[Puglet]

I took my beloved British Shorthair show cat in to the vet today to have a small lump removed and her teeth cleaned. I will never see her again her heart kept stopping under anesthesia and we lost her. Does anyone have any insight into why this may have happened? The autopsy showed a normal heart.

And as a side note, please hug your pets tonight. My kitty earned her Grand Premier title in one show over the weekend, and now she is unexpectedly gone. You just never know.

[SmartAlex]

I'm very sorry to har of your loss. Especially after such a proud moment.

My kitty will be going through a tooth cleaning on Friday. She will be spoiled more than usual until then. ...you just never know.

[reefy!]

Outside of being old, I can't imagine what other complications there might have been but it is always something that worries me with pets.

I am so very sorry for your loss - our kitties are all so precious to us.
{{HUGS}}

[crosscreeksh]

Possibly an error in the % of anesthesia to oxygen??? Somebody may have made a mistake. Usually healthy animals do not die under anesthesia. So very sorry for you loss.

[Laurierace]

Stuff happens. So sorry it had to happen to you. Godspeed. I know it's not remotely the same but I had a goat that they put under literally for seconds to cut the horns off and the goat arrested. The got her back but it was touch and go.

[Marshfield]

I am sorry for your loss. I can tell you that when an apparently healthy cat dies under anesthesia that when a necropsy is done, often evidence of heart disease is found. Just as heart attacks are called a silent killer in women, heart disease is often a silent issue in cats until something catastrophic happens.

[Calvincrowe]

I am so sorry--I've been there. We lost a beloved Torti kitten to anesthesia complications...or negligence by the vet... hard to tell, given what we learned about how casually they handled her during surgery/after. We changed vets, and learned that cats are notoriously hard to bring out of anesthesia, and you need to be there to monitor them constantly. Godspeed to your dear cat.

[Crackerdog]

I'm sorry for the loss of your cat. I have one that almost died under anesthesia during a dental cleaning. We don't know if she has something wrong with her heart or she is just very sensitive to anesthesia, either way she has not gone under again.

[shiningwizard255]

I am so sorry for your loss and Godspeed to your kitty. Jingles sent your way.

[1sock]

So sorry for your loss.

[pompeiii]

I'm so sorry for your loss

[oliverreed]

Very sorry for your loss. Godspeed, kitty.

[Claddagh]

Oh that is just horrible. I am so sorry for your loss.

[pinkpony321]

So sorry for your baby. It's terrible when it's so unexpected. (It's terrible even when expected, but you know what i mean)

[Puglet]

Thank you, everyone, for your kind words. It is much appreciated.

Here she is.... https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...7&l=bc09247201

She had been under once before. Same vet. It was just over a year ago when she was spayed. They did do an autopsy and found a healthy heart. She had some lung damage and fluid in her chest. Her only living offspring unexpectedly passed away Saturday. Ironic that they went within days of each other. This makes me rethink dentals for cats in the future.

You just never know when you will lose them.

[BuddyRoo]

I am so sorry for your loss. I don't mean to be uncouth asking the following and you certainly don't have to answer...but can you tell us more about what was done prior to/during anesthesia? How old was she? Did she have a blood panel done ahead of time? Was she on fluids? Was her heart being monitored? What kind of anesthesia were they using? What kind of pre anes did they use?

Again, I'm very very sorry for your loss.

[oliverreed]

What a beautiful cat she was.

[BuddyRoo]

Very pretty girl. ((hugs))

[Puglet]

I am so sorry for your loss. I don't mean to be uncouth asking the following and you certainly don't have to answer...but can you tell us more about what was done prior to/during anesthesia? How old was she? Did she have a blood panel done ahead of time? Was she on fluids? Was her heart being monitored? What kind of anesthesia were they using? What kind of pre anes did they use?

Again, I'm very very sorry for your loss.

Not uncouth at all....I don't know the answer to a lot of this. She was 6 years old. She had blood work done in August to diagnose what ended up being major muscle damage with a resulting infection. We think she fell off the stairs....Brits are not the most graceful of breeds. She was a totally spoiled indoor show cat. She was on prednisone for allergies.

They were removing a small lump in the skin on the side of her jaw. Her heart stopped twice. I'm guessing they were in the middle of the procedure and just couldn't stop and wake her up. They of course didn't continue to the dental. She had to be revived 3 times total, I think. The last time I talked to the vet before we let her go, her heart was pumping but her reflexes were unresponsive. She was on oxygen.

The clinic is certainly not the most upscale around, but they are a solid general practice with 4 different vets. I know a few breeders that use them.

[BuddyRoo]

I'm not a veterinarian nor do I play one on TV. There's my caveat.

A good number of people are afraid to put their pets under for pretty routine procedures because they hear the stories of pets dying under anesthesia. That's why I asked about the blood work, the fluids, type of anesthesia, monitoring, etc. Any procedure, no matter how benign, carries risk. However, there are some things that can be done to help mitigate risk. Obviously, you trust your veterinarians and did what they suggested. If you always do what you think is right at the time with the information you have, no one can ever fault you.

Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.