Our kitten died during neuter procedure -- what are the statistics?

[sarah ann]

My concern would be that they overdosed the drug s. Other things that can cause sudden death is something like a preexisting heart condition. A rescue got in some pure bred dogs from the same litter. It turned out they all had heart murmurs. It was so bad the rescue decided not to spay or neuter them. Sadly they could pass at any time.

Drug reactions are another possibility. Anaphylaxis is very rare but can be fatal.

Neuter s are much less invasive than sprays, so male cats usually recover faster and have less complications.

Sometimes animals have clotting issues. Unless you specifically test for it, even blood work wouldn't help.

 

[catpack]

So sorry to hear about Grayson! Losing a kitten like that is heartbreaking.

We lost one of our rescues about 2 weeks ago post-op. We chose to do a necropsy since he has a sister. Turns out he had a form of cardiomyopathy (not HCM.) We will be doing some extra testing on the sister before she is spayed.

 

[caralian]

Aww, I'm so sorry for all your losses. 

It's horrible, such a standard procedure. You never expect it to turn out so bad, although I am always quite nervous, because I know there is always a chance with anaesthesia.. 

It might not be of much comfort, but at least you know he was not in any pain.. I'm so sad for you, such a small chance, but nobody could have foreseen this..

 

[gverdugo]

It's so shocking to hear about this, but it does seem to be rare. 

My condolences to anyone who lost a kitten like this. It must be a terrible blow. 

 

[sambass]

Our sweet boy, Sam, died today during his neutering surgery. He was 10 months old. The vet called and told us he had developed fluid on his lungs,rapid breathing, and a heart murmur during the procedure and was declining rapidly. The options were to send him to the ER (he was being seen in a spay/neuter clinic and they were not equipped to deal with the complexity of his condition per the vet) or have him euthanized. We chose the latter after the vet telling us he probably wouldn't even make it the short drive there.I have cried all day, my kids and husband are heartbroken. I never dreamed we wouldn't be picking him up on the morning. He was such a sweet boy. I know there are risks of all surgeries. It's just incredibly heartbreaking. They are sending him for testing to see if they can find out what went wrong and they will get back with us when they get the report. : (

 

[denice]

I am so very sorry.  It sounds like he had some kind of congenital issue with his lungs or his heart that didn't show up until he got anesthesia.  

 

[zoneout]

So sorry for your loss.   I know it will hurt for a long time.  

 

[mnm]

oh that's so sad... you just never expect something like that to happen. I'm so sorry!

 

[thehistorian]

I am so sorry! While rare, it is still possible and that is such a stunning thought. Such kitties probably have underlying health issues that were not yet detectable. Ugh! My sincere condolences!

 

[debbiel]

My 6 month old kitten just recently died during neutering surgery and broke my heart. They tell me that he probably had a weak heart, but I find that hard to believe as he was never still. I have done some reading up on it since and which i should have before but just never dreamed about anything happening. We had already had 1 cat and 2 dogs go through surgery without an outcome like this. I wished I would have requested blood work done to see if his liver & kidneys would have taken the anethesia.

 

[debbiel]

I am so sorry for your loss. We just experienced the same thing 2 weeks ago and it broke our hearts, especially mine as we had really bonded. I am like you, i have a hard time at night and am having trouble coming to grips with this

 

[wildog47]

My kitty is going into her spay tomorrow and I'm up late super worried. Mostly because it wasn't possible to do blood work on her as she was too aggressive for blood to be drawn even with a sedative. I'm so worried for her she's only 8 months old. And my vet says she should be fine as most make it through but I'm still so worried

 

[jolie0216]

My kitty is going into her spay tomorrow and I'm up late super worried. Mostly because it wasn't possible to do blood work on her as she was too aggressive for blood to be drawn even with a sedative. I'm so worried for her she's only 8 months old. And my vet says she should be fine as most make it through but I'm still so worried

I know it's hard not to worry - I just had our newest cat neutered yesterday.  He came back just fine and is running around today like nothing ever happened to him!

The chances of something going are extremely slim, but like others have said, there is always a risk whenever general anesthesia is used.

The very most you could do is get pre-surgery bloodwork done - that will help to weed out the rare cases where there is some kind of physical imbalance that would make the use of anesthesia dangerous.   But most cats/dogs come out of their neuter/spay surgery with no problem.   I had my female cat spayed last May/June and she was fine.   She seemed out of sorts that first day I brought her home, but she quickly bounced back and everyone is running around today with no problems - I suppose anything is possible...but these kinds of cases are rare and I'm sure your kitty will be OK  

I am very sorry to anyone who has lost a kitty during this procedure - given the fact that it is such a routine thing, it hits especially hard when something does go wrong because it just blindsides you - no one expects to lose a pet to this.    I'm not going to pretend that I don't worry every time I take a pet in for a procedure - I do, because anything is possible - but the odds are really on your side that your cat will be OK after getting neutered/spayed.  

 

[laura h]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your Ramses. As low as the statistics are, they are there, albeit rare. Hugs to you and RIP Ramses.

I wish I had more comforting words for you. This is hard to take, as I have Comet scheduled to be neutered this coming Tuesday.(depending on bloodwork)

Laura

 

[nansiludie]

I too, had a cat that passed during spay surgery. I'm not even sure if they were able to actually operate on her, I doubt it but I never could bring myself to check. I just went ahead and carefully buried her. Sometimes I blame myself, sometimes I don't. I think its especially hard because you never expect to happen until it does. Yet, I went on to have quite a few spayed/neutered as I've seen the death of kittens that were born too early or lost to fading kitten syndrome. I still push for spay/neuter as its benefits outweigh the risks but nevertheless there still are risks. I look at it as you never know which day will be your last. Same for them, love them always and let them know it.

All of the posters in this thread who've lost a cat, I'm very sorry and I know saying so really doesn't mean much. I hope all our kitties are resting in peace and maybe all together playing.

 

[kittens mom]

It's hard to remember with the high success rate in medicine that nothing will ever be 100% Sometimes it's no one's fault. Yours or the vets. I hope you had a conversation with the vet that satisfies your questions.

There are no words to convey how sorry I am for your loss. I think it's something we all fear will happen. It's why it's important to make time for your pets every day. Because we never know when. Your cat was loved and you did nothing wrong by choosing the responsible choice of neutering.

 

[memotie]

oh god. this is scaring me about getting mine spayed

 

[nansiludie]

 
oh god. this is scaring me about getting mine spayed

Please, get her spayed. I lost one cat out of many, many cats, over 40 cats spayed/neutered and only one passed away.

 

[crazy4strays]

Yes, please spay. A cat can die in childbirth as well or have serious complications from having too many litters.

 

[noracatowner101]

Hello, realizing this post was two years ago, broke my heart reading this. I am truly sorry for the lost of your beloved cat. May he Rest In Peace.