Update on my cat's death on Mother's Day

cataan

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I spoke with the emergency vet who treated my cat.  My cat was alive when I arrived at the vet, though unconscious, non-responsive (i.e. no reflexive responses to stimulus like shining light in his eyes, pulling on his leg, etc.), and his breathing was agonal so he was intubated.  Heart rate 120 with normal sinus rhythm.  She said that although he was severely dehydrated, since he didn't show any prior behavioral symptoms like lethargy (e.g. that morning he was excited for his breakfast, happy, pranced around) and there was no acute dehydration involved (e.g. he had not been vomiting that day), it was likely a secondary factor and not the cause of his heart failure.  X-rays and ultrasound show nothing that would be involved with or precipitate heart failure like fluid buildup in the cardiorespiratory system or abdomen.  No internal or external bleeding.  Nothing.  She said there is simply no evidence of what caused his heart failure.  There might have been an underlying disease but for it to be that advanced that he would die of heart failure you would expect his behavior to have changed over time (lethargy, no desire to eat, not grooming, etc.).

Of course, that then makes me feel responsible because, as I said previously, the very moment I put him in the carrier he SCREAMED in a way I'd never heard before, then went into his groaning and wailing about going to the vet.  I keep thinking I caused some cascade of stress chemicals to cause his heart to give out (though I don't understand why it would remain in normal sinus rhythm as it did).  And while I agree it is certainly an unforeseeable event in general, the last three times he was in distress because of a hairball the reason I backed off and gave him time to deal with it was because I worried about overstressing him.

For my own sake if I ever adopt again (not sure if I will after going through this) I think I need to stick with adopting chill, laid back kitties.
 

sarah ann

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I don't think you did anything wrong. My dog died from acute kidney failure- he stopped eating and by the time I realized something was wrong, it was too late. Ever since he was a puppy he would wake up some mornings not hungry. Since he was overweight I never thought anything about it.  So when he did get sick and skipped eating, I didn't realize how sick he was... Acute kidney failure happens very very rapidly and by the time symptoms show 70% of the kidneys are not functioning.  So by the time he skipped that meal, he was already deathly ill and I didn't know it, and I don't think he knew it either.

It is not normal for a cat to stop drinking. Something else must have been wrong other than the dehydration.

Taking him to the vet was the right thing to do. Even if he didn't make it. My vet told me my dog's heart would have given out even if I had not taken him in.

Very sorry for your loss. As difficult as it is, i don't know how you could prevent that. It is like a car accident or being struck by lightning.

My vet found that my dog had some sort of severe bacterial infection of the blood (sepsis). How it happened, or why, I will never know. Nor could the vet explain why a healthy dog would get that sick, that quickly.

It is tough. Please take the time to mourn before getting a new cat. I made the mistake of getting a new puppy, and even though I play with her every day, I do not feel any level of attachment. It hurts too much.
 
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