just need a little sympathy here

Hello all....1st time posting on this site (by the way...I loved reading all the threads!)
Anyways, I just had a bad experience, and need some sympathy from other devoted cat lovers.
Here it goes: I am a foster parent for the local humane society and have fostered hundreds of cats and kittens to be placed for adoption. I usually have sick cats or kittens that need medical attention. Well, this time I am proudly fostering a lovely group, consisting of a mom and her beautiful babies.
The kittens were doing great for about a week or two, then I noticed diarrhea and vomitting. They were in to see a vet every morning, and receiving supportive treatment. Well, there was one kitten who just would not get any better. He was living on fluids and wanted absolutely nothing to do with nursing or force feedings. He was getting worse and worse, and I started to notice some gurglish breathing (fluid in the lungs...URI already present).
He was such a fighter and I did all that I could for him. Needless to say, he woke up in the middle of the night having extreme difficulty breathing and his gums were turning purple.
I had no choice but to take him into the emergency vet (humane society vets wouldn't be in for a few more hours and he couldn't wait). I tell ya, as an alternative to jail time, they should make criminals watch a little kitten suffocate to death...it was the worst experience of my life.
At the vet, they put him up to oxygen (I don't know what good that would have done when his nasal passage was closed and his throat was swelling shut). I knew in my heart the best thing to do was put him out of the misery. I could not believe it when the emergency vet said they could put a breathing tube down him...talk about trying to make money.
I signed the papers and said my tearful goodbyes.
Then the vet came back in the room and said that the kitten bit one of the vet techs in the back and he (and i am quoting her) "needs to have his head cut off and sent in for a rabies test". My mom almost threw up when she said this...as if the night wasn't gruesome enough. What an inconsiderate vet!!!She couldn't think of any nicer way to say it?
Well to top matters off, I had to pay the bill for the rabies test because someone got bit by a 4 week old kitten who was suffocating to death. I don't know how that could happen, but it really topped the night. You can imagine my shreek when I saw the emergency vet bill, let alone a rabies test added to it.
Anyways, the rest of the kittens are getting better each day...I have high hopes for them. I just needed to get this aweful story out of my head. THANKS FOR LISTENING!

I'm so sorry. Sounds like a crappy deal to me. I feel for you!

kittymeow..I'm really sorry for your loss....I recently lost a 2 week old foster kitten to pneumonia. She was such a fighter and it's hard not to think I let her down..but I know that she is now free of pain and running free across the rainbow bridge.

Thank you for all you do for these kittens!!

Katie

Oh, how terrible! Poor little baby. It hurts so much when you lose a little one, you certainly didn't need any additional insult! Can you shop around for another emergency vet, just in case you need one again?!?

I'm sorry you went through such a difficult experience. I hope the rest of the litter gets stronger every day!

:hug:

That vet is obviously in the WRONG line of work! How could anyone who loves animals say something like that to another animal lover!?! I am so sorry that happend to you!

Wow, that's awful! I also lost a foster kitten late last year, and I know what you mean about watching them slowly die. I'm sorry the vet added insult to injury.

Good luck with the rest of them, I hope they are easy from here on out!

I only have one question, How in the crap does a four week old kitten contract rabies? I mean, its been in the vets from day one the way you are saying it! That was just cruel and... wrong.. If I were you i would refuse to pay the rabies bill and like sue for emotional stress or something. That is crap. I would have a lawsuit slapped on that jerk before they could even finish saying "we need to cut its" Some people in this world! I mean, why do you go into veterinary medicine if you dont want to help animals? For one, Veterinary medicine does not pay as much as human medicine, hell you could study less and make more money as a nurse (I was in vet science class thats how I know this stuff) That just makes me so angry, I would have been swearing at the person even though it wouldnt have helped the situation. I for one feel they charge waaaaay too much for vet stuff... sometimes the costs of getting something done for an animal are so much more expensive then getting it done for a person! Some people just dont deserve to be let near pointy objects and living creatures. You are a very very very good person for taking all these cats in and I am so sorry you lost your little one.


GOod for your little one getting its statement in before it was sent up to the RB! THat is a triumph for all cats everywhere!

The guy probably deserved to get bitten! How could the kitten have even bitten him on the back? I'm so sorry about your loss. Bless you for taking in those kitties and taking such good care of them.

Don't think I would be going back there, I am sorry for your loss, and sorry someone had to make it even worse, you are in my thoughts and prayers

The kitten was scared, and dying and the human got in the way and got bit because the kitten was frightened, not RABID! For pete's sake! If it was a baby bat, skunk, or possum I could understand, but a kitten? Part of the misconception that just because feral cats and strays live among wildlife, they are prone to rabies. Unless your county has an huge epidemic of rabies being reported, I simply do not understand this scenario at all.

Thank you all for the support! Just to clarify...the kitten bit a vet tech on the finger in the back room (examining room). They told me it was state guidelines that they have to have a rabies test done even though the mom was vaccinated and they were never outside. If the kitten was to live, the other alternative for the test would be quarintine (I can imagine how much they charge for that). I just thought getting bit would be a work hazard and their insurance should pay for the test, not the owner of the animal. I guess you learn something new everyday!
By the way, I already have a new emergency vet on my safety list!!!

Originally Posted by kittymeow

Thank you all for the support! Just to clarify...the kitten bit a vet tech on the finger in the back room (examining room). They told me it was state guidelines that they have to have a rabies test done even though the mom was vaccinated and they were never outside. If the kitten was to live, the other alternative for the test would be quarintine (I can imagine how much they charge for that). I just thought getting bit would be a work hazard and their insurance should pay for the test, not the owner of the animal. I guess you learn something new everyday!
By the way, I already have a new emergency vet on my safety list!!!

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If they needed a rabids test done, then they should have paid for it, IMO. But then of course they wouldn't.

And on the pain level, a bite by a tiny kitten barely registers. I think that vet had a lot of nerver! Grrrrr!! I'd sue!!

Yeah, this doesn't sound like a very good situation. Condolances on your loss.

I'd wait a week or two before doing anything. I'd make a clear-headed review of that vet's performance and would definitely talk to them before paying any bills. Remember, just like most professions, some vets are great and others are dumber than rocks. A lot of working vets got rejected from med school and some have to apply multiple times in order to even get into a vet school. As for expenses, I know they paid lots of tuition and fees for their training but many of them should have chosen other careers.