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- Jan 28, 2023
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Hello everyone. I just found this site a bit ago while attempting to figure out what could have happened with my mother’s two young cats. Hopefully I can get this down without making it too lengthy.
My mom had two cats from the same litter. They were both about two years old. No health issues that’s she’s known of. They were active and were always kept in her apartment. She’s home pretty much daily because she can’t work due to her own health issues. She is on low income housing, so she took her cats to the only vet clinic in town as it was convenient and she doesn’t have a vehicle. I usually drive her or a friend does. On the 18th of this month, I took her, Rosie and Maggie to the clinic for their spay surgery. They were taken back by the vet techs and that was it. We were told to come back the next day and pick them up. We picked them up the next day and we’re handed one sheet of paper with instructions for after care. I took them all back to her place. Maggie immediately hid after being let out of the carrier which is normal given the situation. Rosie was really wobbly when let out which we assumed was from the anesthe, but my mom said that she eventually got back to normal.
My mom said they seemed to be doing pretty well initially and were stating to act normally after a few days. Then Rosie started slowing down. Acting like she was in pain. Which of course she was from surgery. Then she started vomiting. Wasn’t eating and my mom didn’t think she was drinking water either. So she called the clinic since we was worried. The receptionist told her that if she didn’t have the office fee that they wouldn’t see Rosie eventhough she admitted that her behavior was not normal. My mom was upset about that response because she knew something was wrong with Rosie. They told her to keep an eye on her but they basically refused to do anything unless it was an emergency. Well a day later Rosie was worse of course. She was even more lethargic and she was not feeling as warm as she should have and not breathing normally. So my mom called me and I told her I would be over asap. By the time I got there, Rosie was unresponsive. She was breathing, but I could tell it was labored and she wouldn’t move. I got her to the clinic as quickly as I could. When I got there, the receptionist was on the phone. There was a tech standing right by her who just looked at us. It took a minute before we were acknowledged and my mom was trying to tell them that we needed help asap. The tech left and came back out after a minute and just said to let her see the cat. She took the carrier and walked to the back without saying anything else. The receptionist is the only person who acts like she is willing yo speak to clients. That’s who usually relays the information, otherwise you can’t get answers from the techs or the vet herself. She’s barely ever available to even speak to or see.
The receptionist told us to bring in Maggie ad well since she was exhibiting the same symptoms but not as severe. She is currently still at the clinic being monitored. They said that Rosie was dehydrated and her kidneys were trying to shut down. They said her blood sure was at 50 I believe. So they said they gave her a paste for that. They monitored her and said the next day that she was trying to perk up but that she kept getting weak again. They didn’t have anyone stay with her overnight eventhough she was in critical condition. When my mom expressed concern about that, they said that they all live nearby and have cameras to watch the animals. Which didn’t really make her feel any better about it. My mom called them the next day and the receptionist said that Rosie was still alive when she got there. She said that after she walked away for about 10 minutes to get a few things done, she went back and Rosie had died.
When we took Rosie in initially, they kept insisting that there couldn’t have been any complications from surgery when my mom just simply asked if that was possible. They kept asking if she had anything toxic in her place which I understand, because cats can be poisoned by many things. My mom said no and I even check her place as well and didn’t see anything that could have caused such a severe reaction. They said thsy her incision looked normal and my mom did as well since she had been making sure to check that at home. They kept asking about antifreeze leak’s because that’s a common issue which I also understand.They said they even if someone got a little hit in their shoes unbeknownst to them, that it could be tracked into the apartment and poison the cats. Again she doesn’t go outside unless someone takes her to the store or the doctor, etc. No one goes into unit except for myself and occasionally maintenance but they hardly ever show up and she would know if they had been in there since she is always home.
