Why did my cat die after neutering? Anesthesia or other causes?

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your kitten! How awful. No, it's not at all common for an otherwise healthy animal to pass away in recovery after surgery, but it does occasionally happen - a horrible nightmare for everyone involved. If you want to try and determine what may have caused Yeti's death, I would recommend asking for an autopsy to be done (called a necropsy in animals). Some possible causes of a sudden anesthetic death like this would include an occult cardiomyopathy (meaning a heart problem that was not showing any symptoms and could not have been detected beforehand), or an allergic reaction to one of the anesthesia drugs that were used. I can tell that you're very upset, and I don't blame you. I would recommend sitting down to talk with your vet so that you can ask them to explain exactly what happened and give any additional information that they may have about his exam findings, the surgery itself, etc. to help you understand why he may have died. They may not know why either, but they should be willing to talk with you and do their best to answer your questions. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.

I am so very sorry to hear about your loss of Caster. There are many different things that can cause death after a surgery, ranging from infection, unknown cardiac (heart) issues, aspiration pneumonia, adverse/allergic reaction to drugs used during anesthesia, and more. The only way to truly determine the cause of death would be a necropsy. I am very sorry for your sudden loss, I am sure you are heartbroken and frustrated.

Prior to surgery she was mildly anemic which may have been secondary to a parasite, fleas, infection, blood loss, or possibly it was just normal for her. Since her HCT dropped to 4.2 after surgery, I am concerned that she was bleeding internally. The only way to know the exact cause would be to have a necropsy done to look for abnormalitites. I am so sorry that your cat had to be put down. That is very sad.

It isn't likely to have caused whatever is causing the symptoms. It is likely he had a pre-existing condition that may have been aggravated by the anesthesia. Many of these drugs are filtered by the liver and kidneys. Blood work is a start. Submit a stool sample to diagnose intestinal parasites, bacterial overgrowth or malabsorption/maldigestion issues. Whatever the underlying cause, supportive care is likely indicated. Discuss a feeding tube and parenteral nutrition (IV nutritional support) with your veterinarian.

It is possible that he could have had a reaction to the anesthesia or just the stress of being neutered. Or it could be completely coincidental and it could be secondary to something else like parasites, foreign body, a sudden change in food, pancreatitis, an underlying infection, and much more. I would try to feed him some plain boiled boneless and skinless chicken and white rice. I would also try to start him on some probiotics. Your vet should be able to provide these or give you some recommendations. You can try some plain sugar free yogurt but the probiotics in this isn't as good as the cat probiotics because we have different bacteria in our gut than in cats. The next step should be to have him re-examined and likely have some bloodwork done. I would also make sure the vet has ruled out an parasites including giardia which is difficult to find on a regular fecal test. If your vet doesn't think there is a foreign body, they will be able to provide him with a good anti-nausea medicine to help with the vomiting. I hope this helps!

Hello. I am so, so sorry for the loss of your kitty. There is really no way to know if this was a surgical/medical error, if there was any underlying health concerns, or just really bad luck that she had so many problems after her surgery. Without a necropsy, there is no way to see or understand why this happened. You can contact your state board of veterinary medical examiners & lodge a complaint. They will ask for the surgical records & if something is amiss, they will investigate. That is about all you can do. Again, my condolences on your loss & thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

First off, I'm so sorry Bones died! If he feel off the roof, he could have suffering internal injuries that he slowly succumbed to over time. He could have had head trauma from the fall. It's also very serious that he picked a scab off to the bone and exposed a nerve, and he could have developed a severe infection from that. Finally, it's very serious when cats don't eat, and if they go too long without food they will develop a fatty liver. A fatty liver is fatal without treatment, and if Bones went a week without eating, he could have died from a fatty liver. Unfortunately without seeing him in person, I can't say for certain what caused him to pass away, but please accept my condolences for your loss.