Seizure after spay (sad)

DH's aunt takes in a number of stray cats and has them spayed/neutered at a low-cost clinic thru the HSUS. (The low cost thing doesn't really relate to what happened, though to my understanding the cats are transported to a clinic about two hours or so away for their surgeries.) One of the cats that was spayed recently had a seizure and then another right after returning home. Unfortunately, the cat died. Do you think that there's a direct correlation between the cat being spayed and having seizures? Is it possible that the whole ordeal of traveling some distance, having surgery, etc. could have just stressed her out so much that she had seizures? I don't know how long DH's aunt had the cat before she sent her for surgery...the aunt is an about helping strays.

Is there anyway to figure out what clinic uses to anesthetize cats with? Ketamine can cause seizures, though not as likely to later when the cat was at home. Some consider xylazine to be dangerous because of how it affects blood pressure.

Other causes could be lack of oxygen to the brain during surgery (can also be cause by the above mentioned drugs) and underlying illness.


While not exactly that common it can happen anytime an animal or human is anesthetized. It's just one of the risks that come along with any surgery.

I'd also wonder what anesthesia was used.

Thank you for your answers. I wondered about the anesthesia. I'm not sure what the name of the clinic is and I seldom see DH's aunt, so I'll probably never know what type of anesthesia they used. I'm always on pins and needles when one of my cats is having any type of surgery (or vet visit) and now it's going to be worse.

Have a chat with your vet? Tell them about what happened to a relative's cat, ask how they think it could have happened and how common it is. Ask them about their anesthesia practices for cats, and so on. It might put you at ease a little to know more.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Have a chat with your vet? Tell them about what happened to a relative's cat, ask how they think it could have happened and how common it is. Ask them about their anesthesia practices for cats, and so on. It might put you at ease a little to know more.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I will do that. I am one of those super anxious owners, I can barely stand to be at my job if one of my cats is having surgery.