The vet maimed my cat!

[Lily's_Mom]

My cat was in this morning for dental surgery and received a 'complimentary' nail-clipping. When we got her home she had urinated on herself so I went to give her a bath.

To my horror, I thought for a moment that they had de-clawed her because there was blood on two of her toes on one of her hind feet. They clipped those nails WAY too short. I'm sick thinking of how my poor kitty is feeling: waking up from the general after having a tooth extracted and her paw is aching! This is like going to cut someones toenails and clipping off a chunk of their toe! I felt sweaty and sick uploading the pictures I took of her injury.

I am so mad they did this to her.

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[Purple*Lotus]

I am so sorry I am saying a prayer for your poor kitty Are you going to call them tomorrow? That is not acceptable

[Shenjall]

What the...?!

I dont understand how that can happen? I mean, I've cut my kitties nails too short on occasion but it's usually b/c they're squirming around like all hell and it's never been that bad. So how on earth could that happen to a kitty thats asleep?! Twice?!
I'm soooo, sooo sorry for you and your cat. I hope she has a speedy recovery.

[Lily's_Mom]

Originally Posted by Bunnyflakes

I am so sorry I am saying a prayer for your poor kitty Are you going to call them tomorrow? That is not acceptable

I already called them. Dh is on his way back to the hospital to pick up some dressings for her wounds.

The girl on the phone didn't seem to believe me that this is what happened. I said that her nails were cut so short that she is injured and bleeding and limping around. End of story, that's exactly what happened!

She started talking about the access-site on her leg for the surgery (the iv I suppose) and maybe the blood is from that. No, I cut my cats nails, I know that her hind toes only need a tiny trim while her front claws are super long and sharp.

I was going to trim her claws last night and just didn't get around to it! Things are so crazy, we are moving to Europe in less than two weeks, I just managed to cut my 4yo and 5mo nails yesterday, they were getting long.

[Purple*Lotus]

You had no way of knowing they would trim them for you I have had cats have dental work before and other surgeries and never, ever has the vet trimmed their nails. I would never think they would, actually.

[Lily's_Mom]

Originally Posted by Shenjall

What the...?!

I dont understand how that can happen? I mean, I've cut my kitties nails too short on occasion but it's usually b/c they're squirming around like all hell and it's never been that bad. So how on earth could that happen to a kitty thats asleep?! Twice?!
I'm soooo, sooo sorry for you and your cat. I hope she has a speedy recovery.

She wouldn't have been bleeding right away because her blood pressure was low while she was under the anesthetic. Then when she woke up, her pressure went up and the wound started bleeding. Makes sense (this is what whoever I talked to explained to me).

But that is pretty incompetent to cut up my kitty so badly in the first place! You can tell just by looking at her claws that her back claws need only a tiny amount trimmed, otherwise you are slicing into her living tissues.

[Lily's_Mom]

Originally Posted by Bunnyflakes

You had no way of knowing they would trim them for you I have had cats have dental work before and other surgeries and never, ever has the vet trimmed their nails. I would never think they would, actually.

I just thought I would give her a much-needed manicure before sending her in so that they wouldn't think I was neglecting her or anything. But I didn't think it was the end of the world (that I didn't clip her nails before she went in today).

When I phoned dh today for updates, he mentioned that they were going to trim her nails while they were taking care of her. Sure, that's fine...except I wasn't expecting them to do this to her.

[Mama Mko]

Geez, that's HORRIBLE. I'm sorry for your poor cat!

[mommy212]

aw that makes me so sad! poor kitty! I would be so mad.

[lookatreestar]

seriously. wth??? ive done a better job on my cat who wasnt under GA! and he doesnt love getting his nails done

im sorry for your poor kitty

[UberMama]

Holy heck, I'd be raising all kinds of ..... and asked for a partial reimbursement and not going back ever again.

Just looking at those pics made me feel slightly sick to my stomach. We rarely have to clip our cats nails, but when we do, goodness - I am soooooo careful because I am terrified of doing THAT to her. :/

Your poor baby.

[Tummy]

O.M.G!

Totally call and speak with the VET him/herself tomorrow. Document your phone call! Take in the photos of your babies paws. That is totally UNACCEPTABLE! There is no way that a trained/certified vet would have done this to your kitty's paws! This was totally done by a person who had no clue wtf they were doing, IMO!

[Katie T]

I would be peeved! Your poor cat. I would complain and send them those pics, that is totally not acceptable.

You didn't know they would do that, I know you feel bad for your poor cat, but it isn't your fault. I would never take my pet back there again.

[North_Of_60]

SOMETIMES when the quick grows out so much that the nail growth affects their paws (sometimes actually causing deformations in the bone) it's necessary to cut the quicks back. It's usually done under anesthesia, and then the quick (a vein) is cauterized to prevent bleeding.

However, this is usually only done in severe cases of neglect, like when the nails curl around and are digging into the under side of their pads. I DOUBT that was the case with your kitty. On the right nail it almost looks like the nail might be cauterized. For being as short as it is, it's not very red, and the edges of the nail look a little dark.

When this is done they're usually discharged with pain meds and antibiotics. It's quite painful, but sometimes necessary to prevent damage to the foot.

It's possible that a vet tech or assistant confused your cat with another animal (quicking is more common in dogs than cats anyway) and did it because that was the order. It could have been a combination of a clerical error/lack of experience.

Having said that, I'd RAISE HELL. If that happened to a person there would be hell to pay. Performing an unauthorized procedure while a patient is under general anesthetic, let alone one done by MISTAKE, is a huge, huge, huge, HUGE deal.

Or, they could have just done it while she was awake and totally botched it.

Poor kitty.

