"We have some bad news. Maggie crashed during her spay surgery and never woke up."
I sat back in my chair quietly and felt the disbelief pour into my head. Maggie was a foster cat that was rescued from euthanasia a few weeks ago:
It's never easy to tell a foster Mom that her foster cat has died. Especially a foster cat that was never sick and was put in the care of a qualified veterinarian. Shit...it was a routine spay surgery. Maggie's foster Mom is a friend of mine and a very experience foster Mom, so it was extra difficult to hear her sobbing on the other end of the phone. She didn't understand "why". Neither did I. I felt so useless.
I had so many things I wanted to write about today - two new foster homes, a couple of adoptions and more rescues this week....
...but for today, it's all about Maggie and the foster family who loved her.
20 comments:
I'm so sorry, Beth, you have no idea. I just had to let my beloved Annie go to the Bridge last week, after illness (no real diagnosis, possibly a number of factors...I'll never know). And the question of "why" can haunt us. The shock of Maggie's loss during a routine op is even harder to bear.
Please tell her foster mom that I'm thinking of her and sending love and Light...from one grieving cat mom to another--I understand.
-Kim @ Fuzzy Tales
Kim: I'm so sorry to hear about Annie! Thank you so much for your kind words. I know Maggie's foster Mom reads this blog and will appreciate the kind thoughts.
Beth
How sad and horrible! Could it be time to look for a new vet...
Rest In Peace Maggie -- take comfort knowing she at least received and experienced love before you crossed the rainbow bridge.
I'm so sorry to hear about Maggie and the pain her foster/adoptive family is going through. They are in our prayers.
This is always the hardest to understand. Sometimes it's a reaction to the anesthesia, sometimes it's a heart/lung defect that was undetectable before hand. Sometimes it's just a why, with no real answer. It happened just yesterday at the spay-a-thon and it shook everyone. And yes, they did everything they could to save her life. My heart goes out to the foster mom, I was affected by the death yesterday and it was "just a stray" that we'd never even met before.
Donna-the kattonic mom
My heart goes out to Maggie, the foster family and to your Beth. xo
I'm hurting for Maggie, her foster family, and you Beth. It'll never erase the hurt of losing a family member, but it's nice to know she was loved before she left us, and didn't leave in pain.
I know, logically, that even the most routine surgery has se risk this could happen. But to actually have it happen is still a shock and a terrible blow. I'm just glad Maggie's last days were loved and safe, without suffering. I'm sure she considered herself unbelievably lucky.
I recently had a seemingly perfectly healthy 18 month old cat just... die. It's awful. I'm so sorry for Maggie's mom.
Renee
That is a shock and you don't hear of such a thing happening very often. There is always a risk and I guess you have to be somewhat prepared for something like this when any cat goes under anesthesia. I'm so sorry for the foster mom and of course for Maggie and for you. You do so much and work so hard to make their lives better. This is just one of those things... Hugs, Deb=^..^=x5
Gosh, that is so sad. I always get so nervous when I take one in for spaying. Those poor foster people. Anyway, we are sending tons of purrs and prayers and some really big hugs too. So sad.
Poor Maggie but sometimes the unexplainable happens. Yet I still wonder how/if vets can be held accountable for this since there is no autopsy for cats (unless you pay big bucks). Hope the vet does the right thing and doesnt charge for operation...
That's so very, very sad, and my heart goes out to her foster/adoptive human. Sometimes these things happen and there is just no explanation. I imagine the vet feels awful too.
This is so sad. I"m glad that Maggie was rescued and loved before going on.
I know how the foster family feels. It's awful. I hope they decide to adopt another shelter cat soon. I know some people can't bring themselves to "replace" a lost pet, but I can't help but feel that giving a forever home to another needy cat can only help console them.
Rest in Peace Maggie
I am so sorry to hear about Maggie. Sometimes bad things happen that are out of our control. I've heard of other cats and dogs crashing for no apparent reason during routine spay surgery even with excellent and experienced vets. There's always a risk and it's one that we have to take. I'm glad that Maggie was loved by you and her foster family even if it wasn't for very long.
We are so sorry about Maggie.
How tragic...I am so sorry. Sympathy to Maggies foster mom and her family
I wanted to say thank you to everyone for their kind words and condolences for Maggie (aka Belly as my 2 yo called her). She was indeed a very special little girl who completely stole our hearts. Belly knew before we did that she had found her forever home and was going to be the second foster we'd adopted in 18 yrs. As my husband said, we were lucky that we got to share our lives with her, even if it was only a few short weeks. My legs are colder tonight without my little girl curled up on my lap :(. Thanks again everyone, your thoughts us that there are many people out there who really understand.
Jen
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