Serious blood draw injury

[RussellsMom]

Please help - We took Russell in for a routine blood test today - he hasn't had one in several years and we thought it would be a good idea since he's about 13. He was perfectly happy, healthy, cheerful before we took him in. When he came out of the vet, he was severely stressed, had expressed his anal glands (he's never done so before), and now can barely walk and cries and bites when I touch him lightly. What the hell happened? The vet is closed. Is this an emergency? Anyone with experience please weigh in. I'm beside myself with terror

PS - The blood draw was from the right hind leg.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

If he can barely walk, it might be worth it to take him in to be seen by someone else. Not knowing exactly what is going on, it's hard to say though. All I can tell you is that when my cat's get their blood drawn, the Vet always does it from their chest area, not their legs. I know this because my longer haired guy's chest is always wet with alcohol whenever they bring him back to me so I asked why and they said they always draw from the jugular vein. This is common procedure.

It is possible is struggled and strained his leg? Is he limping or actually cannot walk? If it a limp, then I would think it might could wait until first thing in the morning when you can call the Vet and discuss with them. If he actually cannot walk and/or seems to be in pain, that's another story. Were you with him the entire time he was there??? Just wondering if you witnessed anything.

Keep us posted please.

 

[RussellsMom]

He can walk, but he doesn't want to and he's limping on both his back legs. He's resting in his cat bed (I put it on the floor because he doesn't seem to be able to jump even to sofa height), but he's holding the leg that the blood was drawn from in odd ways - he clearly can't get comfortable. If I touch him or even look as if I'm about to touch him on the back legs, he growls severely. This is completely abnormal behavior from him - he's a lovely, friendly, affectionate, energetic cat.

We're normally with him in the exam room, but this time they did the exam and blood draw in the back. We didn't hear anything untoward (we were listening and could hear everything), but when he came back in his cat carrier he was severely stressed, panting and smelly from having expressed his anal glands, which he has never done before. I imagine that took an unbelievable amount of stress for him to do that. There was no bandage and there is some blood on his leg. They said they held him with a towel. He's usually extremely stressed at the vet, which is why we don't take him in often.

At the very least, I'm sure they bruised him. Maybe he pulled or strained some muscles too? Unfortunately, my terrified mind is going to the worst places, like stroke. I'm beside myself with guilt and fear for him. Would love some advice/shared experience.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I personally don't think the blood draw, unless as mentioned above, there was some sort of struggle to get the blood in and of itself is an issue. The hind leg is pretty typical and has always been done that way with my cats. If he isn't used to having vet exams, this was probably very traumatic to him. He expressed his anal glands as a defense mechanism, as that is technically what they are intended for.

I can't tell you if it warrants an ER visit. But, as asked above it depends on the severity of his ability to walk. If limping, and he is eating/drinking OK, you might want to wait until tomorrow and see how he is doing, and then call the vet.

 

[IndyJones]

Sometimes inexperienced nurses will jab a person so many times they get brusing or pain. I imagine vets are no different if they are inexperienced or the animal has tiny veins.

My vet does jugular draws not leg draws because the veins are very small in the legs. For both cats and small dogs. She is done in less than a muinite.

 

[RussellsMom]

Russell seems better this morning, but not 100%. At least he's able to jump on the sofa now. I suspect, because he gets so upset at the vet, they manhandled him and badly hurt his possibly somewhat arthritic legs - he was limping severely on all four legs when he got home, which is 100% not normal for him. There's a large spot of dried blood still on his hind leg.

I wish I hadn't taken him in. I thought it was the right thing to do, after my brother's cat Danno's illness took him by surprise. We haven't had blood work done on Russell in years. Now I'm nervous about getting the results - Russell's always so well and happy I wish I'd just left him alone. Hopefully the results will be fine. We won't be taking him back to that vet, though. Always on the search for a better, gentler one. Please keep your fingers crossed for Russi's blood test results, and thanks, everyone, for your input.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm so glad he's better today . Yes, they probably did manhandle him a little, especially since they admitted they had to hold him down with a towel. No cat enjoys going to the Vet, kind of like people going to the dentist, but it's necessary, especially as they age. I hope his blood work comes back just fine, but be aware that extreme stress can cause abnormalities in the results, so IF it comes back with some things a little off, that could be the reason. Let us know.

