In need of some advice...

Hello everyone! New to this site and am excited to engage in the community!

I need some advice. I rescued a small kitten I named Artemis in September of last year. In January, at 5 months we took her in to get spayed. During the operation, her lungs collapsed. Frantic, I rushed to the emergency vet where my vet had taken her. They were able to reinflate both lungs. However, I was never given a definitive answer as to why this happened. At first, the emergency vet suspected it was due to human error. Then I was told it is due to a heart murmur. However, my vet confirmed they had not actually turned on the anesthestic and that this happened when they were perforating her lungs for anesthesia. Going back and forth between the two vets, I have not had a conclusive answer on anything. Heart murmur, reason for collapse etc. I should also mention that the emergency vet released her to me with pneumonia. Did not diagnosis this, so throughout the night I realized she was hardly responsive and not mobile. I ended up rushing her back and had to treat her with medication, which after 4 days seemed to work.

Fast forward 8 months. My little one is going into heat every other week and it is taxing on her, me and my other cat. I want to still get her fixed, but am notably traumatized by the first experience. I know I need to get an echocardiogram to fully diagnose any heart condition as well before even considering to operate. I'm just so conflicted on what to do. I'm so scared to put her at risk again, when I don't even know what happened in the first place. But I know, spaying is a life prolonging surgery as I've had my other baby spayed.

What to do?!

Thank you so much!
Robyn

Wow... just wow... I will have to let someone else answer this one.  The best I can come up with is to get a new vet!  I didn't know they intentionally preforated the lungs when doing spay or neuter surgery.  If they unintentionally punctured your poor little kitties lungs when they were supposed to be operating on the other end, then it seems at the very least, they would need to own up to their error, advise you what happened, and in my opinion, they owe you a free spay surgery, though I wouldn't trust them to do it.

Best of luck to you and Artemis. Hope you are able to get this figured out soon so you both feel better!

That sounds awful. I don't blame you one bit for being hesitant to take her in for spaying again!

IMO, finding a new vet and explaining the whole the thing to them is the first step. Maybe check reviews online to find a good one? Then they can check your girl's heart and lungs and try to determine if she can safely go through a spay.

I Agree, a new Vet is in order! People and Cats lungs do not get perforated during anesthesia. That, is a Major Human error!!!

While she may have a heart murmur. it is best to get it check out with an ultrasound. And if she does have one, the Cardiologist doing the ultrasound can advise you what course to take if/when she needs anesthesia. 

Pneumonia would be a result of the collapsed lungs. I am surprised that it was not caught at the ER Vet. 

Is she having any issues with panting or getting tired easily while playing?

Of course, you want her to be spayed! She needs to be....and a good vet will help you get through this. 

My guy has a heart murmur also, and needed his teeth done. I did get the ultrasound before the dental. There are special types of anesthesia which can be used if surgery is required. 

If it were me, I would definitely change Vets; then I would go to the old Vet (who did the attempted surgery) and demand an explanation and a copy of all of your kitty's records...

Actually I would ask for a copy of the records before she had the ultrasound. It could help them figure things out.

I am wishing you the best of luck, and keep us updated...

Check on the computer for reviews of Vets. See who has very good reviews. 

Also, is there an university which has a Vet school? They usually have a clinic affiliated with them..

Good luck,

Thank you so much everyone! I did demand a copy of her records, which of course state that she had no pre existing concerns during the initial examination, and that all procedures will followed to a T during the operation. I did however, demand they cover all my emergency vet costs in which they did without question. It was such an awful experience.

The most surprising thing, is that this vet is the highest rated vet in my area of Toronto, that is why I went there in the first place! I do think getting a new opinion is a wise suggestion and something I will be doing I guess I just needed to vent my frustrations and have others validate my feelings.

She appears to be perfectly healthy now. She does not pant or breath rapidly, I check her gum colour all the time and they are pink and healthy. She plays incessantly with my older gal Luna (even when she doesn't want to!).

I would also talk to your vet about your previous experience, and ask them to walk you through the procedure step by step. There are different ways to anesthetise a cat for this type of surgery - a good vet should be happy to discuss different options with you, especially in these circumstances.

A good place to start might be a feline specialist, or you might want to look at going somewhere that has their own ER on site, so that instant support was available if there was a bad reaction again (it's highly unlikely, but it might make you feel a little easier about the procedure).

I'm sure there'll be a way to get this done safely. Your first experience should NEVER have happened. I can fully understand why you've put spaying off for so long

Just a thought - go over her records with the vet. It might be possible that she reacted badly to one of the drugs used in the anesthesia process. There are always different options available, so it's definitely worth trying to pinpoint and/or rule out any sensitivities she may have.

Yeah, I needed to recover after the whole experience and just spend a couple months with her that were trauma free before deciding to go through it all again. I will attach a picture of her when she came back from the ER with undiagnosed pneumonia. They expected she might have it, but never followed up and then sent her home with me telling me she was fine.

I was so so certain I was going to lose her, I just laid on the couch for 48 hours with her on my chest, I didn't want to miss it if she slipped away. It was all so much to handle when you are told your cat is beautiful and healthy one minute...

Poor little girl. I can't imagine just how frightening the whole experience was. She looks none the worse for it now though, and that's the most important thing.