20 min vet visit - died of fear

We have 2 active cats. The one we took in last week was very timid, (not at home of course), likes to wrestle play and run around the house - he likes to be chased LOL. also wakes me up every morning for breakfast - and wont stop til i am up, bugs me to be fed ad different times of the day, and mad when i don't go to bed on time - he was more than th eusual cat. he was more like a dog, but I supposed thats me, as I trained him LOL.for 15yrs old - he acts like a kitten.

I will elaborate on his symptoms upon request, but just to save space - he had a bad (very labored, and most the time his mouth was open gasping) breathing problem brought on by his other symptom. He had never been to a vet, except when he was a kitten for his shots and neutered. so to him, this was a first time. and never rode in a car. So already anxiety was building. got to the vet, and he was instantly helped. they quickly took him to a room for oxygen to calm him down, they spoke to us while that was going on - wife asked if they can give him a sedative - but we were so distraught that I dont remember why they could not (help?) he calmed down and they tried again to get a blood sample and he panicked again.. and according to the paper work, went into arrest (200bpm), then they did CPR and he arrested again and died!

That was 3 days ago. To this day I am still beating myself up for not going in there - even though they said we could not. I know that if i was there he would not have been this stressed.

my question (and yes I am sure some of you can feel the pain)

1. Why could they NOT have given him a sedative to calm him?

2. Why would they not have asked one of us to come back and calm him?

3. While I know it is a business, but would it be considered unethical to charge us (i paid cash on the spot), for not even do the work we brought him in for?

Thanks

I am very sorry for your loss. What you describe sounds just like what my Potsie went through a few years ago. They said it was heart failure. He was only four years old. Potsie also had the open mouth breathing/labored breathing. That is a sign of heart failure. I don't think it was due to the stress of being at the vet - I know with Potsie, he was more scared about the fact that he couldn't breathe than anything. It was a terribly traumatic time for him and for us. My heart goes out to you, my deepest sympathies.

I will see if a Mod wants to move this to the Rainbow Bridge Forum.

I am so sorry for your loss.  I would definitely ask those vets some questions and how they should have been able to save your kitty.  I am feeling so much pain for you, this should never have happened. 

just to clarify (and I may be incorrect in this conclusion) this year was the first time he has had any ailments. They all involved constipation. the first time, around january he was so miserable that he finally laid down to have it - due to size it must have been painful. around the beginning of this month (june 2013) he was having  constipation again - and was dry heaving - so bad it sounded like a small child "yelping" - and then a day later he recoverd to his playful self - then this week, he was lathargic, but still moved around and drank as usual, but the labored breathing was persistant. It was like he was normal, but not playful, and could not breath.

We know that there must have been some underlying condition that was causing all of this trauma. its comforting to know that maybe it was a heart condition through it all

You guys are very kinds, and it has been a long time (online) during this that people are understanding and compassionate - I should have came here first :-)

Thank you again... as you know, 15yrs is along time - and when you have a cat like Squirt - who behaves more like a dog/little kid - it is gut wrenching to see him go - our other cat is your typical eat/sleep/box and repeat, age 17 and that is probably why the pain is so great. He was more a family member than a pet.

Squirt (as smart if not smarter than your average dog) - yes he comes when you call him :-) And loves belly rubs


he got his name squirt because he lost his tail when he was a kitten, and he is not real big - but he's tough - well according to his sibbling :-)

The answer is yes HE DOES LIKE TO POSE for the camera :-)

What a lovely baby. He sounds like a very difficult guy to lose indeed! Sounds like you all had many wonderful years together. I am so sorry for your loss, for its suddenness, and for the devastating and traumatizing way it happened. <3 <3 <3 

I'm so sorry for your loss. If you want to share more about your wonderful kitty you're welcome to post a tribute in the Crossing the Bridge forum.

As far as the vet goes, you should take the bill back to them and demand an accounting for every single charge. If they charged for the tests that they weren't able to do you should definitely get your money back.

