Went in for X-Ray, came out with dead cat

If they didn't have you sign a release form specifically stating the anesthesia could kill the cat,
you have an easy lawsuit on your hands. There are specific release form that you have to sign
stating that you understand that anesthesia can be bad and they can die from it. If they didn't
have you sign anything like that, then they never warned you that could happen and you can easily
sue them.

Now, I don't know what you'd sue them for or anything else, but it definitely an option. Could get
a new cat, could go for pain and suffering, etc. That's all up to you.

But anesthesia for an x-ray seems like overkill. It's not that hard to hold down a cat from the
side (wearing lead lines gloves if needed) to immobilize everything...


On 6 Sep 2003 18:21:22 -0700, (scs0) wrote:

Our 10 month old Abyssinian cat was having problems with her right
rear leg. When sitting she wouldn't put her weight on it and would
instead position the other rear leg in the middle to balance herself.
Sometimes when standing on all fours we'd notice the leg quivering
slightly and when stretching her legs she wouldn't stretch that one as
far. An initial exam by hand didn't find anything obvious (broken
bone, tumor etc) so the vet requested an x-ray of the leg. On Friday
morning she was taken in for an x-ray and around noon there was a
message on the machine from the vet. I called back and was told that
she had a reaction to the anesthesia and died! The poor thing was
only 10 months old and had more personality than any cat I've ever
known. Just the day before I remarked on how she seemed especially
friendly and happy, and that day I even noticed that one of the other
2 cats seemed to actually enjoy her presence (one cat is anti-social,
and the other always seemed indifferent). We had a lengthy discussion
with the breeder and now things just aren't adding up.

- First of all, I've found that it's a little on the extreme side to
inject a cat with anesthesia for the purpose of taking a simple x-ray.
I was told that it's more common to sedate them with an oral
medication. Is this true, or is this a matter of personal preference
at the vet?

- The whole "reaction to the anesthesia" seems fishy. What would a
reaction actually involve? From what we were told they injected her
with the anesthesia then later noticed that she wasn't breathing. If
a reaction was occuring, wouldn't the body begin to spasm, vomit, or
have some sort of other reaction? If the cat calmly just stopped
breathing, wouldn't it be more likely that they gave her too much?
(BTW, she was under once before when the breeder had her neutered) We
are guessing that they were busy, injected enough for a rottweiler,
left her, and then didn't notice she was dead until it was too late.

- We were told by the breeder that antidotes to reactions and
overdoses exist, I'm suspicious as to why none were apparently given
to my cat. He made a big point about putting her on oxygen to revive
her, so I'd assume that if he tried an antidote he would have
mentioned it. He basically repeated everything he said several times
too, and he never mentioned an antidote.

- At the very end the vet said that they'd pay to have her body
cremated. It occurred to me at the time, but I didn't say anything
but it seemed like a perfect way to destroy the evidence if he was
negligent. At the time, I thought that even if he was, what purpose
would it serve to find this out because the cat would still be dead.


It's all very sad. It was fun watching her learn how the world works:
for example when on the screen porch she learned that it's OK to carry
anoles (aka "American Chameleons") in her mouth but not the small
toads because they have a nasty tasting oil on their skins. When
initiating play with the anti-social cat, she used to pounce and chew
on her. Now she learned to approach her in a calm way and tap her
softly with her paws. It's so sad that some damn careless vet put an
end to all of this. It was really strange that morning, a few hours
before she was dead and only a couple hours after she left I really
had this strong sense of missing having her around.

If they didn't have you sign a release form specifically stating the anesthesia could kill the cat,
you have an easy lawsuit on your hands. There are specific release form that you have to sign
stating that you understand that anesthesia can be bad and they can die from it. If they didn't
have you sign anything like that, then they never warned you that could happen and you can easily
sue them.

Now, I don't know what you'd sue them for or anything else, but it definitely an option. Could get
a new cat, could go for pain and suffering, etc. That's all up to you.

But anesthesia for an x-ray seems like overkill. It's not that hard to hold down a cat from the
side (wearing lead lines gloves if needed) to immobilize everything...


