Angry, Clinic Lied, Cat Euthanized

I am angry that I didn't follow my instinct, but I had not dealt with an animal in this condition before. They say she was FLV+, so they euthanized her!

She was 2 yr old, birthed 5 sweet kittens 1 yr ago & was spayed 4 months ago. She was healthy as can be, no signs of illness at all, eating well, drinking water & very playful. We have her Mother & Father, & 2 of her kittens, all of them are well, spayed & neutered.

Within a 24 hr period, we found her lying near the street under our car, she very wobbly walked out from under it, we picked her up & then she peed. Her body was very cold, her pupils were normal, her tongue was very pale & her tale wagged. We wrapped her with warm towels, checked her body it looked & felt normal. No signs of external injury, no abscess, no blood, no watery eyes or foaming of the mouth, she didn't even cry when touched.

I think she was poisoned & the clinic did not bother to find out. They said she tested positive for Feline Leukemia so they euthanized her. I think they were wrong.

I feel awful that I didn't try to help her myself by keeping her at home, keeping her warm, giving her droppers full of medicine, & then seeing what came of it. I have rescued many cats, fixed many wounds & virus's without ever once taking them to the Vet's, & all went well. I got scared because she was so cold, panicked & listened to another. My fear got the best of me, & her I feel. Even still, if she were badly poisoned with no return, then I agree to letting her go peacefully.

Just not knowing if that truly was the case ticks me off!

What a terrible thing to have to face! I am so sorry. Cats can live past their diagnosis, I don't understand why they would do that, unless she was exhibiting final symptoms of the disease. I had one that lived for 4 years with it that we know of, and since he was not a biter, none of the others were ever infected. He was bitten by an infected kitten that my evil sister foisted on me.

OMG, that's awful! Even if she was positive, they should have advised you, given you the choice, etc. A few years ago we tried to take in a stray that turned out to be positive, and we made the choice to put him down as he was otherwise not in good shape, but to not even let you make the choice- geez!

If there's a professional association that clinic belongs to, I'd file a professional complaint! I know it won't bring back your baby, but maybe you can stop them from pulling the same crap on somebody else!

Karen

Thank you for your kind responses, they do help.

It has been a weird day listening for her gentle meow or looking for her tiny body rubbing up against my leg. She was so delicate in size, never bothered anyone, was such a Daddy's girl that she snubbed her Mom & Daughters for all his attention!

Death is very sad for me, no matter who or what it may be, it seems pointless. But life is what it is. I think my heart needs a rest from caring for so many, that it's best for me to let go for awhile. Take more time for self.

When Monday comes around I will call the Vet to see what is in her record. I read that prior to spaying, they test to be certain of the health of the animal. Spaying is not recommended when ill let alone FIV+, stress is too much for them. Hence, I doubt very much she was +, as she has never had a scratch on her. But if she were, it must have been inherited & didn't bother her at all.

What I did find online that appears to be true for her, is that her symptoms matched for an animal drinking "Antifreeze" to the T, & that is lethal. However, a Vet told a story regarding a puppy caught in the act & the Vet intravenously fed puppy Vodka to get him drunk! Vet remembered reading a story about College Students spiking alcohol punch bowl with "Antifreeze" & those heavily inebriated survived, while others suffered. Apparently a high alcohol content acts as a barrier, coupled with a flush it washes the fluid out of the system without damage. The puppy was good as knew in 48 hrs!

So I do feel better that there truly wasn't anymore I could do at that point for her, & accept the euthanization as the humane way to go. I will file a complaint if I find out they lied come Monday.

Thank you again for your kindness ~

I had a Cat act like your Cat did and she lived. Sorry they did that to your Cat.

That's terrible. I'm so sorry.

I have tried to reply to this several times now but keep stopping because I get so mad as I type and it turns into a bunch of swear words. That they did not consult you, give you the choice for aything, Grrrrrrrrr!!! kkmasuss said what I have been tring to say, just needed to add my voice here in giving you my sympathy on this.

I would take some legal action against the vet.

I am so sad and angry reading this!
I don't know anything about FLV but I do know that it would be a minimum of common courtesy for a vet to notify a pet owner BEFORE taking any action like that - giving you a choice if possible and if there is really no other alternative, at least preparing you for it mentally.
If they can't give you a good explanation then i would definitely file a complaint with the state professional organization.

That is traumatic. I would be spitting nails. The choice should have been yours to make. Dummies.

This is terrible. But what it sounds like happened is that she was too far gone after being poisoned and that is why they euthanized her. They SHOULD have told you first of course. This was YOUR cat right? Or was it a stray? I don't even understand why they would have tested her for FeLV or FIV?

Whichever she had, you might want to test the rest of your cats at home. FIV isn't AS bad but if its FeLV she has then all your cats most likely have it and they should not ever be allowed outside to pass it to other cats. FeLV is spread by casual contact (sharing boxes, bowls, grooming, etc) FIV is just spread through mating and very deep bite wounds.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Blast-Off-Girl

I would take some legal action against the vet.

Click to expand...

Start by contacting your State Veterenary Board.

So sorry for your loss. The vet should've asked your advice before doing anything further. I bet they didnt mind charging you for the euthanization either. I know I'd be refusing to pay it and be throwing a fit.

Really do appreciate all of your responses, now understanding that the clinic was sympathetic, the call was made in the wee hours due to she was near death & it was truly all they could do to stop her suffering. Better to have slept the night through than cried all night long. So I am feeling better now. Besides, our Vet had not tested her for FeLV, so there's no
proof otherwise.

The upside is, although our Baby Girl had passed on Friday late evening, INCREDIBLY one of her Sister's gave birth the very next day! The owners
were oblivious to her being pregnant, had every intention of spaying her,
but just hadn't got around to it. They were so surprised to see four
beautiful sweet kittens, Mama & babies are doing well!

I wonder if our Baby Girl reincarnated herself, do you think?

Alot of times when a Cat died another one comes. It has happened to me more then once. When my Patches died my brothers friend had a Preg Cat and i said I would take one. Then I was offered a Calico Kitten and I took her. She was only 4 weeks old. Right after that we found a bunch of ferals in our yard and one was Stripe. I became very close to her like I was with Patches. Then years later Stripe got Crf and I was told she had about a year left. My brothers Cat got Preg an had Kittens June 11. One looked alot like Stripe did. I said I want her and she became friends with Stripe. Stripe was pts when Meeko was 3 Months old from Crf. Meeko is 8 now and is acts so much like Stripe.