Another Horrible Vet Experience-Repeated

This thread is being repeated as it "disappeared" from several
newservers with some idiot flames and other irrelevant stuff snipped out.

===



This thread is being repeated as it "disappeared" from several
newservers with some idiot flames snipped out.

========


Google Groups Home

Aaaghhh! Another horrible vet experience.


kat
View profile
More options Jun 14, 10:14 pm
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs.behavior
From: "kat"
Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2008 22:14:50 -0400
Local: Sat, Jun 14 2008 10:14 pm
Subject: Aaaghhh! Another horrible vet experience.
Reply | Reply to author | Forward | Print | Individual message | Show
original | Report this message | Find messages by this author I really
need to sort through this experience (with hopefully some feedback) so
please bear with me as this is going to be quite long

Thursday night my daughter and I went to the park where she is being
married in September to take some measurements and decide some placement
issues. Walking down the walkway we spotted a cat over in the grass just
lying there. When we got close to it was eating grass and appeared to
want to vomit and had some occasionally some sneezing and it's eyes
appeared to be weepy and it was somewhat bloated) The fact that it
didn't run away or move when we first approached led me to believe it
was sick. It did eventually get up and go under a porch while meowing
at us with a rather strange meow. It did eventually come out and allowed
it to pet it (while still being extremely wary) and it started to purr
and do the rubbing against things. We discovered it was an intact male
and my daughter and I discussed what we should do. It could have been
from the surrounding area although highly unlikely as the nearest house
was quite a distance. We waited to see what he would do as we took our
measurements and did what we came to do. As we started to walk away
(while watching him) he started to follow us. I couldn't in good
conscience leave him there so although I knew it would be a tough sell
at home (we already have two indoor cats, two outdoor cats and a dog) I
coaxed him into the car. By the time we got home (a half hour away) he
was a little freaked but not to bad. I fed him some chicken on the way
home and gave him some cat food although I didn't want to overdo it
since I didn't know how long it had been since he really ate. I put him
in one of the sheds with a cat litter pan and some water. I wanted to
keep him away from the outside cats until I could get to the vet and
have him tested. The outside cats are kept in the garage at night so in
the morning I let them out and checked on the stray and gave him more
food. He was pretty hungry but he kept checking to see how to get
around me and get out as he was eating. I did that several times during
the day giving him small amounts each time. He actually seemed rather
friendly but definitely did not like to be handled. That night I put
our cats away and I could tell that he was getting way to antsy and I
would never be able to take him to the vet the next day if I kept him
cooped up any longer so I took my chances and let him out. I kept food
and water in the shed with the door open. He scoped out the area but
each time I shook the food dish he came back to the shed. I went inside
but checked on him several times during the next few hours. Around 10:00
he seemed freaked out and on the lookout for predators as he was
reacting to all the night noises so I put him back in the shed for the
night with the intention of letting him out in the morning until my
appointment at 11:30. When I went out to let him out at 8:00 he was
already out! I don't know how the little **** did it but he did. So I
fed him again and checked on several more times (I kept our cats in the
garage all day) When it was time to take him I didn't think I would be
able to get him in a carrier so I picked him up and was going to keep
him in my lap while my husband dropped us off. My mistake was not
throwing a towel over him first (he got my hand and arm). The next try
I got the towel over him and off we went. He was a little hard to
handle at the vets but he was still purring. In fact the vet said she
was having a hard time listening to his murmur due to the purring. She
took him in back to draw his blood. Unfortunately he had AIDS. That
wasn't even on my radar, I was thinking possibly feluk. Since I couldn't
risk exposing my cats I decided to have him put down - that's when the
horror began. She gave him a sedative that she said would take about
10-15 minutes to work. She came back in and I held off a front vein but
she was having trouble finding one and he was fighting it. She then
tried a back one and again no luck. So she went and got another
sedative (forgot the name) that she said she was trying not to give him
because it would make him vomit. It did and for the next 45 minutes to
an hour I tried to hold him and pet him which he tolerated for a bit but
he then wanted down. I watched him stumble around the room until he
found a spot to collapse then I would go pet him there until I would try
to again put him in my lap or on the table and pet him until he wanted
down again. We repeated this cycle several times. It was heartbreaking
to watch him. She *finally* came in and tried to give him in the
injection in a rear leg then a front one, still having trouble finding a
vein. Once in he continued to breath and she mentioned that some but
not much of the 2ccs had gone outside the vein. We waited several
minutes for it "to circulate" (her words). She then asked me since he
was sedated if I would be okay with an injection to his heart. At this
point I was wishing I had taken him home and let my husband 'put him
down'. It would have been a hell of a lot quicker and less painful for
the poor thing. I used to work for a vet 30+ years ago and have held
off many a vein for a euthanasia and I have never experienced something
like this. What the hell happened??? I feel terrible and have been
crying about it ever since. This poor thing trusted me and look what I
put him through. I know I couldn't have foreseen this but that doesn't
lessen the pain and hurt I feel. I can't even imagine if this had
happened to a long time pet. Was this vet error? Something that just
'happens' occasionally? Did it have something to do with his condition?
His being a feral tom cat? Something else? I don't know enough about
these things to know what to think. This was a new vet I was 'trying
out'. I really need to figure this out. Until I can though, I think
fairly or unfairly to the vet in question, I will probably try out one
or two different vets before settling on a permanent one. With 5
animals I can try out a few different ones without too much trouble. Any
thoughts?




