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Sunday Chat: 9 PM ET Pet Loss Support
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Sunday Chat: 9 PM ET Pet Loss Support
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Posted by littlebit1 on March 10, 2003 at 14:40:33:
In Reply to: Re: Declawing & Bleeding posted by Martisimo on March 05, 2003 at 11:22:38:
I have spoken with my vet. He asked our permission to do an autopsy because he was so upset and confused as to why he died. Our cat was part feral and was prone to flipping out at any little noise. The vet said that he did have other cats in the hospital at the time. He said that our cat had ripped his bandages off several times. He had told me that they keep the cats for three days before they even did the surgery. Our kitty was also quite developed when it came to the nueter. The vet said that his urine was quite strong and that he may have been responding to the other female cats in the hospital. The dogs are kept in a seperate part of the hospital. Our kitty did have a tendancy to flip out at night, we would have to keep him in the room with us at night with no access to any other rooms in the house because he would tear things up. My vet did say that they don't suture or glue the wounds but that they like to keep them that long so that the wounds can heal from the inside out instead of outside in. He said that there is less risk of infection to the kitty if it is done that way. He had two other kittens around the same age who had the same procedures and they are doing fine. He said that he had no concern with our cat even though he was knocking the bandages off and losing blood before he died because he was eating (quite a bit as usual, he usually ate about 1 1/2 to 2 cans of food a day) and drinking normally by himself with no coaxing. The first time that he knocked the bandages off and bled a little he said that he did give him an injection of fluids to make sure that he did not get sick from the loss of blood. He did the autopsy and could not see any hemmoragging on the inside and still is unsure as to why he died. The vet said that there was not enough blood in the cage for him to have bled to death either. Because the kitty was trying to "claw" his way out of his cage the vet put the kitty into a neonatal incubator to keep him from breaking open the wounds again. Both we and the vet are at a loss and cannot figure out what happened. The vet looked for indications of the DIC disorder but there were no signs of that. Nor were there any signs of any internal defects that would have created a problem. After talking to my neighbor there are some other unexplainable things that have happened with my kitty, I have spoken with the vet about these and we are still unsure. The kitty has had some previous health things that could also not be explained. When we first brought him home he would walk straight into walls and appear to not see things in front of him. I took him to the vet and his sight was fine. Then we noticed that he was panting and wheezing and lethargic. Took him to the vet and nothing was wrong. Then in Jan he was sick for about four days with a temp of 104.5 to 105.5. He was at the vet and in the hospital for four days and no one could figure out what was wrong with him and why his temp would not go down, it just kept getting higher and higher though. I ended up force feeding him and forcing him to drink water and it eventually started to go down ( after 7 days of being sick he finally broke his fever all together) and he was fine with no side effects or siezures from it being that high. We had exrays and bloodwork, fecal, and urine tests. Nothing was wrong with him. They put him under anesthesia to check his belly because anytime you touched it while he had this fever he flipped out crying and trying to bite. They did all kinds of tests on him but nothing was wrong with him. He got better eventually and with no problems afterwards. I am at a total loss. I have used this vet for the longest time and he has proven to be the best vet I have ever had. Never had I ever had any problems with him or his abilities. Does this info give any one any ideas? Thank you for all of your help and time, and thank you for caring enough to respond.
Tonya
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:Regarding someone coming in to check at night:
:I don't know of any clinic in this area that does this. Twenty four hour places have people there to check overnight, of course, but I would say that most regular clinics do not. If we had a patient that needed professional monitoring we would have them transported to a 24 hour hospital. Routine procedures shouldn't need constant overnight monitoring if done properly.
:But, yes, perhaps your kitten did have a clotting problem. That's a possibility, but I would think it would have been noticed during the procedure and told to you afterwards, at least just for your information or even as a reason why three day monitoring was needed.
:It's a terrible thing to have happened. Have you spoken anymore with this vet about it?
