Two Kittens Die at Orange County Clinic

A pet owners worst nightmare has left one Port Jervis woman heartbroken.

As a pet owner, I can't imagine how this poor lady is feeling today after losing her two kittens after bringing them to a clinic for a common procedure. According to News 12, Sharon Eagle from Port Jervis, sent her two kittens Dele and Shiana to get spayed last week at Roeder's Ark Veterinary Clinic in Otisville and the 9, and 15 month old kittens never made it home.

Eagle told News 12, that after being notified about her kittens passing away, she wanted answers and called the clinic for an explanation as to what happened, and was told,

"I don’t have an answer for you".

As with any procedure involving pet surgery there is always risk, but two pets passing away from the same procedure at almost the same time is uncommon. According to the College of Veterinary Medicine, the number of pets passing away after spay and neuter surgeries is extremely low. They report that less than 1% of reported procedures have resulted in death.

Eagle did say that she didn't set the appointments up herself as she had help from Jill's Ferals, a local non-profit organization that's helps folks from the Hudson Valley with low-cost spay and neutering services. She also said that when Jill, from the non-profit contacted her after the surgeries she said, "they just didn't wake up from the anesthesia." Eagle went on to say that, "I'm heartbroken. I really am. They were my babies."

The doctor who performed the procedure on the related kittens, Dr. Dolores Roeder told us that it's important for people to understand that they don't have answers as to why the kittens passed away because no autopsy was done. She did say that anytime a feral cat is brought in for spaying they are handled differently than house cats because of the threat of disease. They are also treated differently when they are given anesthesia. She said, "house cats receive anesthesia intravenously, were feral cats get an intermuscular shot".

As far as the procedure itself Roeder told us that both cats made it through the spaying and into recovery and were doing fine, to the point that "they started to stir around" after the procedure, but then they took a bad turn. She said it could have been a cardiac event or a brain issue that lead to the cats passing. She also said that her and her staff were, "shaken and heartbroken" at the losses and wanted to pass along their condolences to Eagle.