I think my cat is dying :(

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queenof3

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I had to put my 2 sweet indoor cats down last week. An only telling you this because it taught me what to watch for. Ezra was 19 but in perfect health. 2 weeks ago she was very disoriented and her back legs kept failing her. Took her to the vet who ran all the tests (that came back fine) and he said she was just dehydrated. 2 days later she was bumping into everything and very distraught. I think a stroke or something left her blind and messed with her neurological system. The vet missed that part I guess when he checked her retinas. Charlie was always an energetic cat at 10 and loved people. He started hiding, not eating, and puking green liquid right after drinking water. He had been to the vet 2 months before and got a clean bill of health. Last week when I took him in he had massive tumors all over his stomach and kidneys that had been growing for about 2 months according to the new doctor. Cats are so good about hiding illness to protect themselves so anytime they act differently take note. They can no longer hide it and are in need of help. What I would give to have those two back.
Im so sorry for your loss. It cant be easy to go through something like this. Two of my cats are getting older (10 and 7) and i get anxious just thinking about losing them. I am sure you gave them a warm and loving home and they loved you. I think, in the end, that's all that matters- the love you gave and received from them. Thanks for that.

Cats are definitely very good at hiding their illnesses and suffering. All we can do is hope that we figure out the problem before it's too late. I wish you healing thoughts :rbheart:
 
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lilysguardian

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Hi Fuzzycat , thanks so much for asking <3

To be honest, I had a couple days I didn't want to post here on the forum.  My sweet Lily got out of the garage when I needed to open it again on Monday.   I had to coax her out because she was under the car I had to use for work.  She had been acting stronger and marched outside and around my house- but then was not seen again.  At all.  From Monday to Thursday it was if she disappeared.  I hunted my 1 acre yard and barn from top to bottom, walked my neighborhood, asked neighbors.... fearfully looked up and down the highway a half mile down the road... on Wednesday night we had a huge rainstorm and it was at that point I gave up hope... i figured she had went off to die as I have read that so many outside cats do. My heart was broken and I just didn't have the strength to publish it here.

Well, color me surprised on Thursday evening when I went outside to put a watermelon rind on my compost pile and heard crying from the bushes.  LILY CAME BACK!  She is actually acting a lot more like her normal self- avoiding me but wanting to be in my garage.  She no longer wants to eat the special A&D food but took interest in Sheba wet food.  Her sides still sink in as they did when she began to get sick but I have seen her eat a few times so I hope that maybe she'll get away from that 'figure'. I'd like to take her back to the vet again after everything that happened, but...maybe this is good news, but I can no longer catch her as I could when she was 'super sick'.  I can't say that things will still be well tomorrow, but I'm really encouraged from the past couple days.. .I feel like I had my sweet kitty come back from the dead.
 

mani

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That's lovely.  I hope things go really well from now on.
 

msaimee

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That's great! Feral cats are very smart and resilient. It sounds like your kitty still has a lot of fight left in her!

Sometimes my feral, Muffin, appears tired and depressed, and there are also times when his appetite is low. I think ferals sometimes eat rodents and get upset tummies, or maybe sometimes they just get tired from being outside all the time. It's hard not to worry about them, but I've learned not to assume the worse when a feral has a few "off" days. Please keep us posted on how your kitty is doing.  
 

fuzzycat

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It sounds like she is a smart cat. Isn't 11 years twice the average age for outdoor cats?

One quick thought, did the vet check her teeth carefully? I am assuming he did, but even ferals can get stomatitis. Basically, they get an infection in their gums. It becomes painful to eat, which results in weight loss etc.

It wouldn't show in bloodwork. Just a thought.

Good luck with her.
 
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lilysguardian

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You all are so sweet <3  Thank you for the replies, Norachan , Mani , MsAimee , and Fuzzycat !  Fuzzy, the vet did check in her mouth during the initial exam.  I was surprised she let her do it and honestly also that her teeth were fine since she had never really had any dental care due to her feral nature.

