Horrible euthanasia.

Dr. Marie replied:

Oh no. I am so sorry to hear that you had to go through this.

I have done probably thousands of euthanasias and while the vast majority of them are extremely peaceful, occasionally I will have a horrendous situation like this one. I know it is very traumatic for you. I can also tell you that it is very traumatic on the veterinary staff as well.

It sounds like the medication that was given initially was likely a combo that contained ketamine. With most cats the combo of a drug such as diazepam and ketamine will cause relaxation and an almost comatose state. From this state it is usually fairly easy for the veterinarian to find a vein and administer the euthanasia solution.

There is the odd animal though that can react to the medication and this may be what happened to Lucy. Ketamine can cause hallucinations in some animals.

The obvious question that most people ask is that if ketamine can cause this type of reaction, why use it? The problem is that every drug has potential side effects. If we give no medication then the act of trying to find a vein on a sick animal can be extremely stressful on the animal, veterinary staff and owner. Other medications can cause similar reactions but they happen more often than with ketamine. If I had to guess, I would say that out of my ketamine sedated euthanasias, perhaps less than .5 percent have this type of reaction.

I know it must have been horrible to see the nurse holding Lucy like she was. Please know that this was likely traumatic for the nurse as well. I have had similar cases where an animal is reacting badly to a medication. Your options are limited. If you let go of the animal then they can fall off of the table and sustain serious injury. If you don't hold them well enough, they can bite and scratch and severely injure the staff. I am positive that the nurse was doing what she had to do to secure Lucy as quickly as she could so that they could do the final injection as quickly as possible.

Please know that this is no one's fault. Do not allow yourself to feel guilt about having her put to sleep. You could not have prevented this.

The good news is that ketamine tends to cause what is called a dissociative state and what that means is that when an animal is reacting in a crazy way there are likely not conscious of what is going on. The look of terror that you saw on her eyes may not have been terror. Usually the drugs used in euthanasia will cause the pupils to dilate and this is probably what you saw.

I am so sorry for your loss. I absolutely hate situations like this. As vets we got into the profession so that we could help animals and no one wants to see a situation like this.

Dr. Marie


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