She didnt make it.

How can a Vet not do preliminary tests before starting a spaying/declawing surgery?
My fiance and I just got a new kitten as our first pet together. We have only had her a month and today it was time to get spayed/declawed. We recieved a call saying that our new family member didnt make it and she stopped breathing and died after the procedures were done. A final exam shown that she had light respiratory infection and swollen lymphnodes. These combined with the medication used in surgery caused her death and could have been seen with simple cosmetic checks(standard procedures for Vets.) But these procedures were not done. And our new kitten is gone.


StonyRidge Veterinarian Clinic
Troy, Ohio

 

I felt compelled to vote no....the reason why is cause there is a simple blood test that will tell if an animal is fit to be under anesthesia.
Did your vet ask if you wanted to have that blood test done? if they did and you agreed I apologize for my vote.
I am sorry for your loss - really I am. I'm getting my pup spayed at the end of the month and I'm full of worry cause her brother died from heart failure at 5 months of age. I have asked the vet to do a complete blood panel prior to the spay.
P.S. I know you are hurting from your loss and really, being an animal lover, I fully understand your pain - there is no time for a declaw.
I feel like such a heel typing this post and I probably should keep my mouth shut...and again if you did get the preanesthesia bloodwork done I apologize from the bottom of my heart - but if not (and I would assume the vet would ask if you wanted it done) it might have saved her.

 

I vote no. Dying under anathesia is a risk of all operations, no matter how safe they are. It happens to every animal, including humans. Unless there is a specific reason caused by the vet that your kitten died (ie, they gave him the wrong medication, accidently sliced an artery, etc.), I think that they are not to blame for a routine death under anathesia.

 

We found that it could have been avoided if the kitten didnt have the infection or if different options had been chosen for the surgery, things could have possibly gone different so some of the boxes I checked and some I didnt. I am not a veterinarian and I dont know the pros and cons to every option I accepted or declined. I just wish now that the veterinarian would have told me what was what and their recemendations for which things are needed. I choose the IV thing but I didnt choose the bloodwork. I had no idea what it was used for and none of it was ever explained. I was given the paperwork and they took her and I filled it out and they sent me on my way without asking any questions or making any suggestions at all. But we are handling the loss well. Thank you all for caring so much as to give us your feedback. We think someday we may try to get a kitten again but it is sort of scary after having this happen to our first. Was this just a sign to leave the kittens alone?

 

you might want to try a rescue group next time as most of the time they have already been either spayed or neutered. Yes they do usually ask a higher adoption fee - but when you consider that surgery is already done the price of a rescued cat isn't unreasonable.
Rescues usually spay/neuter to ensure it is done prior to placing the cat or kitten.
I had some foster kittens spayed/neutered when they were 4 weeks old!!
It would be done already and you wouldn't have to fear losing another kitten to the surgery after falling in love.
Something I'd like to advise (since I'm probably like 2x your age :roll: and have learned many of life's lessons - and still more to go). Don't ever be afraid or hesitant to question your vet. If you don't understand something or are unsure what something else - ask. If they don't want to answer you or hesitate, or you aren't satisfied with the way you are treated - find another vet.
Vets, like medical doctors, should always be open with their clients. I ask ask ask - it's also a great way to learn.
I've heard my vet's receptionist offer the preanesthesia bloodwork to people when they bring in an animal for surgery - and their office staff always explains what it is, what it entails, how much it costs. Yes people turn it down (my neighbor lost a beautiful chocolate lab pup during a simple x-ray procedure cause she didn't want to pay extra for the preanesthesia bloodwork). But at least they know what they are turning down and how important it can be.
Don't be afraid to adopt again....stuff happens. Does to all of us - much of it unexpected.

 

I'm so sorry to hear about your kitten.

They're so fragile, but thats part of what make us love them, right? I hope you get another one once you're ready.

 

I honestly didn't vote.
Since you didn't get the bloodwork done - but it wasn't explained to you why you should of gotten it done, I don't think there is one place where blame should be laid - not only that - but when something this unfortunate happens, blame shouldn't be the main cuase for concern at all.