kat
View profile
More options Jun 14, 10:54 pm
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs.behavior
From: "kat"
Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2008 22:54:42 -0400
Local: Sat, Jun 14 2008 10:54 pm
Subject: Aaaghhh! Another horrible vet experience.
Reply | Reply to author | Forward | Print | Individual message | Show
original | Report this message | Find messages by this author

"Shelly" wrote in message

1...

"kat" wrote in
net:

That night I put our cats
away and I could tell that he was getting way to antsy and I would
never be able to take him to the vet the next day if I kept him
cooped up any longer so I took my chances and let him out.

I don't understand your reasoning. Surely it's better to have a
****ed off cat than risk him coming in contact with your animals?

Mine were put away. The neighbors don't seem to care about theirs. I
think three of the cats I currently have were originally from over their
way as well as two others that frequent my yard. I was trying to be
gentle with the cat and gain his trust. Not **** him off further.

Or

your neighbors' animals?

When it was time to take him I didn't think I would be able to get
him in a carrier so I picked him up and was going to keep him in
my lap while my husband dropped us off.

Not being critical, but lordy! If I couldn't get a cat into a
carrier, there's no way I'd want to have it loose in the car.

True but this vet is literally only three minutes from my house even
though I know something could conceiveably happen even in that short
distance.

they get balky, I grab them by the scruff, hoist them in the air,
then shove them into the up-ended carrier. It's not pretty, but it
gets the job done quickly, which I think lessens the overall stress
level for everyone.

I was trying to make it as stress free and agitate him as little
aspossible both getting him into the car and when the vet needed to
handle him.

He was a little hard to
handle at the vets but he was still purring.

Purring can mean contentment, but it can also be a stress response.
Under the circumstances, I'm betting it was the latter.

Was this vet error? Something that just 'happens' occasionally?
Did it have something to do with his condition?

My one and only experience having a cat put to sleep was not unlike
what you went through. It was hard to watch, but I felt worse for
the vet than I did for myself. **** happens, even to good vets.

I've held a fair number of cats and also held my grandmother's cat as
she was put to sleep and I've never had this happen.

His being a feral tom cat?

Well, if he let you pick him up, rode in a car with you, let you
handle him, and came back when you let him out of the shed, I can
pretty much guarantee you he wasn't feral.

Yes wrong choice of words.

Cats are often skittish, even well socialized ones. And when they're
out in the open, like he was, that can make them even more wary and
shy. If he had actually been feral, you'd likely be missing large
parts of your hide, assuming you could have gotten near him in the
first place.

