Hi Lucy you could try this site, its for dogs but you should be able to find links for cats.
hhtp://srdogs.com/Pages/rimadyl.wsj.html

You could take buzzy to another vet for an autopsy. It does sound suspicious for your vet not to want you to take him home & I think I would go for an autopsy. Sorry about your buzzy.
Christine2

Lucy,
I am so sorry about the loss of your beloved cat. If you do decide on a post-mortem exam, be sure to mention the request for a "necropsy". Autopsies are done on humans; Necropsies upon animals.

I'm not trying to be rude or wishing to upset you further. But vets, like any other drs. are unwilling to step on the feet of others within the profession. If you use a more accurate terminology, it might help to raise the level of respect that you will receive :rolleyes:

Good luck and all my sympathies to you.
Sara

I don't think the term necropsy is used much in the UK Sara, autopsy or post mortem will do perfectly well here.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

I agree Joan, I have never heard of the term before.
Infact I have just been talking to my vet and he used the word 'autopsy'.

Leigh

Ok, just disregard my blather... I guess it's different in Germany and in the US. All of my vets have always used "necropsy" :rolleyes: :)

Hi Buzzybee

Sorry for the loss of you little cat..I don't understand why the Vet would not give you the option of letting you take your cat home for burial...if you do wish something to be done I would act quickly...I used to be a veterinary nurse, and without going into detail or upsetting you further...once an animal dies, they do not keep them for long. If you feel strongly about it I would ask for a post mortem, and say that you are not satisfied, and he seemed fine yesterday when you saw him. Aske them to explain how he could have such a dramatic turn...

You have every right to take him home if you would prefer to do so...stick to your gut instinct on this one...as painful as it might be...

Regards.

Natasha

I must agree with Leigh, shock is a big factor in this...you boy sounds as if he was quite badly burned, and shock can take upto 24 hours to set in...I would have thought the vets would not have overdosed him on rimadyl, but would have given him what they thought would have been necessary to keep him calm, If you want him back there is no reason why the vets should keep him....Do you know who did this to him...can you prosecute??

Natasha

Just to say I am sorry about your cat.

Theresa

Bussybee,
So soory about your cat...Hopefully with what the vet did the cat didn't die in pain..

Think of it like that and you may not be so upset. It is awful I hope you find out who done this.

Pam

I am so sorry about your cat .Gillian

Lucy - I'm really sorry to hear about Buzzy :(

I have to agree with the other posters comments about shock being a killer. Your vets were wrong to try and stop you from bringing Buzzy home - what happens to him is your choice, not theirs!
It's a very sad and difficult time for you. Burns are an awful injury and can be a cause of death much later on - sometimes weeks later! :(
My thoughts are with you - Buzzy is not in pain now and no one else can hurt him.

Really sorry to hear about what happened to your cat.
Personally I think you're right to question the use of Rimadyl. As a result of a lot of controversy about this drug, Pfizer, the company that produces it, issued a new information sheet in 2000 - you can view it on http://www.gooddogmagazine.com/rimadylinfosheet.htm

Under the question 'who should not be given rimadyl', it states quite clearly that rimadyl should not be given to cats.

Joyce

Joyce, deviating only slightly I hope, :) I asked the vet not to give Barney Rimadyl after his ops and they gave me Metacam which I have now been told isthe liquid form of Rimadyl so I wasnt too chuffed, although he was absolutely fine and it did help him a lot but not sure what I would have done if I had realised they were one and the same. Mind you perhaps I misundestood
Gina x

Hi Gina
I always thought that Metacam was given as an alternative to Rimadyl. I didn't think they were two different forms of the same drug - but perhaps someone a bit more scientifically minded might be able to enlighten us !!
Regards,
Joyce

Hi Joyce, so did I but I am sure someone on Champdogs said it was the liquid form but cant find it in the search so am probably wrong as usual :) :)

Gina x

HI Gina
Metacam or meloxicam is one of the newer forms of NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug). It is similar to Rimdayl (carprofen) only in that its an NSAID. Rimdayl has been around a lot longer than Metacam so a lot of vets actuyally find it easier to say its rimadyl in liquid form.