I sadly have to post a setback now for Lily.  On Monday night, she began to have very labored breathing... to the point her mouth opens as she inhales.  Her appetite also had disappeared- slowly since she returned from the days I feared she had passed on, but progressively nonetheless.  I took her to the vet today after I got off work and things did not look good.  She is now 6lbs- down a pound from the initial weigh in when i first got her to the vet with this illness.  The vet did not want to stress her with an Xray due to her very sick presentation, but also did not palpate any masses and her lungs sounded clear.  She suspects that there is something going on with the fluid sac around her lungs.  We had a very frank conversation about Lily's life.  Basically, the vet said putting her to sleep may be the kindest option for her since she is so fearful of most people.  However, she said one thing we could try was giving her Lasix to see if it would help her breathe well enough that they could take the chance of Xraying her tomorrow to see what was really going on inside.  The reason she didn't want to do the Xray today was that she feared it would stress Lily out so much that due to her under-oxygenated state, that she could just die right there on the table.   I chose to have her get the Lasix, and my poor kitty really freaked out.. she was too weak to fight but basically flopped back and forth a few times and began wheezing (the vet said the medicine burns).  She ended up needing about 20 minutes of oxygen (a sweet vet tech held the nozzle up as close as they could to her face in the back of my pet carrier) which helped her get through it.  My instructions are to bring her back in after work tomorrow again, and if her condition is not improved, we will put her to sleep.  If they do improve, we will do Lasix shots for 4 more days and also treat according to what the Xray reveals.

In my heart I feel like this is the end for Lily.   My big beautiful kitty is just a shell of herself now.  I hope with all my heart things turn out well, but this is not looking good.  Please keep us in your thoughts and I will update again when I am able.  <3  Thanks for being such an amazing, supportive site.... you've really been helpful through all of this.
 

caralian

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Aww, she is a gorgeous cat, and you are such a sweet person. I truly hope Lily will get better. I know how hard it is to let them go, but sometimes there is no other humane thing to do. My old cat, Spoekie, was suffering from dementia and in the end we didn't recognize her anymore. Like you said, a shell of her former self. The vet told us that at least she was not suffering physical pain, but there was no chance, of course, of her getting better. Letting go is hard but necessary sometimes.

You did everything you could for Lily and I'm guessing she was somehow aware you were trying to help her and that's why she stayed calm. :)

My thoughts are with you and your beautiful Lily.
 

fuzzycat

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I agree with Caralian. You gave it an honest try and and when the times comes you can let go with dignity.

11 is old for an outdoor cat. Lily lived as long and as well as any inside cat. She had a good life.

Keep us informed of how she does.

Thinking of you.
 

Norachan

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Oh, poor Lily.

I hope she shows some signs of improvement tomorrow. It's so hard with semi-feral cats, they get stressed out and this just makes their condition worse.

Love and vibes for your beautiful girl.

 
 
 
 
 
 

petunia42

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Hoped that there would be positive news for Lily. She seems like such a sweet, happyhearted girl. Will hope for an update.
 

queenof3

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How's Lily doing? I really hope she pulled through.
 
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lilysguardian

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I'm so sorry I didn't come back to this site sooner. My sweet Lily passed away sometime the night of my last post here and I just couldn't bring myself to write again after that last post filled with hope.  It looked like she was sleeping so I'd like to think it was as peaceful as possible.  In the end, she went ahead and made the choice I dreaded so much for me.  I still miss her every day and hope she didn't suffer while I tried to figure out what was wrong.  I'm now faced with sudden health issues with my only other cat (2 years younger than Lily was, completely tame with regular checkups etc) which is why I am back here tonight trying to read up on the forums on similar cases (before she goes to see the vet tomorrow). A belated- but sincere thank you so much Caralian, Fuzzycat, Norachan, Petunia42, QueenOf3 for your kind words,they truly bring a tear of gratitude to my eye, even after all this time, as well as everyone who took the time to reply during Lily's illness <3 .
 
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Norachan

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I'm sorry to hear that. At least she went peacefully and had your love throughout her life. That must be some comfort to you.



I hope we can be of some help with your other cat. Have you started a thread for her?
 

blueyedgirl5946

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On behalf of The Cat Site moderating team, we are truly sorry you lost Lily. In order to express our sympathy and show respect for your lost this thread will now be locked. When you feel like it, you might consider posting a memorial to sweet Lily in our Crossing the Bridge Forum. The link is here.

http://www.thecatsite.com/f/19/crossing-the-bridge
 
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