my cat died from anesthesia

I would not take any pet to that vet ever again.  A senior cat with a heart condition & kidney problems and they put the cat under for dental work?  That's just irresponsible.

I am so sorry this happened..never heard of them asking a cat to stay overnight prior to procedure especially one who isn't eating. I would leave reviews on yelp etc to get the word out. I have had places I took a cat and the cat acted still ill afterwards so now I ask them to do all injections in front of me..I think I got taken for a ride at one of the ER vets in Portsmouth. I can never prove it but they charged me for the service-we had used this medication in the past and always worked..I now am very upfront about treatments being preformed in front of me. but your kitty should have been able to stay home with you.

I am so sorry for your loss!

  That just makes me angry.  She should have NEVER been put under anesthesia unless it was life or death.  She was not 'healthy'.  I am so sorry you have had to go this.  I would definitely get the word out about them.

   When you have fixed and dilated eyes, it is usually due to brain death. Under general anesthesia, there are two "typical" types regarding the need for assisted breathing. One is something along the lines of Nitrous Oxide, also known as laughing gas. The breathing system isn't usually affected too much and the Nitrous mixed with Oxygen or normal air is enough to allow breathing on your own. You are sleeping but still breathing on your own. The other type is usually what is used for surgery, with one of the major problems is the depression or stoppage of breathing. This is exactly what happened to Michael Jackson and is the reason for people dying when they overdose on things like Heroin. These drugs stop your breathing, which is why they have you intubated (a breathing tube), which allows a machine to do the breathing for you. Without breathing, you begin to die quickly, although the same anesthetics that put you to sleep can also hide some of the signs that you are in trouble. Both types of anesthesia can depress your breathing if an excess is given.

   Depending on the procedure and the anesthetic used, a possible scenario is that you kitty wasn't able to breathe due to the anesthetic, and either there was no machinery or people to oversee kitty's breathing or there was an interruption to the body and brain to Oxygen. There could be other reasons for something happening like this during anesthesia that have nothing to do with breathing, such as strokes or reactions to medications, but usually there is a sometimes obvious answer. When you start getting a lot of double talk and jargon that seems to circle the problem but not solve it...then you have to find out what REALLY happened.

   I wish you the best in your search for answers and feel terrible about your Kitty's unexpected departure. I've had many of my furry friends cross over the Rainbow Bridge...when my time comes, I hope to meet all of them on the other side...what a wonderful day that will be! If I see your kitty before you do, I'll give her your best and look out for her until you two meet again. 

Jim 

Yep, I will absolutely put out a Yelp review. I'm a popular Yelper actually. 

whiterabbit said:

 
Is it usual practice to keep pets on the premises overnight if they have a surgery next day? Fasting required is only 8 hours, but what's the reason to keep a pet in a cage since 5pm, when the clinic closes at 6pm? Other than owners can change their mind. 

They were sloppy with the authorization form, sent it to my husband when he had to send it back quickly, couldn't reach me right away, and he didn't put bloodwork (I would've). Anyway, our cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroid only about a month ago and had a recent blood test. I asked them to review this test before the surgery when we were in the clinic. I obtained a copy the same day, from the numbers, there was a kidney problem, but no failure, and the first vet diagnosed a heart murmur (I still have to retrieve the record). The hyperthyroid was treated with Chinese medicine (we didn't subscribe to any of their options) for less than a month and her symptoms improved, but those remedies don't work quickly. I suspect they didn't review the blood test and the diagnosis, the vet was gone very fast, I asked a nurse who didn't write down anything. I also suspect they didn't give her any food. We couldn't even discuss much, the vet rushed in and out, then they rushed our cat into their facility to keep her overnight. I was talking to an empty room "would it be ok with her?". It was like: you're given an invoice, you pay, you can go.

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Please request in writing or a form they will ask you to sign ALL of your cats records. Not summaries but complete records. If you feel that your cats death was negligence you can file a complaint with your State Veterinary Board.  My cat was blinded by a veterinarian who now claims she used a 17 year old reference book to calculate the dose. 

