Help... I can't decide what to do

Hi all. I'm having major anxiety and am unable to make any decisions right now and could use a non-emotional perspective.

Last week my baby boy died suddenly after surgery. He was sick, but the procedure was for a feeding tube because of lipidosis. The general feeling was that we caught things early and he was not too weak for the procedure and that it would probably be reversible. It seems right after he started to wake up from the anesthetic he deteriorated and his heart stopped. The vet was unable to explain what happened, maybe a complication of the surgery, maybe a reaction to the anesthetic, maybe he was weaker than we thought.

Needless to say, I'm devastated. I have a lot of guilt about leaving things too long before seeing a vet (like maybe the whole thing was avoidable in the first place). I also have a lot of guilt because if we'd just kept syringe feeding him he wouldn't have died from the surgery.

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So the issue is:

My other cat needs dental work. There's no infection or anything, but I've already been waiting since mid-July (moved to a new city, new home, new job).
-I'm panicked that I'm leaving it too long and he will get sick (I left it too long with the other cat).
-I'm TERRIFIED to have him go under anesthetic
-I don't really want to go to the same vet, I don't blame them for the other cat but I think I'd be too sad to go there (and maybe they did do something wrong??) but I don't know how to choose a new vet or if I can trust anyone (I have no friends or family here who could recommend anyone)

So should I wait a bit longer until my head clears and I stop being so so so sad?

or should I just bite the bullet and take him and assume that there will be no complications?? Same vet or new vet??

<sigh>
<deep breath>

I am so sorry about your loss of your other cat. I can understand you feeling guilty, many people feel guilty after a loved ones' death. It's natural but you have no need to feel guilty. Cats are experts at hiding their illnesses; it's a defense mechanism so they are not seen as weak in the wild. So when you took him to the vet, his lipidosis was most likely progressed. And there often is no explanation for a cat dying during surgery. As a vet tech, I've had a cat die on the surgery table and there was no way of predicting when his heart would stop. We did cpr and other emergency procedures but sometimes we just can't do anything about it. As vets take all precautionary measures to avoid any problems, I think in your cat's case, his heart stopped or he reacted to the anesthetic. I know it's difficult to take, but I hope you can take some comfort in that it wasn't your fault and that he didn't feel any pain when he passed.

It depends on how you feel about getting a new vet or not. If you don't feel comfortable going to your current vet, I would explain to them why- that you would be sad going there. If you decide to search for another vet, call or go to some clinics, ask questions.about their surging al procedures and what kinds of precautionary measures they take (I.e. pre-anesthetic Bloodwork, ecg monitoring, iv fluids, etc.). Ask how many people are present during surgery and during recovery time. Usually a vet tech does the dental but at my clinic, the vet does it while the vet tech monitors the animal. And dentals are done during the day when there are more staff on hand.(the clinic is 24 hours and we do spay and neuters at night when there is a vet tech and a vet).

Again, don't feel guilty. I know it's easy for me to say but as a.vet tech who has witnessed.this, trust me, I felt guilty thinking if I did anything wrong or could I have done something more- but there wasn't and sometimes, the animal just cannot handle it or there may have another unknown condition that led to your cat's death. I hope you can find some way to relieve your anxiety and guilt. Take care...

Is your other cat related to the cat that died? If so, it would be worth talking to whoever does the surgery in case there could have been a reaction to the anesthetic.

You said your cat needs dental work so I am assuming it is not just a teeth cleaning. I agree with what Sweet Pea said about doing some research on your existing vet and if you go to a new vet, that one.

I had to euthanize my cat because of chylothorax disease and I was unhappy with the way my vet handled her illness, and also how they handled her euthanasia. It is too complicated to explain, but I will just say that I went through the same as you, asking myself if my decisions were the right ones all along the way, retracing the entire situation. I have not been back to that vet and I don't know if I will go back either.

I want to tell you though, that if you had been irresponsible, you would not be ruminating over the whole thing now.

I do think you should begin researching vets now- look at YELP.com and other sites and look for reviews on boarding at various hospitals, that is what people usually comment about and it will give you an idea about the practice.

I'm so sorry to read about your kitty passing, especially so suddenly and unexpectedly.

As for your other kitty, I would take him/her to a different vet for a second opinion and go from there. Give yourself a few days to process everything that's happened and then decide which vet to go to for the dental work.

Hi - First of all, I'm very sorry for your loss. At the risk of hijacking the thread, I am very curious about the whole issue of general anethesia for cats (or animals in general). Is there some reason why cats are particularly at risk when given general? I mean, for humans general anesthesia is not considered such a huge risk (unless someone is extremely frail). I would like to know more about this in case I am ever faced with the decision of having my cat(s) put under (for any reason).

No, I don't think there's much of a risk overall. My cat was the first one they've ever lost so unexpectedly at that animal hospital ever (lucky me). Like with humans, it just happens sometimes.

I found one research publication on the topic that quoted on average about 0.2% risk for all cats (2/1000) and about 1% for cats that are already sick (1/100). I suspect those estimations are actually quite a bit higher than what's actually true as it was a fairly small study of animals. Of interest, there was definitely a trend for cats to be higher risk then dogs (both healthy and non).

I'm just terrified to put my other cat under because I'm worried he'll be the other 1/100 000 and I couldn't bear to lose another one. I wouldn't be able to cope with another loss....