:
::Let me start by saying how sorry I am to hear you lost your kitten. Following that, a couple things come to mind, the 3 day stay is a bit odd, which leads me to believe that perhaps there was a complication that you were not told of, and that the vet was keeping your kitty for observation or to come up with a solution. Whether it was an error on the vets behalf, or an anomaly with your kitty (poor clotting for instance), you will probably never know.
::My other concern is that most vets I hope (or would at least like to think), should have someone that comes in late at nite to check on the pets under their care. I know when I managed a boarding kennel, that was absolutely a MUST to check late at nite, make sure everyone is alright. Perhaps I am ignorant to think a vet clinic would do the same, but I would at least hope they would. Again, I am sorry for your loss....while decawing can be crippling both physically and psychologically to an animal, I can see no reason why it should have resulted in death.
::
:::I must first say that I am adamantly, adamantly against declawing. I think it's awful. But having worked in a vet clinic for 7 years, four of those years assisting in declaw surgeries, I will be happy to address your concerns...because I'm thinking you should be concerned about this vet.
:::I have never personally heard of a cat bleeding to death while recovering from a declaw in my area. Believe me, a story like that would travel around to different clinics. That said, there are plenty of blood vessels and nerve endings in the ends of the paws, which is why a tourniquet is used on the leg before performing the declaw, so yes, it would be possible for such a vessel to be cut or injured if a vet wasn't careful.
:::Years ago it would not have been as unusual as it is today, because vets have 'perfected' the amputation and healing more. (For instance, more 'old' vets use sutures, many newer ones use surgical glue to hold the toe pads together, things like that.) Even three days afterwards the blood vessels would still be prone to being re-opened if they were cut during surgery. Did your kitty still have his bandages on? Perhaps they had just removed them that day and caused the vessels to re-open.
:::What I find odd about your vet is the long hospitalization period after the declaw. Was this something that is routine for that clinic or was that at your request? Usually declaws require an overnight stay, or maybe one day, but three days is quite a long time and is unusual for this day and age. Perhaps the long stay is because the vet really isn't very good with his declaws.
:::Also, I would be VERY concerned about what the heck could have scared your poor kitten that badly. What the heck is roaming his clinic at night anyway? Perhaps a barking dog? But I would hope he keeps cat cages and dog cages a bit seperated. Although my best guess would be that he somehow hurt one of his declawed feet and reacted in a panic to the pain, which paniced and hurt him all the more, and so on.
:::But yes, bleeding to death in the cage from the feet should NOT happen (didn't say 'can't happen', just should not). I think a few factors probably contributed: 1.) Sloppily done declaw. 2.) Bandage removal may have irritated/injured the wounds. 3.) Something (probably a sharp pain, possibly something scary) sent your kitten into a panic, further opening the 10 incisions and paining him, if this was a 2-paw declaw.
:::I would NOT take my pets to this place again. That's my opinion.
:::
::::Has anyone had the problem of declawing a cat and then the cat bleeding to death three days after surgery? My kitten went to the vet on friday to be nuetered and declawed, (my first experience declawing a cat) he did fine all day friday, sat, and sunday in the daytime. No complications, no excessive bleeding or infections. He was eating well and was relatively calm for being at the vet. Then Sunday night after the vet left he was apparently spooked and freaked out. The vet came in monday morning and found him laying in a puddle of blood. Caius had broken open all his wounds and died. The vet said that his litter and papers in his cage were shredded and spilled everywhere (as though he was severely spooked, something scared the crap out of him) and that he had apparently tried to claw his way out of the cage, tearing open his wounds. Has this ever happened to you or anyone you know? My vet said that in the 25 years of his practice he had never had this happen or seen it happen to any other cats. Am I being fed a line or is this really a rare thing? I am very upset at losing my baby, and was leary about having it doen in the first place, I am just unsure of how to feel or respond to this.
::::Thank you for your help,
::::Tonya
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