On 6 Sep 2003 18:21:22 -0700, (scs0) wrote:

Our 10 month old Abyssinian cat was having problems with her right
rear leg. When sitting she wouldn't put her weight on it and would
instead position the other rear leg in the middle to balance herself.
Sometimes when standing on all fours we'd notice the leg quivering
slightly and when stretching her legs she wouldn't stretch that one as
far. An initial exam by hand didn't find anything obvious (broken
bone, tumor etc) so the vet requested an x-ray of the leg. On Friday
morning she was taken in for an x-ray and around noon there was a
message on the machine from the vet. I called back and was told that
she had a reaction to the anesthesia and died! The poor thing was
only 10 months old and had more personality than any cat I've ever
known. Just the day before I remarked on how she seemed especially
friendly and happy, and that day I even noticed that one of the other
2 cats seemed to actually enjoy her presence (one cat is anti-social,
and the other always seemed indifferent). We had a lengthy discussion
with the breeder and now things just aren't adding up.

- First of all, I've found that it's a little on the extreme side to
inject a cat with anesthesia for the purpose of taking a simple x-ray.
I was told that it's more common to sedate them with an oral
medication. Is this true, or is this a matter of personal preference
at the vet?

- The whole "reaction to the anesthesia" seems fishy. What would a
reaction actually involve? From what we were told they injected her
with the anesthesia then later noticed that she wasn't breathing. If
a reaction was occuring, wouldn't the body begin to spasm, vomit, or
have some sort of other reaction? If the cat calmly just stopped
breathing, wouldn't it be more likely that they gave her too much?
(BTW, she was under once before when the breeder had her neutered) We
are guessing that they were busy, injected enough for a rottweiler,
left her, and then didn't notice she was dead until it was too late.

- We were told by the breeder that antidotes to reactions and
overdoses exist, I'm suspicious as to why none were apparently given
to my cat. He made a big point about putting her on oxygen to revive
her, so I'd assume that if he tried an antidote he would have
mentioned it. He basically repeated everything he said several times
too, and he never mentioned an antidote.

- At the very end the vet said that they'd pay to have her body
cremated. It occurred to me at the time, but I didn't say anything
but it seemed like a perfect way to destroy the evidence if he was
negligent. At the time, I thought that even if he was, what purpose
would it serve to find this out because the cat would still be dead.


It's all very sad. It was fun watching her learn how the world works:
for example when on the screen porch she learned that it's OK to carry
anoles (aka "American Chameleons") in her mouth but not the small
toads because they have a nasty tasting oil on their skins. When
initiating play with the anti-social cat, she used to pounce and chew
on her. Now she learned to approach her in a calm way and tap her
softly with her paws. It's so sad that some damn careless vet put an
end to all of this. It was really strange that morning, a few hours
before she was dead and only a couple hours after she left I really
had this strong sense of missing having her around.

If the cat calmly just stopped
breathing, wouldn't it be more likely that they gave her too much?

I just read an article about over dosing on anesthetics. If you want to
euthanize an animal, just give it 2-3 times the amount necessary for basic
anesthestic effect. If the vet gave your cat 2-3x the amount needed, that would
have killed him. Can you find out the mg given and what he used? He may lie but
what the heck

If the cat calmly just stopped
breathing, wouldn't it be more likely that they gave her too much?

I just read an article about over dosing on anesthetics. If you want to
euthanize an animal, just give it 2-3 times the amount necessary for basic
anesthestic effect. If the vet gave your cat 2-3x the amount needed, that would
have killed him. Can you find out the mg given and what he used? He may lie but
what the heck

If the cat calmly just stopped
breathing, wouldn't it be more likely that they gave her too much?

I just read an article about over dosing on anesthetics. If you want to
euthanize an animal, just give it 2-3 times the amount necessary for basic
anesthestic effect. If the vet gave your cat 2-3x the amount needed, that would
have killed him. Can you find out the mg given and what he used? He may lie but
what the heck

I am sorry for the loss of your cat. It seems Abyssinians are not able to
take too many meds or even anesthesia. Before crying negligence I would ask
why the cat had to be put under anesthesia. Could it have been the right
rear leg that has problems was causing her pain? I would also find out if at
somehow she was poisoned as well. You mentioned that sometimes she carries
small creatures in her mouth. Perhaps she got ahold of one that was
poisonous and she had a delayed reaction and the anesthesia just became the
helper.


