Vet Responsible For My Cat's Current Situation?

[Ssparkythecat]

My 18 year old cat is unresponsive, cold, yowling and we think about to pass away.

The problems started when he stopped eating for a week and started to see small drops of diarrhoea inside on the floor. The vet said it could be either constipation or because it had 4 suspect teeth that should be removed.

The vet said he wanted to put the cat under to remove the teeth and perform an enema. When we took the cat home the next day he wasn't right; not moving out of his carry case and made a yowling noise once in a while. Now he is just on the verge of passing away.

From doing research I think he might of only needed a laxative and the vet should not have recommended surgery for teeth on a very old cat. Im also concerned because he gave us two tablets to give the cat which I think were only antibiotics and not pain medication. Maybe the pain our cat from teeth extraction made is body shut down?

Thanks for all your help

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! I'm so sorry this is happening!! Do you have a different vet you can talk with?

Can you provide your cat with a heating pad on low, with a couple towels on top of the pad?

Can you get ahold of your vet and ask questions, get some pain meds etc? Call the regular clinic number, if they're closed the greeting you'll hear should give a number for emergencies.

This qualifies.

Best of luck!!

 

[Jem]

Oh! how awful, I'm so sorry.
I concur with Furballsmom , can you bring him to, or call another vet?
Also, I wonder if he has simply not recovered from the anesthetic? It can take some time to leave the system. I have to say though that I am very conflicted with the fact that the vet opted for the surgery at his age, did he do a blood panel first to see if it was safe for him to be put under?
I feel for you. I do hope your little boy recovers. And the heating pad idea will provide some comfort for him. I'm sorry I can't really be much help, but I'm thinking of you and your boy.

 

[Ssparkythecat]

He did check his blood and came back very healthy for his age even though he stop eating for a week. We are taking the cat now to a different vet. Unfortunately in this state I think the Vet will probably recommend putting him down as I think my cat has had a stroke.

I should have been more proactive at the vet but I thought they knew what they were doing. The cat had a bandage on one of his legs for a day, I thought that could of been for pain but it could of just been for iv? after one day he took the bandage off.

 

[Furballsmom]

Let us know, we're thinking of all of you...

 

[Timmer]

I'm so sorry to read about this. It's very sad. I had a kitty who lived to be 18 years old. It's a good long life and I know you gave your cat the best of care.

 

[jen]

If his bloodwork came back ok that is one reason to proceed with surgery, but if he wasn't eating for a week, I would think the vet would have liked to figure out why. Cats can get hepatic lipidosis if they don't eat for even a couple days.

Please update us on what the new vet says.

 

[Joey's mom]

My 18 year old cat is unresponsive, cold, yowling and we think about to pass away.

The problems started when he stopped eating for a week and started to see small drops of diarrhoea inside on the floor. The vet said it could be either constipation or because it had 4 suspect teeth that should be removed.

The vet said he wanted to put the cat under to remove the teeth and perform an enema. When we took the cat home the next day he wasn't right; not moving out of his carry case and made a yowling noise once in a while. Now he is just on the verge of passing away.

From doing research I think he might of only needed a laxative and the vet should not have recommended surgery for teeth on a very old cat. Im also concerned because he gave us two tablets to give the cat which I think were only antibiotics and not pain medication. Maybe the pain our cat from teeth extraction made is body shut down?

Thanks for all your help

So sorry about your cat's suffering, is he/she still with you. One of my cats was down to 8#, a liver biopsy would have answered my question if it was cancer because something small showed up in the ultrasound in an area that couldn't be aspirated. I wasn't going to put a 16 , low weight cat under anesthesia for concern he might die on the table. I had hi treated several times a week for pancreaitits, anemia and I think he had kidney stones. a short trial of antibiotics I was told would prevent the stones going into the bladder. Second US the spot was now larger, but I wouldn't put him through the stress of more testing. His treatment plan worked well, he lived for a year, seen 3X the week he died and that was the only time he was in pain. He died at home on his own terms. It's very difficult for us lay people not fully understand animal welfare even though we ask vets to explain in ways we could understand, yet it gets complicated. We rely on these professionals not sometimes thinking they, too, are human and make errors, but what choice do we have! If you are able to read my posts on IBD/pancreaititis you will know all that I went through with 2 cats being ill at the same time and how one vet handled the situation, till today, I have yet to overcome my anger towards her.

 

[Ssparkythecat]

Thanks for all the replies. I had to put the cat down today. Very sad for the family.

 

[Jem]

I'm so sorry for your and your family's loss. It's never easy to lose a precious pet, especially under such conditions as you went thru.
I am sending you and yours my deepest condolences,
May your little boy rest in peace.

 

[foxden]

S Ssparkythecat
I'm so sorry for your loss. Please consider starting a thread in the Crossing the Bridge forum to honor the life of your kitty and your family's loss.
Members will offer support in your grief. I found that support very helpful when I lost my kitty.

 

[Joey's mom]

So sorry. When we share our home to give furry family members the life they so deserve, we never think of the day we have to make that dreadful decision, sometimes it's made for us. We never think of them aging. Though we experience the loss many times, it never gets easier. I'm still grieving over my Joey who died 8 months. Some people have said to me "my cat died, I will never take another, can't go through this again." For me, the joy, lessons, memories, our animals teach us and saving a life is of what's most important. May beautiful memories help ease your pain.