Losing a cat every year for the last three years is not fun, and as of yesterday morning, I am cat-less for the first time in 25 years. My Kippy was... maybe 13-15 years old? I found him as an adult in the backyard 12 years ago and just brought him in the house. This past year has been rough for him, between fatty liver disease and chronic diarrhea that I suspect was IBD. But he chugged along, ate a little too well (10 or so ounces of canned food a day plus kibbles at night), drank, used his litterbox at least half of the time and while lethargic and skinny, found the strength to be a noisy pain in the butt whenever he heard the fridge open.
I just don't know what happened to him. It was so sudden. He showed no signs at all of deterioration and ate and drank just fine on Monday. I stuck him in the bathroom around 11pm on Monday and he was okay. For those wondering, he stayed in the bathroom because he liked to poop on the carpet at night, and all chemicals were kept out of his reach. At around 1 or 2 Tuesday morning, I heard him scratching around in his litter box, so he was alright then too. About 3:30, I get up and check on him again and he's limp in his bed, can't stand up or hold up his head.
I held him all night because I knew no one at the animal hospital would be available at 4am and the phone lines were down at my house anyway. He seized on and off for a few hours, and he seemed slightly better between seizures, holding his head up and was alert. He managed to give my hand a few head-butts when he was able to stay still, and after his second seizure, he just kept looking back and forth across the room. At that point, I wasn't sure if he was confused, scared or possibly couldn't see any longer. But then he just kind of went totally limp and kicked around every so often while trying to meow. I just held him for five hours until a vet was available.I'm shocked he made it that long, but am sorry he had to suffer for so many hours before I could finally let him rest. I couldn't bear to look at him when he had very violent seizures, but I still held him.
Like I said, no idea what happened to him. When I found him, his gums were bright yellow, leading me to suspect possible liver failure. Thing is, he wasn't yellow Monday. And I always check him every day. He would get a "bath" with a wet rag because he quit grooming himself, I'd check in his ears and his chin because he had kitty acne, and I'd check his eyes to see if the white membranes were yellow or orange (due to his history of hepatic lipidosis). He was a little pale, but he's been that way for months. Is it possible for his liver to fail that quickly? I'm positive he didn't eat or drink anything toxic. Could he have had cancer or some kind of other illness I didn't know about? With my other cats, I could kind of tell when they were on their way out, but Kip showed no warning signs. He just went from okay to dying in a matter of a couple hours.
There was no question about what to do or saving him at the vet's, and I assume if there was some shred of a chance he'd pull through, the vet would have told me as much.
I miss my kitty so much and tried so hard to help him when he got sick. I know he may not have had the best life, but I'd like to hope his life was better with me than it would have been had I left him outside. He was a sweet kitty and even when he started feeling sick and tired, he still always purred for me, showed me affection and very rarely played (which, for him, was nipping my finger when I put it on his nose). I just hope he knew how much I loved him.
I just don't know what happened to him. It was so sudden. He showed no signs at all of deterioration and ate and drank just fine on Monday. I stuck him in the bathroom around 11pm on Monday and he was okay. For those wondering, he stayed in the bathroom because he liked to poop on the carpet at night, and all chemicals were kept out of his reach. At around 1 or 2 Tuesday morning, I heard him scratching around in his litter box, so he was alright then too. About 3:30, I get up and check on him again and he's limp in his bed, can't stand up or hold up his head.
I held him all night because I knew no one at the animal hospital would be available at 4am and the phone lines were down at my house anyway. He seized on and off for a few hours, and he seemed slightly better between seizures, holding his head up and was alert. He managed to give my hand a few head-butts when he was able to stay still, and after his second seizure, he just kept looking back and forth across the room. At that point, I wasn't sure if he was confused, scared or possibly couldn't see any longer. But then he just kind of went totally limp and kicked around every so often while trying to meow. I just held him for five hours until a vet was available.I'm shocked he made it that long, but am sorry he had to suffer for so many hours before I could finally let him rest. I couldn't bear to look at him when he had very violent seizures, but I still held him.
Like I said, no idea what happened to him. When I found him, his gums were bright yellow, leading me to suspect possible liver failure. Thing is, he wasn't yellow Monday. And I always check him every day. He would get a "bath" with a wet rag because he quit grooming himself, I'd check in his ears and his chin because he had kitty acne, and I'd check his eyes to see if the white membranes were yellow or orange (due to his history of hepatic lipidosis). He was a little pale, but he's been that way for months. Is it possible for his liver to fail that quickly? I'm positive he didn't eat or drink anything toxic. Could he have had cancer or some kind of other illness I didn't know about? With my other cats, I could kind of tell when they were on their way out, but Kip showed no warning signs. He just went from okay to dying in a matter of a couple hours.
There was no question about what to do or saving him at the vet's, and I assume if there was some shred of a chance he'd pull through, the vet would have told me as much.
I miss my kitty so much and tried so hard to help him when he got sick. I know he may not have had the best life, but I'd like to hope his life was better with me than it would have been had I left him outside. He was a sweet kitty and even when he started feeling sick and tired, he still always purred for me, showed me affection and very rarely played (which, for him, was nipping my finger when I put it on his nose). I just hope he knew how much I loved him.
I'm sure he knew and felt your love for him and was grateful for the time with you.
