Please forgive me for writing more about Harry's death, but the pain of thinking about his last day is immense & I'm thinking that if I write it out I may be able to obtain some closure. So here goes.
It was a beautiful day on July 20 when we drove Harry to a vet hospital in Middletown, CT, about 30 minutes away. Harry had a 9 a.m. consultation with the surgeon for a full-mouth extraction, which is the only thing this vet does. I was worried that Harry would get upset in the car, but he was fine. We got there early & immediately saw the surgeon & were processed in. The vet had my own vet's notes on Harry & no problems whatsoever were foreseen. Surgery would take around 3 hours & we could collect him later.
In the afternoon the office called & said they would keep him overnight since his surgery was the longest & would be the last one of the day. Finally, at around 6.40 p.m. the surgeon called to tell me that everything went very well. Harry's teeth were all removed & the surgeon was very pleased that his juvenile gingivitis was localized to the gum line & had not spread to the back of his throat. I was assured that Harry would not miss his teeth one bit & that he would lead a healthy life from now on. He told me that Harry was awake now and in about 30 minutes they would feed him & that we could collect him the next day. Five minutes later the surgeon called back. He had gone back to Harry & found that he had gone into cardiac arrest & died. He was upset & told me he had no idea why this happened.
What pains me so much is the thought of my little man being in a cage for at least 6 hours scared, worried & without food. (Food meant everything to Harry.) I don't blame the surgeon for what happened - Harry most likely had an unknown heart condition - but I do blame him for making me bring him in so early for a procedure that probably didn't begin until 3 p.m. I asked my vet if Harry could have shocked himself into a heart attack post-surgery & she said it can happen to some animals (rabbits, e.g.), but not usually cats.
Thanks for listening.
HARRY 9/6/15-7/20/16
It was a beautiful day on July 20 when we drove Harry to a vet hospital in Middletown, CT, about 30 minutes away. Harry had a 9 a.m. consultation with the surgeon for a full-mouth extraction, which is the only thing this vet does. I was worried that Harry would get upset in the car, but he was fine. We got there early & immediately saw the surgeon & were processed in. The vet had my own vet's notes on Harry & no problems whatsoever were foreseen. Surgery would take around 3 hours & we could collect him later.
In the afternoon the office called & said they would keep him overnight since his surgery was the longest & would be the last one of the day. Finally, at around 6.40 p.m. the surgeon called to tell me that everything went very well. Harry's teeth were all removed & the surgeon was very pleased that his juvenile gingivitis was localized to the gum line & had not spread to the back of his throat. I was assured that Harry would not miss his teeth one bit & that he would lead a healthy life from now on. He told me that Harry was awake now and in about 30 minutes they would feed him & that we could collect him the next day. Five minutes later the surgeon called back. He had gone back to Harry & found that he had gone into cardiac arrest & died. He was upset & told me he had no idea why this happened.
What pains me so much is the thought of my little man being in a cage for at least 6 hours scared, worried & without food. (Food meant everything to Harry.) I don't blame the surgeon for what happened - Harry most likely had an unknown heart condition - but I do blame him for making me bring him in so early for a procedure that probably didn't begin until 3 p.m. I asked my vet if Harry could have shocked himself into a heart attack post-surgery & she said it can happen to some animals (rabbits, e.g.), but not usually cats.
Thanks for listening.
HARRY 9/6/15-7/20/16