Maggie is stable they said, but she hasn’t been able to keep food down. She is urinating and dedicating, but they said it’s basically diarrhea. They gave her a B12 injection. They have her on fluids still I believe. They said her kindey levels weee borderline the other day but someone else said that it’s still touch and go. The information my mom gets basically depends on who she talks to. I did suggest that my mom request a necropsy on Rosie to see if there is any physical way of knowing what happened. They said they have someone to travels over to their clinic for that and it’s about $20. The only concern I have is that of it was a result of something they could have prevented, would they admit it? Considering the way they have treated my mom since the surgery, I’m concerned that they won’t tell her of it was something that happens because of the spay procedure. Accidents happen of course and complications can definitely happen that can’t be foreseen. However, I feel like they were extremely quick to dismiss any of those possibilities when being asked what was going on with Rosie. Do you think the chances of both cats being sick with the same symptoms and one more severe than the other could be related to the surgery? They got sick within a week from surgery, so that’s the one common factor here. I haveno idea if they did any blood work before surgery or how they monitored them during or after. They just said it wools take maybe 20-25 minutes for each cat and that they shouldn’t have any issues. I did read that some small and low cost clinics don’t really monitor everything that closely and done perform a lot of what seems like essential follow up due to the cost and staffing it requires. So you basically won’t get anything more than very basic care unless you pay extra. My mom took them to that clinic when she got them and had their vaccines done. Otherwise they hadn’t been back because it wasn’t necessary until she decided to have them spayed. She had that with no cost to her through the county program. The clinic had a lot of good review online, but there are some that say their animal had infections after surgery that other veterinarians had to try and fix. They also said that they don’t hardly answer the phone which is true. They don’t communicate well, which is also true. They only accepted Rosie after my mom called them back and told them that she was basically dying. I understand the right to refuse service. I just also feel that they haven’t really shown much care or urgency in this whole situation until it was too late for Rosie and I hope it isn’t too late for Maggie.
My mom also feels like it’s her fault for not being able to get Rosie in sooner or that something made her sick and we won’t ever know what it was. She also is concerned for Maggie and that if she pulls through, will she know why she was sick as well? I’m sorry this was so long, but I’m trying to include everything so that it’s not too confusing or lacking information. Please feel free to ask me anything. My mom and I both are trying to figure out what happened and also feeling disappointed with the care of her girls. They’re so young and it’s heartbreaking to know that Rosie is gone now and we still are hoping Maggie can go home to my mom.
My mom had two cats from the same litter. They were both about two years old. No health issues that’s she’s known of. They were active and were always kept in her apartment. She’s home pretty much daily because she can’t work due to her own health issues. She is on low income housing, so she took her cats to the only vet clinic in town as it was convenient and she doesn’t have a vehicle. I usually drive her or a friend does. On the 18th of this month, I took her, Rosie and Maggie to the clinic for their spay surgery. They were taken back by the vet techs and that was it. We were told to come back the next day and pick them up. We picked them up the next day and we’re handed one sheet of paper with instructions for after care. I took them all back to her place. Maggie immediately hid after being let out of the carrier which is normal given the situation. Rosie was really wobbly when let out which we assumed was from the anesthe, but my mom said that she eventually got back to normal.
My mom said they seemed to be doing pretty well initially and were stating to act normally after a few days. Then Rosie started slowing down. Acting like she was in pain. Which of course she was from surgery. Then she started vomiting. Wasn’t eating and my mom didn’t think she was drinking water either. So she called the clinic since we was worried. The receptionist told her that if she didn’t have the office fee that they wouldn’t see Rosie eventhough she admitted that her behavior was not normal. My mom was upset about that response because she knew something was wrong with Rosie. They told her to keep an eye on her but they basically refused to do anything unless it was an emergency. Well a day later Rosie was worse of course. She was even more lethargic and she was not feeling as warm as she should have and not breathing normally. So my mom called me and I told her I would be over asap. By the time I got there, Rosie was unresponsive. She was breathing, but I could tell it was labored and she wouldn’t move. I got her to the clinic as quickly as I could. When I got there, the receptionist was on the phone. There was a tech standing right by her who just looked at us. It took a minute before we were acknowledged and my mom was trying to tell them that we needed help asap. The tech left and came back out after a minute and just said to let her see the cat. She took the carrier and walked to the back without saying anything else. The receptionist is the only person who acts like she is willing yo speak to clients. That’s who usually relays the information, otherwise you can’t get answers from the techs or the vet herself. She’s barely ever available to even speak to or see.
