How a Veterinarian Killed My Cat

I took my cat, Kiwi, into the vet for a simple procedure. The veterinarian, Dr Tracy Wachbrit, made a careless mistake that cost my beloved cat his life. He's been to the vet three times since 2018 for constipation. However, this time, my regular vet, Northeast Animal Hospital was closed due to a local conference. So after calling several other vets, the earliest appointment I could find was with Animal Kindness at 10:30 Wednesday morning.

I took him in and everything seemed to be going fine. I explained the situation and history to the doctor, and she took him in and said she would call me later. Well she did call me later only to tell me instead of giving him an enema with "Feline Pet-Ema", she gave him Calsorb, a calcium supplement for dogs. This is toxic for cats. I don't understand how anyone would just give out medicine with out checking to see what it was. Storing different kinds of medicine, that look similar, next to each other is no excuse. That is all the more reason to look at the package before you use it. Would anyone reach in their medicine cabinet and blindly grab a bottle of pills and take it without looking and insuring it was the right one, just because you know that's where you normally keep it? I doubt it. Basically that's what she did, and this is unacceptable and she should be held accountable.

She told me she called ASPCA Poison Control, and PRN, the manufacture. They told her that there is no data to confirm anything in particular. But after talking to them, she seemed confident everything would be okay. She gave him another enema of simple solution to try and flush the calcium out. I think she also gave him an IV with fluids. When I picked him up she gave me a few things to watch for, and gave me some medicine that was supposed to help control GI irritation. 

When I got him home, I gave him the medicine and about ten minutes later he vomited an ugly thick brown liquid. About an hour or so later he drank some water and the same thing happened. He also tried to use his box several times and was unable to go. At this point I called the ER. They suggested I call poison control, so I called and talked to the ASPCA where the vet called earlier this afternoon. During my 47 minute conversation with Jen, she consulted with another doctor, and then suggested I discontinue the medicine and take him into the ER. 

At the ER they did an exam and suggested he be put on IV for fluids and get another enema, and gave him a shot for pain. Dr Vriend also mentioned he heard a heart murmur. They wanted to keep him for the night, and I should pick him up in the morning and take him back to the vet. Which I did. He also said after the pain meds, he didn't hear the heart murmur anymore. So we were thinking it was just being scared or the stress of everything he's been going through.

The next two days they continued to give him fluids, more tests, and several more enemas. I would pick him up at night and take him home and bring him back each morning. It was so sad. He was in distress the whole time. He was really weak and had a hard time walking. He was also leaking fluid from his butt, and it was difficult to clean him up. I could tell it was painful for him when I gently patted his bottom with a paper towel. He was not eating, so on Friday and Saturday they syringe fed him at the vets office, and on Saturday they instructed me to do the same thing after I took him home which was around mid-day. He didn't like being fed like that and spit out half of what I gave him. On Saturday Dr McAllister, the owner of Animal Kindness, was there and did the test and exam. When giving me a rundown of the situation, something seemed off. He was standing in the doorway talking to me, but never made eye contact. It just seemed weird. He was staring at the wall or the computer while talking to me. I thought maybe he was holding something back, I don't know. It was just an odd feeling during this conversation.

When I got Kiwi home, there wasn't much change. Still lethargic, week, not talking, not eating, and not grooming. Later that evening he seemed to be breathing a little heavy. Also he urinated five times, all small, since I brought him home.

In the morning he looked worse. He was breathing hard with his tongue out. So we immediately took him to the ER. Dr O'Dea did the exam and said he suspected congestive heart failure. We elected to do more tests and start a treatment plan. This included several medicines and oxygen. We left him in their care but checked later by phone and Dr O'Dea said slight improvement, but still difficulty breathing and to check back later. We called a couple of hours later and it was not good news. He was still the same, and Dr O'Dea said in his opinion, Kiwi was suffering and it was time to let him go. 

We got down there and they put us in a room. A few minutes later they brought Kiwi in our room from the oxygen cage. He was breathing heavy, and seemed very uncomfortable. It was extremely sad. In just the few minutes we had him I could see him get noticeably worse without the oxygen. He cried out three time in discomfort. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see this. I'm 65 years old, and this was one of the most difficult things I have ever gone through. It made me sick. I am getting choked up as I write this. I still feel sick about this whole, preventable, situation. I keep walking around the house wonder how in the world can this happen to a beautiful innocent little cat. I can't believe this is happening. I've said that hundreds of times since this mess started. And it's true, I can't believe this happened.

I know Dr Wachbrit didn't do it on purpose, and she tried to make things right. Dr O'Dea said what ever problems he may have had, if any, this just put him over the edge. The bottom line is that Kiwi was a perfectly normal, healthy, 9 year old cat when I took him in there, except for the constipation. She administered the wrong medicine and that's what put this whole situation in motion. How can anyone give out medicine without even checking what it is. That is inexcusable. I don't understand how a doctors office can be so careless. He was given IV Fluids Wednesday afternoon, then again that night and early Thursday at the ER, then more Thursday and Friday in the Vets office. This certainly could have caused Fluid Overload that led up to the Congestive Heart Failure. My beloved little Kiwi went through hell for five days leading up to the CHF. Four trips to the vet, two trips to the Emergency Room, countless enemas and IV's, in and out of cages and carriers, being poked, prodded, manhandled, e-rayed, and force fed. It was horrible to watch. Typically he never leaves the house, and he doesn't like visitors, so I'm sure this was terrifying for him. There is absolutely no doubt, that had the correct enema been performed initially, this never would have happened. Now he's just a memory because of a stupid mistake. And unfortunately, the memory of the last few days is absolutely heartbreaking.

I will also mention that the owner of the Animal Kindness Veterinary Hospital, Dr Brian McAllister, has a Public Letter Of Reprimand from 2016, for negligence in the care and death following the surgery of a 6 month old male cat named Figaro. You can download the file below.

I am posting this for informational purposes. I think the public should be aware of what happened and then anyone can make their own decision on how and where to have your pet treated. It was a tragic mistake, and I believe Dr Wachbrit did all she could to take care of Kiwi. Plus the staff at Animal Kindness were very nice, helpful, and supportive.