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- Oct 26, 2016
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Hello,
I am new here, I joined the forum to ask something because I don't know what to do - an external, objective opinion is my last resort. It's a long story so I'll try keeping it short.
We live in a house outside of town and there are a lot of stray cats around (we have 5 of our own aside from the stray ones). One of the stray cats got into our garage and gave birth to 5 kittens this April so we took them home and put them up for adoption but no one would call about them. They turned 6 months old and we were worried about them getting pregnant (they're all females) so we decided to spay them.
During the course of the week (2 weeks ago) we took them, got them spayed and everything was normal. They were recovering well, running around, eating, no fever or any signs of discomfort. One of them got adopted and is living fine with her new owner.
Then one day (around 4-5 days after their surgeries) I saw that one of the kitties was really lethargic and weak so I checked her and I saw her incision was opened. I panicked as it was late at night and checked all the other ones to see and they ALL HAD THEIR INCISIONS OPENED as well. I called up the adopted kitty's owner and she told me that hers was okay so that was a relief.
Needless to say, I ran to the vet first thing in the morning (this Friday) and left them there and they said they were gonna put stitches on them (they had used those surgical staples the first time) so I said okay.
I went back to get them in the afternoon and saw they hadn't used stitches because, as the vets, said "they managed to close them with staples again".
So I went home and everything was ok, all the cats were separated so they didn't lick their wounds and open them up again, but then the next day I saw that the kitty was still lethargic and refused to eat. Her incisions were ok and I rang up the vet and they said it was normal, that it was probably from the stress.
Next day, on Sunday, the cat was so bad - she didn't have fever but was completely unresponsive, just laying there like a piece of meat. I picked her up and she pooped a bit on me but it wasn't poop - it was blood diarrhea coming out under pressure. We got so worried, we rang the emergency number of our vet and he took her in, put her an IV (antibiotics and glucose) and kept her for the night. On the next day, the vet told me they did an sonography and everything was okay, then they did a blood test and her organs weren't damaged so they guessed it was probably an allergic reaction to the meds.
It's now Wednesday evening and she is still in intensive care, with very little improvement - they told me she DID eat on her own yesterday but she is still very apathetic. She does have a bit of a spark back, and they said she hasn't pooped today but she did throw up a bit, but is still completely out of this world. She does meow and she does try to get out of her cage when we open to pet her but she's not in good shape.
But that's not all, one of the other cats opened her incision for the second time and she was so infected on the inside that actual pus was coming out her vagina and she had extremely high fever. She still ate and was running around and acting usual but we took her to the vet because the fever wouldn't go down. They took it down with an IV, stitched her up and she's at home recovering (well, for now).
The 3rd cat had an allergic reaction to the staples they used and they had to open her up again and this time they did put stitches on her as well. She's also at home and is doing okay for now.
The 4th cat is really ill. She started showing the same symptoms as the first one (lethargy, loss of appetite hence dehydration) on Monday. She stopped eating so the vet gave me some pills that were supposedly to stimulate her apetite but they didn't work. On Tuesday evening she was so weak and just dying, she had worsened so much in just a few hours so I didn't even hesitate and took her to the vet directly and they put her on antibiotics and glucose, and she's still there now.
So, all the cats had massive problems after the 2nd intervention (when we first saw their incisions were open) and 2 of the cats show the same symptoms (lethargy, refusing to eat, apathy, diarrhea, vomits and dehydration) and are both currently in intensive care getting antibiotics and glucose through an IV. The problem is I think it's completely the veterinarians fault for all this because the problems all started after their intervention. These cats were great animals just 2 weeks ago, now 2 of them are dying.
I went to see them today and my vets say that these are virus symptoms and that they probably won't make it. And I just can't accept that. If it were FIP or any other virus, why are only they the ones infected? We have 5 other cats and they all seem fine. Isn't it a huge coincidence that the virus showed up the same day they were in the ER with open incisions and infections? How come ALL the cats went through so much problems after their spaying?
I've been reading about feline viruses and FIP is the one that kind of fits the symtoms but not a 100%. But how can, in a house that currently has 9 cats living together, only 2 are infected and both present the same symptoms at the same time, right after they've been through a medical HELL?
I don't know, I would love to hear what anyone thinks, I can't even begin to imagine having to take the decision to put those wonderful kitties down because they "have a virus" when I don't believe it's the case. How do I fight with my vets? What should I do?