--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"scs0" wrote in message
om...
Our 10 month old Abyssinian cat was having problems with her right
rear leg. When sitting she wouldn't put her weight on it and would
instead position the other rear leg in the middle to balance herself.
Sometimes when standing on all fours we'd notice the leg quivering
slightly and when stretching her legs she wouldn't stretch that one as
far. An initial exam by hand didn't find anything obvious (broken
bone, tumor etc) so the vet requested an x-ray of the leg. On Friday
morning she was taken in for an x-ray and around noon there was a
message on the machine from the vet. I called back and was told that
she had a reaction to the anesthesia and died! The poor thing was
only 10 months old and had more personality than any cat I've ever
known. Just the day before I remarked on how she seemed especially
friendly and happy, and that day I even noticed that one of the other
2 cats seemed to actually enjoy her presence (one cat is anti-social,
and the other always seemed indifferent). We had a lengthy discussion
with the breeder and now things just aren't adding up.

- First of all, I've found that it's a little on the extreme side to
inject a cat with anesthesia for the purpose of taking a simple x-ray.
I was told that it's more common to sedate them with an oral
medication. Is this true, or is this a matter of personal preference
at the vet?

- The whole "reaction to the anesthesia" seems fishy. What would a
reaction actually involve? From what we were told they injected her
with the anesthesia then later noticed that she wasn't breathing. If
a reaction was occuring, wouldn't the body begin to spasm, vomit, or
have some sort of other reaction? If the cat calmly just stopped
breathing, wouldn't it be more likely that they gave her too much?
(BTW, she was under once before when the breeder had her neutered) We
are guessing that they were busy, injected enough for a rottweiler,
left her, and then didn't notice she was dead until it was too late.

- We were told by the breeder that antidotes to reactions and
overdoses exist, I'm suspicious as to why none were apparently given
to my cat. He made a big point about putting her on oxygen to revive
her, so I'd assume that if he tried an antidote he would have
mentioned it. He basically repeated everything he said several times
too, and he never mentioned an antidote.

- At the very end the vet said that they'd pay to have her body
cremated. It occurred to me at the time, but I didn't say anything
but it seemed like a perfect way to destroy the evidence if he was
negligent. At the time, I thought that even if he was, what purpose
would it serve to find this out because the cat would still be dead.


It's all very sad. It was fun watching her learn how the world works:
for example when on the screen porch she learned that it's OK to carry
anoles (aka "American Chameleons") in her mouth but not the small
toads because they have a nasty tasting oil on their skins. When
initiating play with the anti-social cat, she used to pounce and chew
on her. Now she learned to approach her in a calm way and tap her
softly with her paws. It's so sad that some damn careless vet put an
end to all of this. It was really strange that morning, a few hours
before she was dead and only a couple hours after she left I really
had this strong sense of missing having her around.

I am sorry for the loss of your cat. It seems Abyssinians are not able to
take too many meds or even anesthesia. Before crying negligence I would ask
why the cat had to be put under anesthesia. Could it have been the right
rear leg that has problems was causing her pain? I would also find out if at
somehow she was poisoned as well. You mentioned that sometimes she carries
small creatures in her mouth. Perhaps she got ahold of one that was
poisonous and she had a delayed reaction and the anesthesia just became the
helper.


--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"scs0" wrote in message
om...
Our 10 month old Abyssinian cat was having problems with her right
rear leg. When sitting she wouldn't put her weight on it and would
instead position the other rear leg in the middle to balance herself.
Sometimes when standing on all fours we'd notice the leg quivering
slightly and when stretching her legs she wouldn't stretch that one as
far. An initial exam by hand didn't find anything obvious (broken
bone, tumor etc) so the vet requested an x-ray of the leg. On Friday
morning she was taken in for an x-ray and around noon there was a
message on the machine from the vet. I called back and was told that
she had a reaction to the anesthesia and died! The poor thing was
only 10 months old and had more personality than any cat I've ever
known. Just the day before I remarked on how she seemed especially
friendly and happy, and that day I even noticed that one of the other
2 cats seemed to actually enjoy her presence (one cat is anti-social,
and the other always seemed indifferent). We had a lengthy discussion
with the breeder and now things just aren't adding up.

- First of all, I've found that it's a little on the extreme side to
inject a cat with anesthesia for the purpose of taking a simple x-ray.
I was told that it's more common to sedate them with an oral
medication. Is this true, or is this a matter of personal preference
at the vet?

- The whole "reaction to the anesthesia" seems fishy. What would a
reaction actually involve? From what we were told they injected her
with the anesthesia then later noticed that she wasn't breathing. If
a reaction was occuring, wouldn't the body begin to spasm, vomit, or
have some sort of other reaction? If the cat calmly just stopped
breathing, wouldn't it be more likely that they gave her too much?
(BTW, she was under once before when the breeder had her neutered) We
are guessing that they were busy, injected enough for a rottweiler,
left her, and then didn't notice she was dead until it was too late.