Metacam was designed by the company, so I understand, with dogs and their owners in mind. It s a liquid so you can dose exactly tothe right dose - no splitting tabs etc, and it goes on the dogs food so no having to hide tabs for our more discerning doggy chums.

some dogs that do well on rimadyl dont do well on metacam and vice versa but overall the side-effects seend with rimadyl (including death in the USA - eek) seem to far outweigh the problems with metacam.

hope this helps in some way
am not a teno but have a vet friend
also seem to be dyslexic haveing re-read this
sorry

Dear Joyce ,

Just wanted to say thank you for your advice , and for taking the time to reply to me :)

Would also like to thank everybody else who replyed , i shall certainly be writing a very stern letter to the vets asking them why this drug was given to my cat when its meant for dogs.They could be giving this Rimadyl to other peoples pets too.

They should be more careful , then maybe my little buzzy bee would be here still .

This is for you buzzy , rest in peace sweetie xxxxxx

Thanx to everyone love lucy xxxxxxxx

You're very welcome, Lucy.

In trying to find out what went wrong, it helps to ease the pain a little. Sometimes in our efforts to understand, we find a certain amount of healing. Hope this is the case for you.

I would be very interested to hear your vet's response in due course.

Best of luck

Joyce

Best wishes Buzzybee
Gina x

Lucy, sorry about Buzzy. In the UK injectable carprofen (generic name of Rimadyl) is approved for use in cats, but the tablet form isn't. Burns are very difficult to treat in humans and fatalites do tend to occur later rather than immeditially. I imagine they are even harder to manage in cats, so I think your vet's explanation is a reasonable one. Carprofen lasts much longer in cats than dogs, and it is longer acting than pethidine, so the vet probably wanted to keep Buzzy comfortable after the pethidine wore off. I don't know how safe opiates like pethidine are in cats, but would imagine its far from easy to keep the dose at the right level for any period of time. If it will give you peace of mind, go for a post mortem as I think you'll find that your vet can answer all of your points expect perhaps the one about wanting to keep Buzzy.

So sorry Lucy. A similar thing happened to me last year. My cat went into shock after vaccinations last year.The vets insisted he had FIV, he tested negative.They then said it was Felv, he was negative. They then said he had FIP and tested him for that....you can't test for FIP until the animal is dead.I contacted the Feline advisory bureau F.A.B who said it sounded very much like the cat had gone into shock, he was very little and had just recovered from cat flu when they insisted on vaccinating.He should never have been vaccinated.The vet was giving him an antibiotic called synalux which made him much much worse, FAB advised steroids for shock.After I nearly bawled the place down they gave me the steriods.He picked up and was back to full health within 2 weeks.Thinking everything was okay I went to america for 5 days to see my husband who was working over there.My mum had taken the cat for his check up and...yup..the vet pumped him full of synalux and gave my mum tablets to bring home.When I got home the poor cat had lost the use of his back legs.I eventually saw a different vet from the same practice who admitted the cat probably did react to vaccines,could've recovered on steriods and that the other vet had misdiagnosed FIP.He said the cat was paralysed permanently,and in the end poor Taffy was put to sleep.The trouble is certain vets appear to be totally ignorant of cat illnesses,relying on common diagnoses/practises to bail them out.It makes my blood boil.
Julie
Just read above, the vet has also given my other cat metacam oral suspension for dogs.

Dear Julie,
So sorry to hear about all the tests and problems created by the vet for poor Taffy. I hope you're OK.

As I mentioned above to the other post Metacam is an NSAID like Rimadyl but is much easier to give to cats as its an oral suspension instead of a tablet. I know it is certainly licensed in an injection form for cats and dogs (pre-op for immediate pain relief in an acute situation or so cat/dog wakes up from operation pain-fee - or in as little pain as possible) but not yet for the longer-term oral suspension. Whilst not yet licensed for cat use there is a lot of veterinary anecdotal evidence that cats respond well on their small doses and very short-courses which is possibly why your other cat has been given Metacam?

I hope all is well
Zan