[outlier]

Only speculating here, but having volunteered in a vet office before, that's the kind of job they may leave for someone who, well, doesn't know what they're doing. I agree with PPs, call and raise hell about what they did. They absolutely owe you an explanation for this.

I hope your poor cat heals quickly! The nail bed is such vascular tissue, I imagine it won't take that long to repair itself.

[lonegirl]

The nails are not declawed.
We always do a complementary nail trim when ever we do anesthetics (often for our own safety before putting in an iv).
What it looks like they did is while your kitty was under they cut the nails right back (not as common of a thing to do with cats unless the nails were out of control) We do this sometimes with dogs whose nails have grown out so far that the quick has grown out (really the only way to get it back to a healthy length)
To declaw your cat you would know it the paws would be bandaged, the paws either sutured or glued, and your kitty would have some good pain meds to go home with (and they generally stay at least overnight)
Looking at the pics...I hope they had given some pain meds in house at it looks painful. I would complain...they should have let you know at discharge.

[Lily's_Mom]

Originally Posted by Tummy

This was totally done by a person who had no clue wtf they were doing, IMO!

Originally Posted by outlier

Only speculating here, but having volunteered in a vet office before, that's the kind of job they may leave for someone who, well, doesn't know what they're doing.

I totally think this is what happened.

Originally Posted by North_Of_60

SOMETIMES when the quick grows out so much that the nail growth affects their paws (sometimes actually causing deformations in the bone) it's necessary to cut the quicks back. It's usually done under anesthesia, and then the quick (a vein) is cauterized to prevent bleeding.

However, this is usually only done in severe cases of neglect, like when the nails curl around and are digging into the under side of their pads. I DOUBT that was the case with your kitty. On the right nail it almost looks like the nail might be cauterized. For being as short as it is, it's not very red, and the edges of the nail look a little dark.

Thank you for your explanation. We adopted Kitty (that's her name ) from the SPCA 7 years ago and when we brought her home, her nails were in desperate need of a trim. But I could only trim a little bit off of the nails on her back paws. And it's always been like that ever since. I guess the quick is grown out a fair bit, but no vet we ever saw mentioned the need for cutting and cauterizing.

When I say that I didn't want them to think I was neglecting her, I mean that usually I cut her nails every few weeks, and it had been over a month.

You say it looks like maybe the right nail was cauterized; maybe when Kitty came out of the anesthesia and started bleeding they tried to cover up the damage by cauterizing it? Because the right nail looks shorter, but the left one looks bloodier. Though they were both very bloody when I first looked. Her bath washed away the blood.

Originally Posted by lonegirl

To declaw your cat you would know it the paws would be bandaged, the paws either sutured or glued, and your kitty would have some good pain meds to go home with (and they generally stay at least overnight)
Looking at the pics...I hope they had given some pain meds in house at it looks painful. I would complain...they should have let you know at discharge.

Yes, I just had a moment of panic when I saw her bloody paws and thought, "WTF did they do!!" My husband was the first to think of declawing, but I knew really they had just cut too far.

She does have pain meds and antibiotics because of her dental surgery.

Though the pain meds are:

Metacam 0.13 mL tonight, and 0.13 mL repeated in 24 hours if needed.

Is this enough?

At least she is out from under the bed now, and snoozing in the clean laundry.

[Lily's_Mom]

Originally Posted by lonegirl

What it looks like they did is while your kitty was under they cut the nails right back (not as common of a thing to do with cats unless the nails were out of control) We do this sometimes with dogs whose nails have grown out so far that the quick has grown out (really the only way to get it back to a healthy length)

So I just went and inspected each of her toes. Even though all of the toes on her rear paws have the quick grown out to the same degree, only those two nails are cut back so far.

I think this was just a botched job by someone who didn't know (or care) what they were doing.

[North_Of_60]

Originally Posted by Lily's_Mom

You say it looks like maybe the right nail was cauterized; maybe when Kitty came out of the anesthesia and started bleeding they tried to cover up the damage by cauterizing it? Because the right nail looks shorter, but the left one looks bloodier. Though they were both very bloody when I first looked. Her bath washed away the blood.
.

No, they probably used a styptic powder, which is a first aid powder used to stop bleeding. Cauterization would have been under general, and if she re-opened the nails while awake it's unlikely they were cauterized. You can buy styptic powders it in pet supply stores. I have it on hand here at the house because I have earth terriers who have notorious long quicks and I do sometimes quick them while trimming nails. It stops the bleeding by causing the blood vessel to contract, and aids in clotting.

Usually with badly quicked nails they can re-open when the cat walks or uses the litter box, etc. It's USUALLY more messy and gross than it is painful, however, you kitty's nails are pretty short.

It probably wouldn't hurt for you to get some styptic powder to keep on hand while she's healing. If she re-opens her nails you just dip the nail in the powder and gently apply pressure. It will also seal the wound and prevent bacteria from getting in there and causing an infection.

[Lily's_Mom]

Originally Posted by North_Of_60

Usually with badly quicked nails they can re-open when the cat walks or uses the litter box, etc. It's USUALLY more messy and gross than it is painful, however, you kitty's nails are pretty short.

It probably wouldn't hurt for you to get some styptic powder to keep on hand while she's healing. If she re-opens her nails you just dip the nail in the powder and gently apply pressure. It will also seal the wound and prevent bacteria from getting in there and causing an infection.

Thank you again for explaining these things to me!

So do Kitty's nails look short, even compared to feline nails that have been purposely quicked?

We just phoned the pet hospital again this morning. I talked to the doc that's in there today (the doc from yesterday is not in). She seemed much more concerned about what's happened and asked for me to email her the photos.

We'll see what happens next!

Kitty seems okay today. Still snoozing in the laundry pile (normal behavior!) I'll have to see if she is still limping around.