirl]

So sorry for your loss.

I was wondering if the vet did a bloodtest before the surgery. Usually the test can help predict if the animal will have problems from being put under. It does seem strange to me that they would do surgery the same day as the shots and stuff. Some animal can get quite sick from the vaccines and if she was to have a reaction from the vaccine while under, I don't see how the vet could tell. I had a cat that always got fevers and sick from his vaccines.

[callsheb]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss we had a cat to have surgery and 3 days later died maybe after you get over your loss you can get one from a shelter to save i know it will never bring yours back but at least you wont be lonely and neither will the kitten you save.
One of the vets we use to use would have you bring our animal one day and do the surgery the next morning you would pick up that afternoon i never liked that so i changed to another vet more expensive but take at 7am and pick up at 3pm i never had a problem with her nor the animal getting infections but the other one both the cat and dog he did got terrible infections so we quite going to him.

[freebielover]

Thanks again everyone, I can't believe how often this happens, far too often for my liking. The house feels so empty so I am going to a shelter in CT in the next couple days to look at a kitten I found online. I guess it is a high kill shelter and the baby only has a little bit before they put her down so I figured I would try to save her. I will never again go to a vet that takes them overnight, I will drive the hour to my old one that did it same day, never had a problem with him. I will have to post pics when/if I get her. Thanks again everyone for relating your stories and your good wishes, I appreciate it!

[LitWtch]

Again, I am very sorry for your loss. I know what it feels like to loose a pet. However, I do not think that it was keeping them over night that caused the kitten's death. Rather, and I am speaking from experiance, I believe it may have been negligence from giving the kitten shots AND all on the same day. When ours were done recently, we had to take the babies in for their shots a minimum of 10 prior to surgery. When they were allowed to have surgery, we dropped them off on Monday evening, they did surgery on Tuesday, and we were allowed to pick them up no earlier than Wednesday so that they could monitor them and be certain they did not have side effects from the anestysia (SP?). Please look into the kitten getting shot and surgery on the same day.

[freebielover]

I do think you are right, I spoke with many people and it seems to be an unheard of practice to do it all on the same day. My other cats were always a week or 2 before the surgery. I just couldn't leave another cat overnight though I would be an absolute nervous wreck.

[KEARLA]

I feel for you. We have 3 pets and they have all been fixed and all were in for different amounts of time. The first cat was nutered and declawed(sorry) and he spent like 2 days at the vets, but I guess they have to stay longer when they are declawed. The dog was a one day surgery, but when I took her in they said that she might have to spend the night. They like to see the animal alert and performing bodily functions and eating something before they let them go. Luckly she did that very quickly. The kitten we took to a different vet to get spayed, because we moved, and she ended up spending the night because she was not as alert as they would have liked and wanted to keep her as a precaution. We had the option of taking her home if we wanted, but then we would have had to drive at least a half an hour to an emergancy vet if there was a problem, because the other vet does not have overnight staff unless there is a animal staying. There is a test they can do ahead of time to check for anesthesia problems.