I just want to warn you it isn't a pleasant journey if you decide to sue. Count on being a pro se.

• 
  JMarkitell, thank you for the explanation. 
•  

The vet said our Kitty had been put on Oxygen and received some injection when she had no signs of breathing and no heart beat. The vet declined to tell when this problem happened. I guess, 1. there was no any breathing tube initially 2. it was too late when they did it. We have to figure out what kind of anesthetic they administered, from the record. 

They were fully authorized to perform emergency procedures... only they didn't give the form to sign in time. I have a strange feeling that they requested to sign an authorisation form AN HOUR AFTER the surgery started, to take care of the emergency, not anesthetics or pre-surgery bloodwork (like they already did anesthetics without our permission). They didn't say it was an emergency, just "sign a form to use anesthesia", and insisted it should be in writing.  It sounds like a major screwup. 

p.s. There is a web portal where all appointments and prescriptions have been logged, and they already removed all the information. Can they remove our record?

Vets are required to maintain records. Usually 2-3 years after the last time the pet was seen. The VCA did remove all of Kittens online information after she was euthanized. The records themselves are not destroyed.

It sounds like common sense, she wasn't healthy enough to be put under. Sounds like they put her under and things went wrong and they tried to quickly wake her and no dental happened.
I'm so sorry for your loss. They messed up bad and trying to cover tracks it sounds.

Can you say what type of Vet service you used? By the type, I mean is it a local Vet, a "Big Box"  Vet, like Banfields, or another type of Vet services. I have had widely different experiences with the old school local Vets VS the Big Box corporate Vet Clinics and I'm curious as to the type of Vet services would recommend anesthesia to an older cat with health issues. I hate to bring up the subject of money, but the large mega clinics seem to charge a ton for a lot of unnecessary procedures or tests...especially compared to the old school vet practices.

Jim 

It's a small local business with tons of 5-star reviews on Yelp. I initially read a few negative reviews to see if there were horror stories, there had been no pet deaths compared to other clinics. I researched a little bit over this weekend, and the majority of the positive reviews looked very generalized (like "I give 5 stars because doctors here care about pets, they always answer my questions, blah-blah", repeat 20 times).  I learned that the owner previously worked in a clinic who gave customers $25 off for writing a good review on Yelp. Go figure. 

The vet who performed the surgery does have an interesting background though. Prior to getting a Vet licence (less than 2 years ago), she was an ER Registered Nurse (human). Probably, somebody with an instinct to cover things up. I wouldn't believe for a moment she didn't know what was going wrong. The clinic doesn't seem to have a professional anesthesiologist, is it normal? 

I feel that I failed my cat by being a stupid sucker. Prior to this year, she had never been to a vet because of medical conditions, vaccinations and routine exams only.  Her previous vet (local as well) was up-selling and gave her some unnecessary vaccine, that's why we didn't go to him. She was the only pet I ever had besides my parents' cats (who were referred to doctors through a trusted friend from a vet lab). Our first visit to this clinic was positive. I'm more of a suspicious type, we canceled some antibiotic after I googled it.  But I knew close to nothing about anesthesia. I was thinking, I want her to eat better, but it looks like she's got gum problems, let's be done with that. My husband had the same understanding. 

 I have an update: we've got the record. Thank you everybody for your support and advice. 

It sounds pretty appalling: apparently (as the record says) we *verbally* authorized to euthanize our cat upon a Vet's advice (no, we did not). Should it be a solid signed authorization in such cases? Then they don't have it. 

Any record about the dental procedure itself is missing. Nothing. None. Nada. The day of the procedure only contains communication notes like "the owner called and said blah", "we discussed blah". There were only a couple of places referring back as "post-dental". I've also learned about a patronizing demeanor towards us from the doctor's lingo. 

So here's what I can tell you. Sometimes you know in your gut something is off. it goes beyond the hurt and grief of having your pet injured or killed. It nags at you with unanswered questions. It makes letting go and grieving your loss all but impossible. To anyone with those feelings and after some soul searching to see if you are simply lashing out in anger and grief I encourage you to pursue the issue until you get your answers. Always accepting that you may never know but have done you best to lay the matter to rest.