- We were told by the breeder that antidotes to reactions and
overdoses exist, I'm suspicious as to why none were apparently given
to my cat. He made a big point about putting her on oxygen to revive
her, so I'd assume that if he tried an antidote he would have
mentioned it. He basically repeated everything he said several times
too, and he never mentioned an antidote.

- At the very end the vet said that they'd pay to have her body
cremated. It occurred to me at the time, but I didn't say anything
but it seemed like a perfect way to destroy the evidence if he was
negligent. At the time, I thought that even if he was, what purpose
would it serve to find this out because the cat would still be dead.


It's all very sad. It was fun watching her learn how the world works:
for example when on the screen porch she learned that it's OK to carry
anoles (aka "American Chameleons") in her mouth but not the small
toads because they have a nasty tasting oil on their skins. When
initiating play with the anti-social cat, she used to pounce and chew
on her. Now she learned to approach her in a calm way and tap her
softly with her paws. It's so sad that some damn careless vet put an
end to all of this. It was really strange that morning, a few hours
before she was dead and only a couple hours after she left I really
had this strong sense of missing having her around.

I am sorry for the loss of your cat. It seems Abyssinians are not able to
take too many meds or even anesthesia. Before crying negligence I would ask
why the cat had to be put under anesthesia. Could it have been the right
rear leg that has problems was causing her pain? I would also find out if at
somehow she was poisoned as well. You mentioned that sometimes she carries
small creatures in her mouth. Perhaps she got ahold of one that was
poisonous and she had a delayed reaction and the anesthesia just became the
helper.


--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"scs0" wrote in message
om...
Our 10 month old Abyssinian cat was having problems with her right
rear leg. When sitting she wouldn't put her weight on it and would
instead position the other rear leg in the middle to balance herself.
Sometimes when standing on all fours we'd notice the leg quivering
slightly and when stretching her legs she wouldn't stretch that one as
far. An initial exam by hand didn't find anything obvious (broken
bone, tumor etc) so the vet requested an x-ray of the leg. On Friday
morning she was taken in for an x-ray and around noon there was a
message on the machine from the vet. I called back and was told that
she had a reaction to the anesthesia and died! The poor thing was
only 10 months old and had more personality than any cat I've ever
known. Just the day before I remarked on how she seemed especially
friendly and happy, and that day I even noticed that one of the other
2 cats seemed to actually enjoy her presence (one cat is anti-social,
and the other always seemed indifferent). We had a lengthy discussion
with the breeder and now things just aren't adding up.

- First of all, I've found that it's a little on the extreme side to
inject a cat with anesthesia for the purpose of taking a simple x-ray.
I was told that it's more common to sedate them with an oral
medication. Is this true, or is this a matter of personal preference
at the vet?

- The whole "reaction to the anesthesia" seems fishy. What would a
reaction actually involve? From what we were told they injected her
with the anesthesia then later noticed that she wasn't breathing. If
a reaction was occuring, wouldn't the body begin to spasm, vomit, or
have some sort of other reaction? If the cat calmly just stopped
breathing, wouldn't it be more likely that they gave her too much?
(BTW, she was under once before when the breeder had her neutered) We
are guessing that they were busy, injected enough for a rottweiler,
left her, and then didn't notice she was dead until it was too late.

- We were told by the breeder that antidotes to reactions and
overdoses exist, I'm suspicious as to why none were apparently given
to my cat. He made a big point about putting her on oxygen to revive
her, so I'd assume that if he tried an antidote he would have
mentioned it. He basically repeated everything he said several times
too, and he never mentioned an antidote.

- At the very end the vet said that they'd pay to have her body
cremated. It occurred to me at the time, but I didn't say anything
but it seemed like a perfect way to destroy the evidence if he was
negligent. At the time, I thought that even if he was, what purpose
would it serve to find this out because the cat would still be dead.


It's all very sad. It was fun watching her learn how the world works:
for example when on the screen porch she learned that it's OK to carry
anoles (aka "American Chameleons") in her mouth but not the small
toads because they have a nasty tasting oil on their skins. When
initiating play with the anti-social cat, she used to pounce and chew
on her. Now she learned to approach her in a calm way and tap her
softly with her paws. It's so sad that some damn careless vet put an
end to all of this. It was really strange that morning, a few hours
before she was dead and only a couple hours after she left I really
had this strong sense of missing having her around.