My cat died after mastectomy surgery. What went wrong with her?

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.

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’m so sorry this happened. This is a better question for a lawyer or the veterinary board in your state. I will say that it is very common for cats to have subclinical heart disease that is not obvious on routine pre-anesthetic testing or a physical exam. I’m wondering if you’ve tried discussing your concerns with your vet as well.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am SO sorry! What a horrible situation! I wonder if Luna had an underlying condition where she was unable to metabolize drugs and anesthesia. She could have had a genetic liver shunt (porto-systemic shunt) or an MDR reception issue. This is a very abnormal response to a spay and I am very sorry that you went though this and poor Luna. Did you request a necropsy with your Vet to see if anything could be found? Again I am very sorry about your loss and I hope this helped.

Hi, I am sorry to hear that your cat suddenly passed away. Since her death was sudden and her clinical signs had resolved with treatment of chylothorax, I am also inclined to think a clot caused the sad outcome. I am sorry, it is very sad and unexpected. I have come across this before with trauma, heart failure patients and also in a dog post gastric torsion surgery. I send you all my sympathy.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry for your loss! I do see pleural effusion (fluid) on the X-ray but I would also suspect a mass, which is likely the cause of the fluid. That could be why your Vet couldn't get any. Most of the white on the X-ray is likely the mass and only a small amount of fluid. I wish you the best!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry for the loss of Kitty! The most common side effect of antibiotics is tummy upset: vomiting, diarrhea or not wanting to eat. My concern is that there was something else going on with Kitty. If she had a large parasite load maybe when the dewormer killed them it caused an obstruction or intussusception. I also wonder what symptoms she had when you took her to the vet and what the other injections she received. Antibiotics are not typically prescribed for just worms. I'm assuming more than just worms were affecting Kitty. Again I am sorry for you loss. Feel free to post again with further details or questions. I hope this helped in some way.