Feb 10, 2012.
Veterinary medicine is a diverse topic. Feedbacks are
valuable but most are complaints. This is one feedback
that was not solicited by me.
EMAIL TO DR SING DATED FEB 9, 2012
Dear Dr Sing
A belated Happy Lunar New Year to you. I trust this
email finds you in good health and standing. Its been
quite some time since our male cat Tobi was treated at
your wonderful practice. Unfortunately our beloved Tobi
has passed away on Saturday, 4 February 2012.
The cat can't pee again dated 12 June 2011. Shortly
after his discharge, we moved into our new home. Tobi
recovered well as there were no territorial cats and
stress was kept to a minimum. He was maintained strictly
on Hill's C/D wet food.
However, sometime from October 2011, he seemed to be
licking his private area again though not as frequently
as when he had UTI , he was also peeing normally with
good volume. His disposition and general health was very
good. This continued until February 2012 when we noticed
his urine volume seemed to have lessened somewhat and
his penis appeared to be inflamed. We brought him to a
vet shall not mention the company name) who gave him an
injection of antibiotics and anti-inflammation and
discharged. Two days later, it did not seem to get
better, we brought him back to the vet again, a blood
test was performed with several struvite crystals
detected. The vet advised us that a similar injection
could be given or a catheter could be inserted. We chose
the injections as we were trying to avoid Tobi being
warded as it may be more stressful. In order to give the
injections, Tobi had to be put under general
anaesthesia. as he was putting up such a struggle.
Anyway it was done and he went home.
Yet again two days he was still having difficulty
peeing, this time we opted to bring him to another
branch (this branch was 24 hrs with larger facilities).
Tobi was sedated, warded with a catheter inserted and
put on a drip via a Y-site. He was also given daily IV
feeds with cefaxone and calcium, diazepam amongst
others. He seemed fairly alright the first two days, it
was only on the 3rd day that we noticed he appeared
rather "subdued", quiet, not he's normal feisty self. By
the 4th day ,he was lying down the whole time and didn't
seemed to respond to us. We attributed this to possible
lethargy and medication. The next day, his blood tests
were normal and after a cursory examination he was
declared fit for discharge despite the fact that by now
he could not even stand up or move, we basically had to
carry him into his carrier to be brought home. We
reached home in the mid afternoon and put him in the
room, again we had to carry him out of the carrier. From
the time we reached home right until 10 pm, Tobi
condition just deteriorated, once in while he would sort
of jerk himself to another area in the room, I'm not
sure how he did this as he was immobile from the front
quarters, his eyes could not track movement, he was
drooling brown liquid and had raspy breathing. We took
him back to the 24 hr branch at around 10.30 and the vet
on duty arrived about 15 mins later, another blood test
was conducted plus a chest x-ray, all looked normal,
tests for leukemia and FIV was also done, clear as well.
At about 11.30am, Tobi convulsed, expelled fluid and
stopped breathing, we had opted for DNR. An immediate
autopsy was done, organs again were all fine. Nobody
seems to have an answer for his death.
Needless to say, we are extremely saddened as well as
puzzled by his sudden demise, more so when he was
brought in for what ought to be a routine treatment for
am inflamed penis. Instead five days later, we are
having to cremate him. We have since search everywhere
for anything information that might explain his sudden
death. From what we found, we suspect, of course this
may speculative at best, but it appears to be
anaphylactic shock ( the question is what was the
cause). Again we suspect it could he may have been
allergic to one or more of the medications prescribed
via the IV drip. Admittedly there could be numerous
other possible causes. However we feel it seems to fit
the symptoms Tobi displayed - pale gums, immobility,
drooling, low temperature, increased heart rate.
X-rays of the gasping cat 45
minutes before death did not
reveal any abnormality
We are not ones to assign blame or find fault.
Nonetheless, suffice to say we are disappointed with the
level of monitoring at the veterinarian branch Tobi was
in. We are well aware that cats are notorious for
masking pain and discomfort but honestly to discharge a
cat that can't even stand on its feet! It would be like
a doctor discharging a patient who can't walk and asking
him to go home. While Tobi's blood tests looked fine, a
more thoroughly physical examination would have raised
one or more red flags. From the time of his passing, not
one person from the vet had called to offer their
condolences or at least offer some theory as to Tobi's
death. It's as if that there was no obvious cause, so
nobody can be bothered about it.
My wife and I are still coping with his passing but we
are doing well. I just thought that since you treated
Tobi twice and did such a wonderful job each time, we
would like to let you know what has happened since then.
Thank you for taking time to read this long email.
Meanwhile, we wish you all the best in your practice and
your great care towards all animals, big and small.
P.S. we would have like to gone back to you but the
distance was a bit prohibitive. Anyway we thought it
would be just a routine treatment but......
Best Wishes & Regards
Name of young couple
EMAIL REPLY FROM DR SING DATED FEB 10, 2012
Hi
I thank you for your compliments and good wishes.
1. You mentioned "a blood test was performed with
several struvite crystals detected"? Is it a urine test?
2. What is DNR?
3. Was an X-ray of the bladder and kidneys done?
4. Was a urine test done?
Please accept my condolences for the passing away of
Tobi. Pl phone me if you have any queries about Tobi as
it is easier to discuss on phone than by writing emails.
TOA
PAYOH VETS
