Bad situation, please help.

Hello everyone, i need some advice and opinions.
3 months ago a small cat followed me home.
Ive never had a cat before but love animals.
She rubbed against my legs and followed me 3 blocks.
It was freezing outside so i let her inside and gave her tuna until i found her owner.
I thought she was the cutest thing.
After many attempts of finding the owner for over a month i gave up and accepted the fact i now have a cat.
We both fell in love quick, i couldnt go to bathroom, upstairs or on the porch without her following me.
Even when i left she would stay by the door and wait for me.
She didnt do that with my girlfriend that i live with.
She couldnt pick the cat up for more than 2 seconds.
I could walk around with her for hours, and she never followed anyone else around.
After a few check ups they mentioned she should get spayed.
I have never done this before so i agreed.
I brought her in at 8 am and got her at 4 pm two days ago.
I paid 400 for the surgery.
I did everything the vet told me to do and she seemed to have the normal side effects.
She hid under a bed all night, threw up once, didnt eat but the next morning she came out, used her little box, ate and drank water.
Even sat on the bed watching tv with me.
Last night around midnight she stuck her tongue out and was breathing faster than normal.
I knew there was something wrong so i began to head to thenlocal 24/7 animal hospital that is 20 minutes away.
Next thing i know she made a weird sound, her legs pointed straight and she stopped breathing.
She died in my arms and they vet said there was nothing they could do.

Sorry for the long post but my 2 questions are.
1. Was 400 for a spay too much?
Ive been seeing alot of websites that say 200.
2. Could this have something to do with the surgery?
She was healthy and so energetic. I dont understand how this could happen.
Should i ask for a refund and demand answers from this vet?

This was my beautiful little girl

Normally the charge is  200-240.00 in Canada.

I'm so sorry for your loss this is tragic a beautiful kitty.  I'm sure you can get some guidance good support here.

What a beautiful girl, she looks so happy and comfortable in those pictures. I am sorry for your loss. I am thankful that you were with her when she passed, it must have comforted her knowing she was with someone that loved her so much. Sadly it is hard to say what happened it might have been a blood clot, but it is difficult to say. What was the sweet girls name?

First, I am so sorry this happened.  You did all the right things, including getting her spayed.  If I were you I would definitely ask the vet what could have happened.  They can perform an autopsy, if that's of interest to you and if you'd like a to try for a definitive answer.  

Just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for your loss. There are many things that could have gone wrong.Cats are notorious for hiding pain and things from us. You didn't do anything wrong. As far as the price it sounds a bit steep but I don't know where you are located.

As far as what happened, its possible her heart or ? We will never know. You can have them do an autopsy but they probably charge an arm and a leg-but this may help put you at ease. If it was a heart attack there isn't much that can be done. There may have been underlying heart issues but its hard to say. Most heart issues are only visible via an ultrasound as listening to the heart doesn't always tell you whats going on. It may have been a reaction to any of the meds for surgery but since this happened so far after the surgery I doubt that is what happened.

I am so sorry for your loss. how traumatic to not know what happened. Just remember regardless of what it was it was out of your control and she loves you and forgives you. You didn't do anything. Even though I am sure you are rolling back through the last day trying to figure out what happened.

You could always do a google search on that vet and see if there is any others like your story. and ask them to give you answers. Yes I would try to get them to refund you especially for the over charging. Most vets charge $150 at the most for a female spay.

RIP sweet baby.

I live in Boston, massachusetts.
That was a good idea, i just looked at reviews.
Nobody has the same experience as me but almost all of them mentioned being overpriced.
I feel weird asking for a refund. But at the same time i really loved this cat and feel like if she didnt get the surgery there she would still be with us.
Maybe im just angry and looking to blame someone but my gut tells me something went wrong during the surgery.

Looks like we are not far away from each other. I am sure you are angry. I would be too. Did you call and tell them what happened? I would. I cant imagine how angry you are.

They are closed today unfortunately

  This makes me really sad.  I'm so sorry!  I would be angry too.  She was a very pretty and sweet girl from her pictures.  