The receptionist told us to bring in Maggie ad well since she was exhibiting the same symptoms but not as severe. She is currently still at the clinic being monitored. They said that Rosie was dehydrated and her kidneys were trying to shut down. They said her blood sure was at 50 I believe. So they said they gave her a paste for that. They monitored her and said the next day that she was trying to perk up but that she kept getting weak again. They didn’t have anyone stay with her overnight eventhough she was in critical condition. When my mom expressed concern about that, they said that they all live nearby and have cameras to watch the animals. Which didn’t really make her feel any better about it. My mom called them the next day and the receptionist said that Rosie was still alive when she got there. She said that after she walked away for about 10 minutes to get a few things done, she went back and Rosie had died.
When we took Rosie in initially, they kept insisting that there couldn’t have been any complications from surgery when my mom just simply asked if that was possible. They kept asking if she had anything toxic in her place which I understand, because cats can be poisoned by many things. My mom said no and I even check her place as well and didn’t see anything that could have caused such a severe reaction. They said thsy her incision looked normal and my mom did as well since she had been making sure to check that at home. They kept asking about antifreeze leak’s because that’s a common issue which I also understand.They said they even if someone got a little hit in their shoes unbeknownst to them, that it could be tracked into the apartment and poison the cats. Again she doesn’t go outside unless someone takes her to the store or the doctor, etc. No one goes into unit except for myself and occasionally maintenance but they hardly ever show up and she would know if they had been in there since she is always home.
Maggie is stable they said, but she hasn’t been able to keep food down. She is urinating and dedicating, but they said it’s basically diarrhea. They gave her a B12 injection. They have her on fluids still I believe. They said her kindey levels weee borderline the other day but someone else said that it’s still touch and go. The information my mom gets basically depends on who she talks to. I did suggest that my mom request a necropsy on Rosie to see if there is any physical way of knowing what happened. They said they have someone to travels over to their clinic for that and it’s about $20. The only concern I have is that of it was a result of something they could have prevented, would they admit it? Considering the way they have treated my mom since the surgery, I’m concerned that they won’t tell her of it was something that happens because of the spay procedure. Accidents happen of course and complications can definitely happen that can’t be foreseen. However, I feel like they were extremely quick to dismiss any of those possibilities when being asked what was going on with Rosie. Do you think the chances of both cats being sick with the same symptoms and one more severe than the other could be related to the surgery? They got sick within a week from surgery, so that’s the one common factor here. I haveno idea if they did any blood work before surgery or how they monitored them during or after. They just said it wools take maybe 20-25 minutes for each cat and that they shouldn’t have any issues. I did read that some small and low cost clinics don’t really monitor everything that closely and done perform a lot of what seems like essential follow up due to the cost and staffing it requires. So you basically won’t get anything more than very basic care unless you pay extra. My mom took them to that clinic when she got them and had their vaccines done. Otherwise they hadn’t been back because it wasn’t necessary until she decided to have them spayed. She had that with no cost to her through the county program. The clinic had a lot of good review online, but there are some that say their animal had infections after surgery that other veterinarians had to try and fix. They also said that they don’t hardly answer the phone which is true. They don’t communicate well, which is also true. They only accepted Rosie after my mom called them back and told them that she was basically dying. I understand the right to refuse service. I just also feel that they haven’t really shown much care or urgency in this whole situation until it was too late for Rosie and I hope it isn’t too late for Maggie.
My mom also feels like it’s her fault for not being able to get Rosie in sooner or that something made her sick and we won’t ever know what it was. She also is concerned for Maggie and that if she pulls through, will she know why she was sick as well? I’m sorry this was so long, but I’m trying to include everything so that it’s not too confusing or lacking information. Please feel free to ask me anything. My mom and I both are trying to figure out what happened and also feeling disappointed with the care of her girls. They’re so young and it’s heartbreaking to know that Rosie is gone now and we still are hoping Maggie can go home to my mom.