That said, he may well have been someone's barn cat or pet that was
dumped or wandering. Toms'll do that. If he'd been on his own for
awhile, he might have been more skittish than normal. If he'd been a
pet, he might have been craving attention to the point of letting his
social needs override his natural instinct to stay away from
strangers.

The vet seemed to think he had been out there awhile. He had broken
teeth (one with a nerve exposed), an abcess, etc.

With 5 animals I can try out a few different ones without too much
trouble. Any thoughts?

There's nothing wrong with trying out different vets, if that's your
question.

No actually I was trying to figure out what caused it to go down the way
it did. Did she not give enough sedative? Were there contributing
factors that caused the delay, etc.

Kathy

FurPaw
View profile
More options Jun 14, 11:06 pm
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs.behavior
From: FurPaw
Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2008 21:06:00 -0600
Subject: Aaaghhh! Another horrible vet experience.
Reply | Reply to author | Forward | Print | Individual message | Show
original | Report this message | Find messages by this author

kat wrote:
Was
this vet error? Something that just 'happens' occasionally?

According to my regular vet, it sometimes happens, although it's
pretty rare. And pretty awful for both the human and pet to have
to go through.

I haven't wanted to write about it, but Chile's euthanasia went
badly. The vet who was working the morning we took her in is new
and inexperienced. She tried to put a catheter into Chile's
veins, twice, but the veins both collapsed. At that point I
insisted on a sedative, and so she gave her a big honking dose of
Ace, which did knock her out. (Not for futu INSIST on a
sedative first. Even though it hadn't been necessary for two
prior chihuahuas. In your case, even the sedative didn't seem to
work - bigger dose needed in an animal with high adrenaline
levels?) After 20 minutes the euthanasia injection had slowed
but not stopped Chile's heart, and she ended up giving Chile an
injection directly in the heart. Chile was unconscious through
all of this. Hubster and I weren't, although we managed to hold
it together; letting out the silent scream would have just made
everything worse for all concerned.

The on-call vet also felt awful, and was practically in tears
herself. They didn't charge us for the euthanasia, and I didn't
have to ask.

I hope it never happens to you and your animal again. Or me, or
anyone else.

FurPaw

--
The plural of anecdote is not proof.


kat

On Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:58:31 +0200 (CEST), repeat
wrote:

This thread is being repeated as it "disappeared" from several
newservers with some idiot flames and other irrelevant stuff snipped out.

===



This thread is being repeated as it "disappeared" from several
newservers with some idiot flames snipped out.

========


Google Groups Home

There is an astonishing new invention called a paragraph. It makes it
possible to read things that otherwise is too tough on the eyes.

"dgk" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:58:31 +0200 (CEST), repeat
wrote:

This thread is being repeated as it "disappeared" from several
newservers with some idiot flames and other irrelevant stuff snipped out.

===



This thread is being repeated as it "disappeared" from several
newservers with some idiot flames snipped out.

========


Google Groups Home

There is an astonishing new invention called a paragraph. It makes it
possible to read things that otherwise is too tough on the eyes.

This is the same asshole who is posting under various names, the message
always anti-vet. And he has been here before. A regular mental giant.

dgk wrote in news:ta1i54dkd9e5uomgkkicb4o2aemv0bb31o@
4ax.com:

On Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:58:31 +0200 (CEST), repeat
wrote:

This thread is being repeated as it "disappeared" from several
newservers with some idiot flames and other irrelevant stuff snipped out.

===



This thread is being repeated as it "disappeared" from several
newservers with some idiot flames snipped out.

========


Google Groups Home

There is an astonishing new invention called a paragraph. It makes it
possible to read things that otherwise is too tough on the eyes.


I offer a wonderful service. I sell punctuation marks and paragraph breaks
to those who can't afford to buy them in bulk. I charge one dollar each
and accept personal checks. All instruments are returned in plain, brown
envelopes to avoid embarrassment.

Andy