So very sorry for your loss whiterabbit. I sure hope you get the answers you seek.

I've already located the state board and prepared a complain over the weekend (not sent out yet), only trying to make it more concise. I wrote down everything as I still remembered details. Now, as I saw the record, just one statement looks sufficient: euthanizing a pet without an owner's (explicit, signed) consent is illegal.  

I don't think I'm contacting this vet ever. She sounds like the type of medical professionals who secretly despise their patients and their guardians, and never see a problem in their own actions. She's so perfect and so much smarter. It's pretty stupid. 

It makes me so angry to think that your beloved friend died because somebody didn't care! It is so bad that your cat was treated badly, and by people unfamiliar to her too.Is so unfair that she died! definitely report the vet, and do what you can to rid her of her job, harsh as that may be; she could be endangering other animals! When it comes to any living creatures' life, the job should not be done half-heartedly. I think this woman does not deserve the honour of holding someone's life in her hands. Maybe she still cares a bit,or did once, because why would she have become a nurse in the first place? Now I should probably stop ranting, and I'm really sorry for your loss. Like i said, it's unfair that it happened so suddenly to you

My cat is older and also has a thyroid problem and is taking medicine for it.  They told me at the vet that she required a dental cleaning but before they would do it they said they had to do testing to make sure she was up to the cleaning and if she wasn't they would not perform it.

They called me with the results of the test and said they felt like she was up to it but warned there could be complications because of her age but they would take every precaution.

I let them proceed and she came through it fine but I was consulted every step of the way.

If you weren't treated like this then I feel they probably didn't know what they were doing and you should proceed to file a complaint against them.

Well, from what I see so far, it doesn't seem she died from hyperthyroidism or anesthesia complications (although, prescribing the procedure so casually was not cool). As Jim explained to me, the patient was brain dead (not say, Kidney failure), which might happen if there had been some major medical screw-up in administering anesthesia and oxygen. I googled how it looks like, and yes, the symptoms were textbook. It matches my observation that she hasn't been through any dental procedure and that there is no record of this procedure (may be, they started logging but removed those entries). As per our "verbal consent" to euthanasia (we didn't give any consent), the clinic most likely is required to document the cause of death. And if it was a result of their own mess, they have to write it down. But if they claim an "owner consent to euthanasia",  they can say "it was the owner's decision". I don't even know whether the doctor indeed euthanized her in the back room!  The sequence of events, our cat stopped breathing and the technicians took her inside, then the doctor came out and pronounced her dead. And something along the lines that she could've given the patient more oxygen but it wouldn't be helpful, the patient wouldn't be ever able to breath on her own, you have to let her go etc. It's not only medical negligence and incompetency, but crosses a border to being illegal. They made more errors in this case then there are stars in the sky! 

I've read an article from a professional pet anesthesiologist that a lot of cases "a pet didn't wake up from anesthesia" is a cover up for something else. 

whiterabbit said:

 
I've already located the state board and prepared a complain over the weekend (not sent out yet), only trying to make it more concise. I wrote down everything as I still remembered details. Now, as I saw the record, just one statement looks sufficient: euthanizing a pet without an owner's (explicit, signed) consent is illegal.  

I don't think I'm contacting this vet ever. She sounds like the type of medical professionals who secretly despise their patients and their guardians, and never see a problem in their own actions. She's so perfect and so much smarter. It's pretty stupid. 

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Include everything. And make sure you retain a copy for yourself.

I have actually amended my complaint twice.

Check your states Attorney General website and see if something that happened to you falls under their jurisdiction.

You can also try to go through the BBB and see if you can file a complaint there.

It's a good plan, thank you. I didn't think of Attorney General, but illegal stuff might fall under their jurisdiction. BBB is usually about mediation (I believe), but at this point we don't want to discuss anything with the clinic, a word out (Yelp and such) will be more valuable to other pet owners. 

I've also seen somewhere a recommendation to contact the clinic's insurance company. As we don't know its name, I'm going to ask the state board for this info.