Oh, that's a horrible thing to happen,
@Bildad , I'm so sorry!
Yes, I gave Poes the prescribed dose, it was only after he started to deteriorate that I googled the dose for cats.
However, I've done some thinking on it last night, when I was still very much afraid he wouldn't survive. My conclusion was that we all make mistakes, and sometimes our mistakes have horrible outcomes. It just happens.
We need to try not to make mistakes, and if we do we have to try even harder not to repeat them.
So I will have a talk with the vets office on how this happened to make sure they are aware it did happen and it had rather serious consequences (even though we were lucky in the end).
I will also make sure to let them know I am aware of mistakes happening, nothing to do about that, no hard feelings and I know they're only trying to make the best decisions.
I decided on this yesterday, when I wasn't sure yet if Poes would survive.
The medication he got was off-label for cats, although widely used in vet practices, so I have an inkling the right dosages might not be as clear in their computer system as on label medication.
I expect they'll want to look at that, as I'm sure they're as shocked by what happened as I am.
The dose was 2 to 4 times higher than advised, and a Google search told me Poes likely had a stronger reaction from that than would be expected. So possibly it was a combination of mild overdose and my cat for some reason being more susceptible than most to the effects.
Which throws in a large element of bad luck next to the dosing mistake.
When I called them last night (out of hours) the vet (different one) was very helpful and understanding, went out of her way to explain her thoughts and insisted I call her back late at night to inform her on Poes' progress, and again today, even if he was doing well.
She's obviously done her homework in the mean time as well (just like I did), as she had more information on wether to continue the medication or not, and changed her initial advice.
So so far I'm still very happy with my vets practice, despite the mistake!
It obviously gets way more complicated when, like in the case of your dog, so much money was spent to try to save it from the results of a mistake. My consult was only 35 euros, and they already said I'll get a refund for the tablets even though the package is opened.
The follow up phonecalls during the weekend and late at night are free, and I'm sure that if I had needed to bring him in for the overdose it would have been free of charge as well.
This obviously makes it much easier to not judge harshly.
Poes in the meantime is doing quite well!
He has spent lots of time purring in my lap and stealing my food, more than usual. I guess he's relieved he feels better as well, and I suspect he has somewhat like a hangover from his ordeal.