I am new here, I joined the forum to ask something because I don't know what to do - an external, objective opinion is my last resort. It's a long story so I'll try keeping it short.
We live in a house outside of town and there are a lot of stray cats around (we have 5 of our own aside from the stray ones). One of the stray cats got into our garage and gave birth to 5 kittens this April so we took them home and put them up for adoption but no one would call about them. They turned 6 months old and we were worried about them getting pregnant (they're all females) so we decided to spay them.
During the course of the week (2 weeks ago) we took them, got them spayed and everything was normal. They were recovering well, running around, eating, no fever or any signs of discomfort. One of them got adopted and is living fine with her new owner.
Then one day (around 4-5 days after their surgeries) I saw that one of the kitties was really lethargic and weak so I checked her and I saw her incision was opened. I panicked as it was late at night and checked all the other ones to see and they ALL HAD THEIR INCISIONS OPENED as well. I called up the adopted kitty's owner and she told me that hers was okay so that was a relief.
Needless to say, I ran to the vet first thing in the morning (this Friday) and left them there and they said they were gonna put stitches on them (they had used those surgical staples the first time) so I said okay.
I went back to get them in the afternoon and saw they hadn't used stitches because, as the vets, said "they managed to close them with staples again".
So I went home and everything was ok, all the cats were separated so they didn't lick their wounds and open them up again, but then the next day I saw that the kitty was still lethargic and refused to eat. Her incisions were ok and I rang up the vet and they said it was normal, that it was probably from the stress.
Next day, on Sunday, the cat was so bad - she didn't have fever but was completely unresponsive, just laying there like a piece of meat. I picked her up and she pooped a bit on me but it wasn't poop - it was blood diarrhea coming out under pressure. We got so worried, we rang the emergency number of our vet and he took her in, put her an IV (antibiotics and glucose) and kept her for the night. On the next day, the vet told me they did an sonography and everything was okay, then they did a blood test and her organs weren't damaged so they guessed it was probably an allergic reaction to the meds.
It's now Wednesday evening and she is still in intensive care, with very little improvement - they told me she DID eat on her own yesterday but she is still very apathetic. She does have a bit of a spark back, and they said she hasn't pooped today but she did throw up a bit, but is still completely out of this world. She does meow and she does try to get out of her cage when we open to pet her but she's not in good shape.
But that's not all, one of the other cats opened her incision for the second time and she was so infected on the inside that actual pus was coming out her vagina and she had extremely high fever. She still ate and was running around and acting usual but we took her to the vet because the fever wouldn't go down. They took it down with an IV, stitched her up and she's at home recovering (well, for now).
The 3rd cat had an allergic reaction to the staples they used and they had to open her up again and this time they did put stitches on her as well. She's also at home and is doing okay for now.
The 4th cat is really ill. She started showing the same symptoms as the first one (lethargy, loss of appetite hence dehydration) on Monday. She stopped eating so the vet gave me some pills that were supposedly to stimulate her apetite but they didn't work. On Tuesday evening she was so weak and just dying, she had worsened so much in just a few hours so I didn't even hesitate and took her to the vet directly and they put her on antibiotics and glucose, and she's still there now.
So, all the cats had massive problems after the 2nd intervention (when we first saw their incisions were open) and 2 of the cats show the same symptoms (lethargy, refusing to eat, apathy, diarrhea, vomits and dehydration) and are both currently in intensive care getting antibiotics and glucose through an IV. The problem is I think it's completely the veterinarians fault for all this because the problems all started after their intervention. These cats were great animals just 2 weeks ago, now 2 of them are dying.
I went to see them today and my vets say that these are virus symptoms and that they probably won't make it. And I just can't accept that. If it were FIP or any other virus, why are only they the ones infected? We have 5 other cats and they all seem fine. Isn't it a huge coincidence that the virus showed up the same day they were in the ER with open incisions and infections? How come ALL the cats went through so much problems after their spaying?
I've been reading about feline viruses and FIP is the one that kind of fits the symtoms but not a 100%. But how can, in a house that currently has 9 cats living together, only 2 are infected and both present the same symptoms at the same time, right after they've been through a medical HELL?
I don't know, I would love to hear what anyone thinks, I can't even begin to imagine having to take the decision to put those wonderful kitties down because they "have a virus" when I don't believe it's the case. How do I fight with my vets? What should I do?