Advice on coping with the loss of our cat

Hi everyone, I'm new to the board and could really use your advice  / support on an unfortunate event that happened recently...Yesterday morning my wife and I woke up to the howls of our cat at 4am. When we went to check on her, we found that she was unable to move, panting, and again, howling constantly. We immediately brought her to the 24 hour emergency Vet, who quickly diagnosed her with a stroke due to several blood clots. She was "paralyzed" in 3 of her limbs as a result and the doctor recommended euthanasia for the pain - which we reluctantly went through with. 

Ever since then, we have been struck with immense grief and loss, as she was extremely special to us and truly part of the family. There has also been much guilt, as we are constantly wondering if we should have put her down or not. She was a shade under 7 years old, so she should have been in her prime, which make this even tougher. Any advice on how we can begin to cope with this / realize that we did the "right" thing?  She was fine and happy right before we went to bad so this whole thing has just been so devastating.

Your advice is much appreciated.

There is nothing more you could have done.  Strokes cause blood clots, which tend to cut off blood to an area, specifically limbs.  Saddle thrombosis comes to mind, although this is typically to the rear legs.  I am not a technician, but the symptoms seem similar.  If so, it is very painful, and not usually something a cat can survive, I have only heard of one in my limited research.

It is good that you were home to get her to the vet so quickly so she did not suffer long.

You gave her a loving home.  This is a special gift you gave to her, and her love to you in return.  It is a very special bond.

I am so sorry to hear of your loss.  I wish I could offer some magic wisdom in dealing with grief, but I haven't figured this out for myself.

I agree that you did everything you could for your kitty.  I had to put down my 15 year old cat in 2010 due to a stroke.  I also do not think you have anything to feel guilty about.  You gave your baby a gift providing her with a chance to be loved and taking her pain away when you could not fix things.  It is a hard decision to make but it is one that sometimes must be made out of love.  

The feelings you are experiencing right now are completely normal.  You are going to feel a whole range of emotions while grieving for the loss of your precious baby.  I too felt guilty and struggled after we had to put our baby down.  I am sorry your baby was so young but strokes can happen at any time.  It is not fair to lose your baby at such a young age but sometimes there are things in life that we just can not control.  Please take the time you need to grieve for your baby.  I wish I could reach out and give you a hug.  One of the things that helped me work through the guilt I felt was looking at the things my cat enjoyed doing but would not have been able to do anymore. It took a while but I can now have happy memories of the time Claude was in my life.  I hope this will happen for you too but be patient with yourself.

You have come to the right place to get some support.

We had a favorite cat have a series of strokes when he was just 5 years old.  In the wild, that would be a long life; we really feel the loss and consider it young in an indoor cat.

Once the stroke happens, there's not much you can do, and some cats seem to be genetically predisposed to such strokes.  You did your best for your girl, and while it's natural to feel grief and loss and even guilt, I don't see anything more you could have done for a cat you clearly loved.
 

mrblanche said:

Once the stroke happens, there's not much you can do, and some cats seem to be genetically predisposed to such strokes.  You did your best for your girl, and while it's natural to feel grief and loss and even guilt, I don't see anything more you could have done for a cat you clearly loved.

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I'm very sorry for your loss. RIP, baby,

Like everyone has just said, the decision must have been awful for you both, but you made sure your little girl didn't suffer anymore than she had to.

I'm so sorry for your loss, and hope as each day passes the grief becomes easier for you both