We have subsidised RM100 for the spaying of this female cat, which is Amy Lee’s first case of CNRM. It is most unfortunate that the cat passed away after the operation due to unforeseen underlying (suspected liver) problems. We hope this incident will not discourage Amy Lee from continuing with doing CNRM on the rest of her community cats. Sometimes, we do our very best, but there are some things which are indeed beyond our control. We hope Amy finds comfort in knowing this.
We also thank Agnes Cheong for doing all the emailing on behalf of Amy Lee.
From: Agnes Cheong
Date: Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 10:58 PM
Subject: Applying for Subsidy
To: Chan Kah Yein <chankahyein@gmail.com>Dear Kah Yein
Amy Lee Sew Tin is another cat-feeder in Brickfields feeding stray cats in the evening covering the area in front of the Temple of Fine Arts and the adjacent flats. After reading your book on CNRM, she understands the need to spay and neuter the cats. I also told her about AnimalCare’s subsidy of RM100.00 for the spaying/neutering of a male/female cat. She’s agreeable to spay or neuter the cats she’s feeding if I can provide transport (she has no car) and handle the payment of vet fees and subsequent claim from AnimalCare. She’s also agreeable to pay for post-spay boarding at the vet’s until full recovery so that the cats can be returned to their home ground.
So today I went at 4.30pm to pick up the first cat, a mother cat who delivered a litter about 2 months ago but Amy heard that all her kitties have died from motor accidents about 2 weeks back. Can I apply for the RM100.00 subsidy? Amy has paid me for the boarding fees of RM50. Attached are photos of the cat and vet bill. Tomorrow I’ll send a photograph of the cat after the spaying.
Thank you.
With metta
Agnes
From: Agnes Cheong
Date: Fri, Apr 12, 2013 at 4:23 PM
Subject: Re: Applying for Subsidy
To: Chan Kah Yein <chankahyein@gmail.com>Hi Kah Yein
I have sad new to report…this black female cat died in the night! She was spayed around 6.00pm yesterday evening and was breathing normally by the time the clinic closed at 7.30pm.
This morning as I was getting ready to go to the clinic to take her post-spay photo, the vet called to inform me of this unexpected happening. He suspected that the cat could have some kidney malfunctioning and thus could not excrete the anaesthesia. I agreed to have a post-mortem done. Although both her kidneys looked normal, he could not tell about her kidney function. But her liver was of a pale colour.
This being her first case of CNRM, Amy is very very depressed indeed.
With metta
Agnes
In the 1300++ cases of neutering we have subsidised so far, this would be the 4th case of fatality after the procedure. That is a 0.3% fatality rate. Not that statistics matter as every life is precious. More importantly, we must learn from these cases:
Case One (2010): A dog passed away the next day after a routine spaying while still boarded at the vet’s. The caregiver later admitted that the dog hadn’t been eating well prior to that but she had failed to report it to the vet.
Case Two (2011): A cat passed away after a routine spaying. The caregiver later admitted that the cat hadn’t been eating well for a few days but she also did not report it to the vet.
Case Three (2011): A rescued dog passed away the next day after a routine spaying. The rescuer had not noticed any discrepancy in the dog’s health before that. The vet suspected that a pulmonary embolism could have happened which resulted in a blood clot that made the heart stop.
In Cases One and Two, if the respective caregivers could have reported the poor appetites of the animals to the vet, the vet would not have proceeded with the operation. Spaying is a major operation and the animal needs to be in optimum health before it can be carried out. The same goes for vaccination and deworming too. There have been cases of animals dying after being vaccinated or dewormed (very young animals) because of poor health while the procedures were administered, although the numbers are small. Please ensure that your animal is in optimum health (as far as you know) and please let the vet know of any condition of the animal that might help in the evaluation of the animal’s suitability for any procedure.
In Case Three, it could have been an underlying condition which no one could have foreseen.
http://animalcare.my/2011/07/09/a-reflection-on-queenies-case/
Amy Lee’s cat’s case is Case Four and it could most probably be due to a weak liver, something which probably could not have been detected with a physical examination.
We hope Amy will recover from this sad incident and carry on her good work of looking after the community cats and getting them neutered.