Was the Animal Specialty Center of Yonkers negligent by failing to diagnose a foreign body inside my cat which cause her death?

April 19, 2017

Question

On Monday, February 27th at 2am, I found my cat, Sashi, on my bed extremely listless, motionless, with very shallow and rapid breathing. I rushed her to the Animal Specialty Center in Yonkers. I stated that she is diabetic and suspected hypoglycemic shock. This was confirmed and her blood sugar was brought up and stabilized. On the morning of the 28th, she went into cardiac arrest and died. I requested an autopsy. The findings were that she had ingested a plastic foreign body that completely obstructed her intestine causing Sepsis, meningitis, and eventual death. Dr. Hueter (the veterinarian) stated that since Sashi was not throwing up, they had no reason to suspect a foreign body and had no reason to perform any x-rays or an ultrasound.

I would like to know if the hospital was negligent by not performing just one x-ray, especially being the case where her liver function was skyrocketed and she did not recover once her blood sugar was stabilized. I feel that the hospital should have searched further and diagnosed the foreign body and think that they are negligent for missing this.

Answer

Sorry to hear about Sashi. Even with an x-ray, the plastic object may not have been detected, as not all plastic items will show up on an x-ray. As others have pointed out, NY law only recognizes cats or any other pets as property - with replacement value as the only remedy for loss. Perhaps you might consider adopting another cat...

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