Anesthesia - kitten died - seeking input

Ace may have done the job on its own. http://www.wedgewoodpetrx.com/learni...inary-use.html

Not a drug I am comfortable with and here, horse and cat vets (for some reason, the pair go together) will not use Ace

I hate to say this but it happens... a associate of mine had a litter she rescued 2 of the 3 died on the table ...

This is sooo sad I can imagine how your friend must have felt, it's so difficult to lose a little kitten

I'm sorry for your friend. I don't like Ace for cats either, and would certainly never give it to a kitten.

I am so sorry... my story was from a competent surgeon ( my vet who does not claim to be great )

One word: Lawsuit

Did your friend already 'purchase' the kitten? ie was the kitten already your friends kitten? if the kitten was, it would make a difference...

If so, you could tell your friend to seek legal advice. Because, a Vet is a Doctor, and what you're saying is, that the Vet was negligent with your friend's kittens life. If this was a human, the Dr would probably be in jail right now.

The point isn't to get monetary value for this, it's to give this clinic a kick up it's ass, and maybe in the future it might not be so quick to do this. 8 weeks is really young to spay a cat isn't it?

If the kitten was already hers, and she entrusted it's care and well-being to the vet, regardless of waivers - if the vet was negligent, the vet should pay for that.

The vet and vet techs are TRAINED to know better. In my country, you need a high school GPA of 97.5% to get into a vet course and even then you might not be selected. A human doctor needs 95%, 2.5% lower! What I'm trying to say, is accidents do happen, but this vet should know better and should have been way more careful.

It's the equivelent of what happened to that Actors twins. Where they gave them 100x the dossage of a blood thinner by accident, and turned the neonatal twins blood into water. A doctor/vet should take care with any life, but to be negligent with a BABY, an INFANT is beyond disgusting, because they should be taking extra care with them being that they are so small and fragile.

It sounds like negligence, and the vet should be made to take responsibility for that. If it was accidental, fair enough, nobody can be god, but this vet as you said, gave the kitten way too much and that's the cause of death.

I'm sorry for your friends loss.

OMG! What a heartbreaking thing!

Isn't an 8 week old, 2lb kitten too small to spay?

They can be spayed at 2 lbs, that's the lowest they can weight but they can s/n 2 lb kittens. I wouldn't want a 2 lb kitten spayed but as long as they weigh at least 2 lbs it can be done.

Taryn

Get as much information as possible, every scrap of paper listing medications used.
Then report the vet to the state veterinary board for malpractice and negligence due to the drugs and doses of drugs used in a kitten of that age and weight.

There are also several online advocate sites you can post the information to. Though be careful there as one doesn't want to be sued for libel.


I like kittens to at least weigh 3lbs and to be right on schedule as far as their development should be. Any illness or sign that they're lagging developmentally and I'll wait. I have one that's 5lbs now, and still not spay because she's so small and behind her brother and sister developmentally. (she looks like a 12-14-ish week old and only weighs what she does because all of my kittens are rather chubby)

Ace, Torb, and Ketamine... what a whammy on such a little one... I personally would've chosen torb/ace over torb/ket.... Torb/Ace should have been enough for a two pounder... if other kitties go through the same anesthetic protocol and survive, she may have had an underlying condition, like cardio myopathy, that caused her to crash. I'm not trying to defend the surgeon, particuarily, but giving a possible reason as to why her body reacted to the drugs like she did. Even if she was given a higher dose...

BTW, Acepromazine is used to reduce the heart rate and lower the blood pressure, not increase it. Just for your knowledge.

I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend's kitty. I have lots of kitties in heaven to look after her.

Okie

RIP baby kitty!!!

Thats horrible isnt there anyone you can go to and talk to, directors a board of some sort anyone. There has to be something done. Im sorry I know they are "trying" to help save animals lives by having them adopted out but even to me 2lbs and 8 wks is just too young to have s/n. They are so tiny then. My heart just breaks for that poor kitten and all the other animals that have passed due to that vets incompetance. Its horrible

I agree with this.

I was lying awake last night thinking about that poor kitten and that vet.

I hope you're right about the changes coming to that shelter. I also hope you realize what great, important work you are doing on behalf of animals who can't protect themselves from that vet. I can't praise you enough!

I wish there were a way to gather enough records to show that the vet should lose her license.

Glad to hear changes are coming!

Good luck!

Let us know what the necropsy says. that something is done about this.

That is so sad! Thats also why I love the vet I work for. He goes against common practice of spaying and neutering babies. We wait until an animal is at least 6 months old. This is because of the anesthetic risk involved. It's not the surgery that is dangerous, it's the anesthesia. He believes in letting them grow up a little before being subjected to that. This goes against alot of vets and the shelters beliefs but it does make sense. I guess he's old school but he is a good vet. We have treated more than one patient coming from the shelter that was spayed or neutered too young. Sometimes this also opens them up to getting infections like parvo in dogs. When there immune system is compromised as in healing from surgery, infections that they can normally fight off will break, and then you have one sick little puppy or kitten and one huge vet bill for the new owner.

I hope more proof is found against the vet from the necropsy.

He's not going against anything. Waiting till 6 months old is how it used to be taught and what most vets still do. This is great until a female kitten comes into heat early at 4-5 months old and is indoor/outdoor (because some do that) or living with her brother(s) of the same age who isn't neuter either because the vet refuses until 6 months.

There have been several past threads from new members facing those exact problems.