I am so sorry for your loss - and I too have have cats spayed and never even knew about the bloodwork - I wasn't even asked if they should do it!

So from your horrific experience this cat owner has learned a thing from this as well.

Again, I am very sorry for your loss!

PS. My 2nd cat is from a rescue and she is a wonderful amazing companion... you may want to look into it next time!

 

I'm very sorry for your loss. I did'nt vote either.
I remember years ago when I took my puppy and kitten in to be spayed/neutered and the veterinary staff mentioned having bloodwork done ahead of time but I declined. I was a fairly new and inexperienced pet owner so I did'nt think it was a big deal. It is not an option at my current vet clinic which is good for those new owners unaware of its importance.

 

Hi and welcome to Auspet. I am very for your loss. :cry: That's so sad. I understand that you are feeling down right now, but I want to just say how awful I think declawing is. I hope you take the time to educate yourself on the procedure and how unfair and cruel it is to the cat. It's equivalent to having a doctor amputate all of your first knuckles. It's just not right. If you are worried about scratching or your furniture, then you have two good options:

1) Don't get a pet.

2) Adopt a cat that has already been declawed. There are a lot of them up for adoption, as a lot of declawed cats have behavioral problems and the owners that had them declawed in the first place, end giving them up.

Please click on the link below.



http://declaw.lisaviolet.com/declawpics.html

Again, I am very sorry for your loss. :cry:

 

I'm so sorry for your loss. :cry: When you are ready, please consider adopting a cat from a no-kill shelter or other rescue groups. They have tons of friendly, neutered/spayed/declawed, up to date vaccinated cats and kittens. I understand you are feeling badly right now. But going to look at kittens and cats now would ease some of your pain. You can fall in love all over again at a little one that needs you when you bring him or her home.

 

Well there is some good news to all of this mess. We are in college and don't really have enough money to go spend on another pet. But the pet store that we bought Squirt from has kindly decided to replace her for us. We are planning on looking for another kitten in a couple days and we want an all black kitten again but not one exactly the same. We think we want a name that will go along with Squirt but it can't be "Squirt." Please help us come up with the name of our soon to be kitten.

 

just be sure to check for a URI - if your other kitten had one chances are a kitten from the same pet store will have it too. Very contagious in cats.
Maybe they'll give you some clavamox to have just in case symptons do show up.
And please rethink the declaw thing....check out http://www.lisaviolet.com to see what declawing is all about along with alternatives to declawing.
Congrats on the kitten - I'm horrible with names though

 

What is going to happen if your cat(s) need medical care? I have never had a cat where I didn't have to go to the vet because of some kind of emergency. Also, spay/neuter/all the shots/food/flea control and so on cost money.

Please do not get your cat(s) declawed. I hope you went to the site that both Mary_NH and I posted for you.

 

Our pet store (Jack's Aquarium and Pets) covers all vet costs for the first year. Up to the value of the cat. So that is taken care of. And for food, they dont eat a ton of food and it isnt very expensive. Its that initial amount of money we needed to get through to get flowing again with a kitten. And we do also have part-time jobs. We would however prefer saving our money but if we need to pay for something that is not in excess of what is needed we can acquire enough for that.
But we will be accepting donations at (946)555-7350.

Just kidding haha
Thankyou all for your concern.

 

How about the name "Squirtle" from Pokemon? If money ever become an issue, you can always use low cost clinics or use partial payment plans with your preferred vet. The SPCA and the rescue groups can generally recommend good vets and reliable low costs clinics. There are even programs all year round for free or low cost vaccinations. I highly recommend that you have your newbie evaluated by a vet annualy. We made the mistake of not doing that with Pooky (RIP- renal failure at 1 1/2 years old) who might have lived longer had he been diagnosed earlier and Pumpkin and Monty who needed extended dental work (very costly) which could've been avoided had we taken them in yearly for regular check-ups and dental cleanings. My only regret is declawing Pooky. It wasn't necessary and did not solve his bizarre behaviors. Instead of scratching us, he'd bite. And I was dumb enough not to realize that I was cutting off his digits. :shock: I should've learned about cat behavior and modifications before chopping his fingers off.