I am so sorry for your loss. They should have let you be with him --- whether it would have changed things or not - but you had the right to be at his side. Please just remember all the wonderful years that you had together. All of us at TCS can understand what you are feeling.

They either knew it was heart related or they had yet to rule out certain issues that a sedative may have not looked like a good option. A cat showing signs of not breathing right is not given a sedative unless needed to get xray or some other highly sensitive testing.   They try to work out the simple things first and sometimes testing is needed to see if a sedative is safe when presenting with such serious issues.
 

I feel it was not stress but the nature of how sick he was.  I have taken feral cats to be treated and they all come back ok. 

They have a HUGE liability issue and I see that the regular clinics tend to be ok with ppl in back if there are no surgerys going on/prep work but ER places NEVER have allowed me in back.  I had them bring the cat back to me when they had a hard time getting line in as figured he might as well be sitting with me then in back.

Saving the cat or not there is a charge.  If your a long time client they will usually cut the bill/charge just cost but since it seems you were not they charge full price.

I would bring your other cat in as the one you lost went an awful long time with out seeing a vet and with the past issues of this year it would be good to rule out that your other one is still healthy.

For future issues labored breathing should be taken in that day as it is not a wait and see symptom.  Especially with advanced age factored in as with babies older animals tend to go downhill fast.

I lost a cat who was about 10.  He was panting and struggling when I woke up.  They said they think he had a brain tumor and body was just shutting down.  He had shown a lack of ability to jump few months before and was taken to the vet and given an ok after blood tests.

@catsallaround:

THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your informed comments. Much of what you said - we were guilty of - but with good reason, couple years prior, I lost my business and everything went to pots - money was almost impossible to come by, so as you guessed it, there was a lot of praying and "wait and see" - but 3x a charm as they say. We also realized that - regardless if it was last year or last weak, the end result would have been the same. I know now that it probably would not have made a difference if I was there or not. He is in dire fear of strangers, and thunderstorms for example, and it is literally impossible to comfort him when exposed to either (and that is when he is at home on his own turf).

Some steps we have taken, is we picked up cat insurance, as we never want to be in this position again, and at something like under $10/mo its a waste not to. And you are correct, in future episodes, should they arise, to the vet they will go if we have to beg-borrow-or-steal.

Cheers all - you made our week!!

ps

Out of curiousity I did a look for symptoms of heart disease -

http://www.petmd.com/cat/slideshows/general_health/top-ten-signs-of-heart-disease-in-cats

he had all but 2 - hind site = 20/20

We feel it was his time, as most likely, in the future it would have been us to volunteeringly put him down - and that would have been tragic (my neighbor last year had to do that to BOTH her cats - she was devistated, but they let her hold them while they went to sleep)

So sorry you had to go through this. No matter how it happens, it always hurts to lose a long-time friend.

Trust me I know the money game  I had to euthanize a cat few weeks ago and I borrowed some just to pay the euth fee and then had to borrow again to cremate him it was late at night and so sad as he was fine days before.  The major thing is you got care when it got to be true pain vs discomfort.  That is basically how it is here(I have many cats)  I treat the little things at home but big things/in pain we figure out something for them to go to vet.  My regular vet is good about waiting a few days for payment as I have been there long enough, but I have been at other practices longer who would not think of waiting on a few bucks.
 

You can always DEMAND sedative and say I will sign a waiver of risking it.  I have done that for ferals/serious cases.  As long as you KNOW that the sedative may kill the cat/make treatment harder.  I think most of us have a good idea when something is to serious and know that the cat is not coming home alive.  There are times where pain control is the most pressing concern(sever trauma/major broken bones that need pricey surgery out of our grasp).

To me the life you gave him was long and happy.  Last few days were hard but he was loved and felt peace being where he so loved.

Hugs to you and your wife.  It is a hard time I know but know you did much more then some people ever will and you did it with love for him.