vts office killed my sisters cat by mistake

[Renegade Rescue]

Sorry to hear this. Very sad.

 

[Habibs Hens]

this is appaling


regardless of the word put to sleep being used this is the vets incompience


if some one said to me can you put my cat to sleep while you clean out her ears cause she goes crazy.

and priro to that sentance start teh conversation talking of ear mite medication


never in a million years would i think teh cat needs to be euthanized

so regardless of wheather the owners where asked again or made to sign papers i cant see how the dumb vet could have missinterprited that one

this needs legal action and the idiots struck off

 

[AinaWGSD]

How awful! No, awful doesn't even begin to describe this! I do hope your sister and her husband speak to an attorney about this and complain to the state board and better business bureau. Regardless of what wording was used, this constitutes gross negligence on the part of the veterinarian and their staff. I don't know what the laws are in Texas, but here in IL we can't even cremate an animal that the owner has brought to us after death without having them sign a piece of paper stating that the animal hasn't bitten anyone in the last 14 days. In order to legally euthanize a pet we must have the owner sign a paper that explicitly states what we are doing and that the animal hasn't bitten anybody (if the animal has bitten anyone within the quarantine period then we are legally required to submit the remains for rabies testing after we euthanize them). Even if she was having the cat sedated or anesthetized for ear cleaning, legally the vet still should have had them sign a form that stated what procedure was being performed and that the owner understood that anesthesia always carries some risk of death for the patient.

 

[Mom 2em All]

There must have also been NO communication in the room with the technician or the doctor. As a tech, I cannot imagine walking into a room with a client and NOT talking or getting any kind of history.

What a terrible clinic- and that is without this tragedy. If they do not communicate at all with the owner of the animal, they do not need to be in business.

 

[theoldchick]

Report the doctor the the Board of Veterinary Examiners in your state. So many things went wrong in this particular case that he/she needs to lose his/her license to practice. Unfortunately, laws are lacking and paying a fine may be the only punishment.

Investigate the staff--see who actually graduated from a accredited veterinary program or a accredited veterinary technician program. Many offices use uneducated staff that mimics what the doctors do. They give injections because that's what the doctor tell them to do. I've seen doctors leave anesthetized animals to see a client in the room while the animal is being monitored by the kennel person. Usually the only thing this person knows how to do is see if the animal is breathing.

Every veterinary office should have a euthanasia protocol in place. Forms must be signed, discussion must take place. People who work in a veterinary practice hear clients use the term 'put to sleep' many times in each day. We know they do not usually mean to kill the animal, and may not know the terminology to get the point across.. Professionally trained staff know to avoid the term when talking to a client. We are trained to use the word 'sedation' or 'anesthesia'. We explain the procedure, sign the forms, and explain the procedure again.

While there is nothing you can do to bring the cat back, however you can make sure this does not happen again at this particular office. Do your homework and see who is doing what at this particular clinic. Make sure the paperwork is being done. Is the use of controlled drugs being monitored? What kind of records are being kept? Who exactly is doing the procedure, and see who is doing the anesthesia and sedation. Is the vet in the room or even in the building when anesthesia/sedation is being performed?


Unfortunately, sloppy medicine takes place in veterinary practices all over the world. The staff are overworked and understaffed. And in attempt to make ends meet they cut corners, and this is the result: no communication between client and doctor.

 

[chixie]

my sister lives in louisiana. my aunt was talking to her husband about this and he said the same thing happened to his bos shere in texas. but it was his dog. the dog went in for something minor. the vets office euthenized his dog with out consulting him... I know I will be asking tons of questions next time I take a pet to the vets office before I let them touch my pet and I will question everything they are doing

 

[sourland]

It appears that there are a clear miscommunication on several levels. Most people understand 'put to sleep' as euthanasia rather than sedation. BUT despite the wording your sister used, the receptionist AND veterinarian should have clarified. A cruel lesson for everyone on how a meaning can be skewed.

"Put to sleep" is a common euphemism for kill or euthanise. This appears to be clearly a miscommunication. Very sad that this happened, but there are two sides to every story, and if legal action is taken, I am afraid it will turn into a 'he said, she said' situation.

 

[leadwolf1]

"Put to sleep" is a common euphemism for kill or euthanise. This appears to be clearly a miscommunication. Very sad that this happened, but there are two sides to every story, and if legal action is taken, I am afraid it will turn into a 'he said, she said' situation.

I don't believe so...I think this person should pursue legal actions even if it is just civil to get some restitution for the wrong doing. 'Put to sleep' can mean euthanasia..but who would use that meaning of the term in conjunction with having ear meds bought and used??? I can't imagine that someone would buy meds to use on a dead cat!

 

[Moonkit]

"Put to sleep" is a common euphemism for kill or euthanise. This appears to be clearly a miscommunication. Very sad that this happened, but there are two sides to every story, and if legal action is taken, I am afraid it will turn into a 'he said, she said' situation.

I think the mind-blower here is that the vet did not double check if the cat was indeed meant to be put down. As other posters pointed out.. there should have been a standard set of steps before the shot was administered; the vet talking to the client to ask if they're sure that this 'healthy' cat needs to be euthanized, papers to sign explicitly stating that the owners understand what is going to be done, etc..

It makes me think of a story I read about a woman who brought in two young, healthy, purebread/papered himalayan (sp?) cats to be euthanized because she had just finished redecorating her home into a "feng shui" aspect and that the cats no longer matched the decor (*facepalm*). The vet questioned her as to why she would euthanize instead of attempting to adopt them out, "Oh.. do you think anyone would want them?" The vet talked her into allowing him to try to rehome them.. another client of his who'd just had to euthanize her older himilayan for health reasons adopted them happily.

The point is still.. why would the vet or vet techs not have questioned her to why she was supposeably euthanizing a healthy cat? Even one question would have prevented this entire tragedy.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Oh, I am so sorry. This is horrible.

I just don't see any excuse for this. I've had to have animals put down before and the vet has always come in and explained what he was going to do, the process, etc. My vet always examines the animal first to make sure that putting it down is the thing to do. It would appear that the vet didn't look at the cat at all and didn't discuss anything with her.

My daughter has been a vet tech for about 8 years and I've never heard her mention anything like this. Yes, she needs to take some sort of legal action on this, IMO. If for no other reason but to make sure that this never occurs again.