My cat died- few questions

Inka my 9 year old beautiful European cat died day before yesterday. I had to put her to sleep. She was suffering from arthritis since 2013 and she was on Metacam (Pain killer) . This winter she was limping a lot when she walked so we (me & my partner) took her few times to the vet. The vet told us we should increase the metacam dosage. We did that but Inka continued to limp. So we took her two weeks ago to the doc again and she asked to change the medicine and give her cortisone every day. We did that and since last Tuesday we did feel that Inka had become really quiet. She was eating normally but she was not playing with her twin sister.  We were worried but we thought probably it was the medicine. So we decided to take her to the vet again on last Friday ( 09/01/15) Although she was not active, she was eating well and slept on our bed every night as she did usually. On Friday around 7 am we woke up hearing some strange sound. WeI saw our beloved cat lying on the floor next to our bed and struggling to take breath. Mouth open...she looked as if she was in so much pain…We immediately took her to the pet emergency hospital where she was given oxygen immediately. They also gave few injections. The X-ray showed liquid in her lung. Then the vet told us she has to be shifted to ICU while they performed some tests. Around noon they told us, there is no improvement and they needed our permission to put her to sleep. With a heavy heart filled with this immense sense of loss and helplessness we had to say goodbye to our beautiful and most generous baby.  We have asked for a necropsy and the hospital said it would take a week.

I have few questions, I am sorry if it is a wrong forum to ask

Is metacam dangerous for cats? I read contradicting reports on internet?

Is cortisone dangerous for cats? I don't want to sue anyone ( the vet or the company). This is just for my peace. Because I am beginning to feel that if we had not put her under these medications, perhaps she would have lived long.

What would be the cause behind so much liquid getting filled up in the lung?  

Inka has a twin sister. And now after Inka’s death her sister  is showing some signs of depression. She crying a lot... … she is not sleeping well, but she is eating normally. We never had any pets before so I would like to know is there anything we could do to make her feel better. We are not leaving her alone at home. In fact, I have taken few days off from work so that I can be with her at home.

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Thank you all.

I am so sorry about the loss of your cat. It's so hard to lose a family member and even harder to have to give the okay to euthanize them.

I am by no means an expert, but when I did a search for Metacam, the worst side effects seemed to be kidney (renal) failure. Her symptoms don't sound like that, and since she had been taking it for so long without any adverse effects, I'm thinking that's not the problem. I'm wondering though if it was the cortisone shot. Check out this article: http://felinedocs.com/dr-elyse-kent/steroid-use-in-cats-is-it-dangerous/

Maybe your cat was one of the cats this article spoke of when it said that if a cat has an underlying/undetected congestive heart failure, a cortisone shot can cause the lungs to fill with fluid. If this were the case, you and your vet may not have had a clue that this was going to happen at all.

The only advice I have for her sister is to give her all kinds of love and cuddles. Play with her a lot. Buy some new toys/treats. <3

Thank you for you kind words and support. Yes, I too feel it is cortisone we started giving her cortisone only 10 days ago.

I am so sorry about the loss of your pet.  It is terrible to see an animal in pain and suffering.  Of all the vets I have ever used, all have shown a great compassion for the well being of animals, trying to control their pain and suffering to the best of their ability.  Once the pain is beyond management, it is truly more humane to alleviate the animals suffering.  There is nothing worse to watch an animal suffer, it truly breaks your heart.  Although this is a painful time, be a peace knowing your precious pet has been freed from his pain and hold those dear memories close to your heart.

I am so sorry this happened.  You did everything you could for your kitty and hopefully the necropsy results gives you the answers you are looking for.

All medications have possible side effects, it's a possible side effects versus benefits thing.  Metacam, at least in the U.S is controversial and I used to be in the no Metacam ever camp.  I have changed my view though and believe that in certain situations the benefits do outweigh the risks.  Steroid use has it's possible side effects but they usually show up with long term use.  That being said I have a kitty that has been on a steroid for 4 years with no issues and I believe that for him the benefits far outweigh the risks from side effects.

I am so sorry for your loss[emoji]128546[/emoji] it's so very hard especially when they are young to lose a kitty. My cat mamacat had a problem walking much as yours and they thought it was joint related. her knee had a lot of scar tissue to where it has frozen up. Surgery was performed to break the scar tissue and get joint movement and metacam was given as aftercare. A few days later I took her to the cat specialist because she still wasn't better. On examination I was told her breathing was very heavy and in all likelihood it was cancer in her lungs that probably spread into her leg. While I was about to take my kitty to another vet for an ultrasound she started gasping for air and I had to let her go. Your kitty sounds like my mamacat . The medication may have done something to whatever may have been already there but I don't think the metacam is the sole culprit or a maybe even a culprit at all. You should bet some answers soon. After that experience I took each of the rest of my kittys one by one to the vet to have xrays done of their chests and bellies because I never want to ever to have to see that gasping for breath again. It's awful and I'm so sorry you had to go through that too. This all happened about 10 years ago. I have read about metacam since then had another cat with xray documented arthritis and she was treated fine with tramadol and adequan injections.

I am sooo sorry for your loss... it hurts so much to lose our sweet furbabies. As far as the littermate... I feel so sad for her too. My Minnie and Mikki were sister littermates as well, age 10. We had to put Min down 4 months ago and Mikki really changed. Mikki was a total daddy's girl due to the fact Minnie was more of a mommy's girl..but since Min passed, Mikki went through grieving as well. It's sad, as she howls in the middle of the night...but it would be up to 20 minutes and now is decreasing, although she will still get up in the night and howl even after 4 months. She has really become clingy... and now will cuddle with me whereas before...she only cuddled with my hubby. That part is nice for me.. but it is definitely sad when we just can't explain anything to them.

We had Min put down at the house and Mikki was in the room...she gave Min a lick on the forehead right after she passed...talk about tears... but we felt that would help her process what happened... but never realized just how much Min's passing would affect Mikki. They weren't cuddlers with each other but Mikki definitely is missing her. It didn't affect Mikki's eating pattern at all , thankfully.

It could be congestive heart failure, as that causes fluid in the lungs. Or some other infection.