 

[RussellsMom]

Well, he did better earlier today but hasn't been doing as well the second half of the day. He's not able to jump even onto knee-high chairs and sofas. He looks at all his usual favorite spots as though he's going to jump up, then has the look of someone who knows he can't do it, then walks away. He's given himself a little bit of a bath today; he purred a little when I scratched his back; and he eats what I bring him; but none of these are anywhere close to his normal, perky, highly energetic behaviors. His affect is low, he's quiet (normally very chatty), and his tail is mostly between his legs (usually held high).

I want to know what happened during the blood draw. All I wanted was a simple blood test, and my happy, healthy boy came back so diminished. He was so severely stressed by his experience yesterday that his paw pads and ears were bright red with rage - something I'd never seen before. I feel sick about taking him in.

 

[silent meowlook]

I am so sorry this happened. You need to report this to the owner of the hospital you took him to.

 

[RussellsMom]

Russell's doing incrementally better, I think - a little hard to tell. He's still eyeing his favorite spot on the sofa but deciding against jumping. We pick him up and place him there, and he seems OK with that. He did just jump onto a chair that's just as high as the sofa, though. His back legs dipped a bit when he landed, but he did make the jump. He also jumped hesitantly but perfectly neatly up three rather steep steps we have at the back door. His tail is up today.

We got the test results from the wretched blood draw. All is great except for an alarmingly elevated heart disease marker. I've started a new thread about this because I don't know what to think about it. Hopefully others will share their experiences and help us navigate the best course of action for our most precious boy.

I did ream the vet out about his legs being hurt during the blood draw. Not surprisingly she didn't indicate that anything happened to him beyond that he was very stressed and "is a fighter". We won't be going back there, though we've gone there for years. I've always had mixed feelings about their ability to handle Russell properly, frankly - they always suggest we sedate him. My thinking is, Russell doesn't need to be sedated, he just needs the right person handling him. There are no "psycho kitties" (as we once saw scribbled on the top of the vet's notes!!), just psycho people, right?

We had a wonderful vet who Russell was perfectly fine with for many years, but he left his local practice and is now in another town. Russell doesn't like to be in the car, but we're thinking now that the longer car trip to the kinder vet will be better for Russell than the short trip to the vet who doesn't understand him.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I am glad to hear that Russell is doing a bit better. I hope follow up on a possible heart condition can enable it to be ruled out/confirmed and treated if needed. One thing to keep in mind as you follow up on this is that there are heart conditions that can cause back leg weakness. It is possible that the stress of the vet visit could have brought this weakness to the forefront. It is often hard to tell that a cat even has a heart condition until it progresses or is caught during a vet visit.

There are many cats who are given gabapentin before a vet visit to help calm them and take the edge off the stress. So, it isn't always going to be because a vet isn't capable of handling a cat. This also can happen with cats who are not routinely taken to the vets for checkups, as they just don't have the opportunity to get used to the process.

 

[RussellsMom]

Thanks, FeebysOwner - The back leg issue and potential heart problems is certainly a possibility, though he's been mildly arthritic (not definitively diagnosed, just based on our and vets' observations) for a few years. He was severely injured as a kitten before he came to us and might have some mild impairments as a result. His front legs tremble ever so slightly sometimes when he's just sitting up, and he's gone from being able to jump to about a 35-inch counter height to only being able to jump to a 23-inch bed height over the past 6 years or so. It's been gradual. He did surprise the heck out of us last summer when he jumped onto the patio table (30 inches) with no problem, but only that once, after having done it regularly in previous summers. This afternoon he jumped 19 inches onto a chair, where he's resting and seems fine.

