question about post mortems *upsetting*

not something i like to think about but... what exactly happens with one? and do they put them back together after? (sorry, can't think of another way to word it)

say i wanted to have a post mortem done and then spend time with the pet afterwards before cremation, would that be possible?

i couldn't bear the thought of ches having a post mortem but then realised i don't really know much about them.

Honey had one as she died under GA yes they do stitch them back up afterwards. And as you know, i took her to the crem myself xxx

biscandmatt1 said:

not something i like to think about but... what exactly happens with one? and do they put them back together after? (sorry, can't think of another way to word it)

say i wanted to have a post mortem done and then spend time with the pet afterwards before cremation, would that be possible?

i couldn't bear the thought of ches having a post mortem but then realised i don't really know much about them.

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I don't think they'd let you spend time with the animal afterwards I'm afraid, it won't be very nice to look at as with humans we can be dressed and cover the cuts but that won't happen with buns they'll be shaved so everything will be very obvious

ripminnie said:

Honey had one as she died under GA yes they do stitch them back up afterwards. And as you know, i took her to the crem myself xxx

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i am thinking maybe ches should have had one now. but then i wouldn't have been able to let maisie spend time with his body after would i? it's a difficult one. part of me can't bear the thought of it, but then there are unanswered questions.

Georgeypudding said:

I don't think they'd let you spend time with the animal afterwards I'm afraid, it won't be very nice to look at as with humans we can be dressed and cover the cuts but that won't happen with buns they'll be shaved so everything will be very obvious

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i think that might disturb me more than not knowing 100% what had happened to them. i guess it would depend at the time.

With a basic PM it is usually just an examination of the heart/lungs/gi tract

The incision can be closed afterwards, as with any surgical wound

More detailed PMs require tissue sampling and as to how much disfigurement would remain obvious after the PM would depend on exactly what the Vet needed to do

Generally an owner would spend time with the deceased Pet BEFORE the PM was carried out.

Jack's-Jane said:

With a basic PM it is usually just an examination of the heart/lungs/gi tract

The incision can be closed afterwards, as with any surgical wound

More detailed PMs require tissue sampling and as to how much disfigurement would remain obvious after the PM would depend on exactly what the Vet needed to do

Generally an owner would spend time with the deceased Pet BEFORE the PM was carried out.

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the pm has to be carried out within a certain time frame doesn't it? i would have had to bring ches home, let maisie say goodbye, then take him back for the pm again. i don't know if i could have done this or not. i didn't want to let him go. i just wanted to get to the vets as soon as possible and be with him and bring him back home.

it's awful to think about.

biscandmatt1 said:

i think that might disturb me more than not knowing 100% what had happened to them. i guess it would depend at the time.

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yes I think it would, Mae died at home and although I didn't have a PM done before cremation I spent time with her at home and once she was at the vets I didn't see her again. If she had died in the vets I'm not sure what I'd have done as I'd have wanted to say goodbye

Georgeypudding said:

yes I think it would, Mae died at home and although I didn't have a PM done before cremation I spent time with her at home and once she was at the vets I didn't see her again. If she had died in the vets I'm not sure what I'd have done as I'd have wanted to say goodbye

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I had 5hrs with Roger at the vets before he was pts. They gave me an office to sit in and kept checking on us and bringing me cups of tea, but my vet is probably the exception to the rule. He was pts a couple of hrs after the clinic had closed, and then my vet took over looking after him and laid him in a bay with his little blanket over him. For me I needed the time before while he was still with me, and then when he went it was just like a usual cuddle in my arms and he was still warm and that's how I wanted to remember him. Roger was cremated and I'm saving up for a gold bunny locket and chain that is one of those that you can put some of the ashes in, and then it is sealed, and I don't expect I will ever take it off.

Honey had samples taken from about 6 different organs/tissues, although she was already opened up for her surgery
It just looked like she'd had abdominal surgery afterwards, no disfigurement, just a shaved tummy with stitches. I still had to go and cuddle her to say goodbye, i couldn't not do that i just wrapped her in a blanket and gave her cuddles and kisses yes it's awful, but i had to know why she died xxx

Jack's-Jane said:

With a basic PM it is usually just an examination of the heart/lungs/gi tract

The incision can be closed afterwards, as with any surgical wound

More detailed PMs require tissue sampling and as to how much disfigurement would remain obvious after the PM would depend on exactly what the Vet needed to do

Generally an owner would spend time with the deceased Pet BEFORE the PM was carried out.

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thanks for sharing your experiences even though it's hard to think about.

the vets were pretty certain that ches had a tumour and i felt that he did myself and that is why he passed. if i was unsure about why they had passed i think i would maybe go for the post mortem. although i'm not sure if i could go through with it at the time.

I just want to add a few more (((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))) xxxx
It's hard to know what is best. I know I'd want to know what happened, but at the same time I have this uncomfortable feeling about something that messes with the body...I just don't know. I'm also trying to decide if I can get private crem for my pets I have now so I don't have to bury them here and can take them with me if they pass before we move.

The worst part being of course that we still wish they were here so we didn't even have to think about this stuff.
((((((((More hugs))))))))

I don't personally think I'd ever want to have a PM done on a pet.. I know unanswered questions are horrible but knowing what happened won't bring them back. I don't think I'd be able to give my consent for them to be cut open and examined.. I'd just want to bring them home to say goodbye and then bury them, which is what I always have done. Although I do understand why people have them done, it's not for me

it is awful to think about. i don't like the thought of them myself but i think it would depend at the time i think.

i've never really even considered them really but losing ches has made me think.

I had a post mortem done on Cinnamon (she died of acute pasteurella and was gone within hours of falling ill).

There were no external signs of illness, apart from a sudden weakness and 'unwellness'. We took her in as an emergency, but she died a few hours later. We went ahead with the pm because there were no external clues as to what had caused her death. She lived with her 3 siblings, so we had them to consider too in case it was something infectious (which it was).

Cinnamon had a full post mortem with samples taken from all her major organs. The only thing they didn't sample was her brain as I'd said that I wanted to bring her body home for burial so I needed her to still look like Cinnamon. She was stitched back up after the pm and when I collected her she just looked like Cinnamon asleep.

Cinnamon had pasteurella in her lungs and major organs. Two days later the other three fell ill. I'm glad I had the pm done as it helped with the treatment of her siblings. They all had pasteurella in their lungs and we nearly lost the lot of them, but thankfully they pulled through. Again there were no external signs, just a general unwellness, but thanks to the pm my vet had a good idea of what they were dealing with and got them straight onto the appropiate treatment. I think Cinnamon's pm saved her three siblings lives.

my cat George had one. when we bought him home you couldn't see he had been messed with.

thanks for sharing everyone. i don't feel as worried about considering them in the future now. (although not for a very long time hopefully!) :wave:

Just wanted to add, I always hated the idea of it aswell, I felt it was making them less perfect somehow I think for me, it was easier as Honey was already opened up for surgery, it would have been stupid not to take samples. But even if she hadn't, I would've had it done, I needed to know why she died and whether I could've prevented it from happening if it was something preventable I don't know how I would deal with it, but the fact that it was nothing that I had done wrong did help somehow. I still don't know why Honey got the disease she had, but it wasn't my fault and I couldn't have known. Xxx