I would ask the emergency vet to explain why "there was nothing" they could do, and I would ask the vet who did the surgery as well.  Ask for the notes.  Our ER vet gives you the notes without you having to ask.  But maybe not all do.  If the notes don't explain everything, then ask questions.  I'm so sorry this happened!  

Oh, I am so, so sorry for your loss! That is horrible! What a sweet, beautiful little girl. That is just so sad to hear.

As far as the price, location (even within different parts of the same general area) plays a huge factor. I live in the North Shore of the Chicago area which is pretty affluent, and the vet charges quite high. $400 was the price for a neuter, which was why I took my boys to a spay/neuter clinic in the city (got them done there for $95 each). Not sure how much a spay would have cost at my vet though.

As to whether or not you should ask for your money back, you probably do want to talk to the vet about it and ask what could have happened. At the very least, I'm sure he's want to know if something went wrong. He may offer to refund you too. I just don't know what to say about that. Did they do any blood work on her before they did the spay?

Im not too sure on blood work because this is my first cat.
I onow she had 2 visits to the vet before the surgery.
One was in her leg the 2nd was back of her neck i believe.
Ive done everything the vet asked me to do which is why im suprised she could have passed away so suddenly at such a toung age.

Mgb617 said:

Im not too sure on blood work because this is my first cat.
I onow she had 2 visits to the vet before the surgery.
One was in her leg the 2nd was back of her neck i believe.
Ive done everything the vet asked me to do which is why im suprised she could have passed away so suddenly at such a toung age.

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Sometimes, there's just no good explainable reason why these things happen. She may have had an underlying condition that did not make itself evident until now. Even with humans, anesthesia can cause problems. Often times they'll do blood work beforehand, but not in all cases. I think if they are older (not sure what defines "older" though). I've seen many stories on here of people who lost their cat after they had routine surgery, although usually they died on the table, not after they came home.

I do agree that you should get all the notes from the ER vet and then go back to your vet to discuss it. At the absolute least, he should be made aware that something happened to her. Hopefully the notes will explain it a bit better.

Sometimes it just happens. In the last three months. I have had a horse and a cat just die suddenly. In one case it was a blood clot, in the other a heart attack. Both animals were young. It is a terrible shock. Usually vets are very helpful in these circumstances, and will sometimes even do autopsies for free as it helps them to know and learn if they did soething wrong or missed something. I would definitely push to know more. I can't comment on the cost - that is much more than we pay in Europe.

JennyR said:

Sometimes it just happens. In the last three months. I have had a horse and a cat just die suddenly. In one case it was a blood clot, in the other a heart attack. Both animals were young. It is a terrible shock. Usually vets are very helpful in these circumstances, and will sometimes even do autopsies for free as it helps them to know and learn if they did soething wrong or missed something. I would definitely push to know more. I can't comment on the cost - that is much more than we pay in Europe.

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I talked to the vet that spayed her.
He said it was not his fault and the best he can do is when i get my next cat he will do the first shot for free......
Definitely unfortunate i lost someone i was getting so close to and its disregarded as if its not a big deal.

Mgb617 said:

I talked to the vet that spayed her.
He said it was not his fault and the best he can do is when i get my next cat he will do the first shot for free......
Definitely unfortunate i lost someone i was getting so close to and its disregarded as if its not a big deal.

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Is that really all he said? That it was not his fault? How the hell does he KNOW it wasn't his fault?? Sorry, that makes me SO mad....

Plus, you didn't necessarily want to find someone to blame, only to get answers. This was his *patient* that died. I'd be horrified if I was him.

What a insensitive and flippant thing to say, I am sorry. 

He said it couldve been a heart problem that was unknown to anyone and even made the joke that next time i should get an xray.
I did not know young cats could die so sudden because of heart conditions. I figured i wouldve been told that by the vet on my first 2 visits.

He has a point it could have been a heart problem and not his fault. But at the same time since its not known he should realise theres a chance it was his fault.
I was actually feeling better this morning about losing my friend until i talked to the vet.