When we brought him home from the blood draw on Monday and he was so frantic and limping so badly, I kept feeling his back legs all day and night, terrified of an embolism, but they felt and still feel totally normal. He's eating and interacting with us fine. Of course I want to do more diagnostics right away, but given his off-the-chart stress level at the vet on Monday, that's also the last thing I want to do. I'm very confused and scared at the moment.

 

[RussellsMom]

Also, he had a bad reaction to gabapentin some years ago, so we're reluctant to use it again.

 

[RussellsMom]

It's Thursday, the traumatizing blood draw was on Monday, and Russell's just not the same. Jumping is markedly impaired, as I mentioned above. But also his demeanor is different. He always used to come into the kitchen when he heard me in there no matter where he was; now he's not doing that. I used to only have to begin touching him and he would start purring loudly; now he's not purring. He hasn't "assumed the position" for his usual nightly Furminating, which he loves so much. I tried to brush him a bit last night and he tolerated it but clearly didn't enjoy it. He's not talking to me much, when usually he's very chatty. He's not playing at all, and is usually very playful.

I'll be honest, this morning I've even been entertaining thoughts that maybe the vet might have drugged him for the blood draw without telling me, and maybe he's reacting to some drug? He's not limping or crying, he's just...different. And depressed.

When I confronted the vet about his initial severe limping, his continued inability to jump, his lurid red ears and paws, and his change of demeanor, she just kept saying "Aw, poor baby. Try this drug, that drug, etc." Why does my cat, who was absolutely 100% perfectly well and so happy before I took him in to the vet, now need to take drugs to feel better? And why would I do anything that vet recommends?

I've been crying my eyes out all night. I'm just venting really, but if anyone has advice or has had a similar experience and can assure me that their cat felt better in time, please share. I'm just sick with regret.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I know you don't feel that you can trust this vet, and I understand why. But, for one, I doubt she drugged Russell, but if she did, it would be listed on your invoice. I doubt the cost would have been eaten by her/practice. And, odds are with most healthy cats the drugs would be out of their system by now. But, check your invoice and see if something is listed, at least you could look it up to see about its side effects and longevity.

For two, her suggesting some meds now has more to do with trying to find a way to help him feel better and get back to normal than it has to do with whether or not he was on any meds previously. I am not defending her at all, just appealing to your better sense of reason.

I don't know what you are going to do about getting him some help elsewhere given your concern abhut putting him through another vet visit. As I said before, I am sure you feel you are between a rock and a hard place. But wjatever you do, try not to show any emotions that Russell can pick up on - cats tend to absorb how their caretakers feel and react accordingly.

 

[fionasmom]

I am sorry that all this has happened. My Jamie has to be sedated for blood draws. The vet always comes out to tell me that she wants to sedate him, and will even give me the names of the sedative drugs given that he has HCM. Part of that is also the fact that I will be charged for the sedation so it will appear on the bill.

 

[RussellsMom]

Thank you both - I definitely need to be talked down from some precipices!

The last time Russell had a blood test was 5 years ago, same vet, and they sedated him with a Torb injection and gabapentin. He came home from that visit really spaced out and distressed for hours. That's why I'm so cagey about using gabapentin again, though it could well have been the Torb or the combination that distressed him.

I'm generally very nervous about all drugs, both for myself and for my pets. Perhaps more so for my pets, because non-human animal medicine seems unsophisticated and understudied to me; also the non-human animals can't take themselves off a particular drug when they feel they're experiencing side effects. It all seems too risky to me.

There was no drug listed on this invoice - I certainly would have known and raised holy hell about it if they had drugged him without asking me. But that vet knows my reluctance about drugs, so maybe...? But I fully concede I'm an oversensitive paranoiac where my Russell is concerned!

 

[RussellsMom]

By which (above) I didn't mean to imply that I think drugs are bad. I know they are very often life- and wellbeing-savers, and I wish I weren't so afraid to try them. I have a strong chemophobia and aversion to things that are out of my control, especially where my animal companions are concerned. A large part of my use of this forum is to try to help me overcome my fear of potentially helpful drugs.