Bella my cat of 10 years passed away today

2 days ago, Bella came home from outside at around 7 p.m.. She had scratches on her nose, but otherwise seemed fine, until 2 hours later when I noticed she was bleeding very badly from her side. It was already 11 p.m. so we had to rush her to an emergency vet 1 hour away. We spent 5 hours there, they did x-rays and put a bandage on her, told us the x-rays looked fine and they didn't see any puncture wounds in her internal organs. So they sent us home. Yesterday we took her to the vet in our town and they checked her wounds and said they looked ok, so they released us. Then tonight, she went to use the bathroom and suddenly she starting jumping around and finally laid down and started panting very heavily with her mouth wide open. She was crying very loudly when she could and we tried everything we could to help, but no vet in my town was open and the emergency vet was too far away...we had to watch for an awful 30 minutes as she slowly and painfully died.

I feel so awful. I wish so much there was something I could of done, I felt so helpless and like there was nobody to count on to help her. I feel like I failed her and I'm so scared she died thinking we weren't trying to help. I miss her so much, I don't know how I will get over this...my family loved her so much.

Rest In Peace my pretty kitty <3 I'm so sorry you had to die in such a horrible way. 

What a horrible, tragic experience to go through! I cried when I read your post, I could feel the helplessness and terror come through and it broke my heart. You in no way did anything wrong, you brought her to two different vets and if they couldn't save her, you know you did all you could at the time. Bella's suffering is at an end, but your broken heart will bring pain for a long time. There was no way to predict something like this, it was something beyond a trained vets and your control.

I know all the should haves and could haves are there, we humans always beat ourselves up over something we cannot change, and I can tell you from experience it does nothing but bring heartache. It will be impossible to block the memories of those last moments, but you have to try to replace them with memories of a happier time. Bella would not want to be the cause of such sorrow for you, she loved you above all else and only wants for you to be happy. If you were the one to go first, you know in your heart you would want for her to be happy and learn to love once again, she wants no less for you now. She spent 10 years of her life's journey with you, a life filled with love and caring. It would have been far more tragic to have never had that sweet little girl in your life at all. Celebrate what you two shared and concentrate on the love that is still coming your way through the bond that will tie you together for the rest of your life. Yes, she is physically gone from your home and your life now, and the emptiness you feel is overwhelming at times. But she will be always with you in spirit, which just like love, cannot be tied physically to this earth forever, but nonetheless is with you always as a part of your own heart and soul.  

I'm so very sorry your precious Bella had to go through this, I wish it could have been different. But we cannot change the past no matter how much we want to, and all we can do now is comfort ourselves with our happier memories and receive understanding from those who have been through it before. It helps to let some of the pain out through sharing it with others,  I'll pray for you both. Thank you for letting us know of this beautiful girl, she deserves to be mourned by many and now she will be. Take care.................RIP precious Bella, may your journey to the Rainbow Bridge be swift. There you can send your love to the ones you love and miss so very much with the pure light from the beautiful new star that is you. Know you will never be forgotten and loved forevermore. Goodnight sweet Princess!        

I'm so sorry for the loss of your beautiful Bella. I too am shedding some tears as I write this. I am sorry her passing was so terrible and that you had to watch helplessly as your baby passed. You did everything in your power to help her and she knows that. You were with her as she made her journey across that Rainbow Bridge and that was a huge comfort to her. Be kind to yourself...Bella would want that for you. Bella is at rest and no longer in pain.

[emoji]128149[/emoji]RIP Sweet Bella[emoji]128149[/emoji]

Very sorry to hear this, sorry for your loss. You took her to 2 vets, you did all that you could do to help her, but it is agonizing I know; 1 month ago tomorrow Skipper passed away suddenly and he was crying and crying even after we took him to the vet, we too felt so helpless but we did all we could for him just as you did for Bella. Please know you did that, and I'm sure she knew that you cared and loved her and were trying to help. May your heart heal with time....

Rest in Peace Bella, no more pain, no more pain......

Thank you guys so much. <3 You all brought me to tears. I know Bella would really appreciate all your words. Thanks again.   My heart is so sore today.  I haven't felt this bad since my uncle passed 9 years ago. Pets are definitely family. 

I am very sorry for your loss. I may be second-guessing the vets, but her symptoms seem to suggest exposure to a toxic material of some sort -- antifreeze comes to mind. I saw an episode of "Emergency Vets" which showed the agony and death of a cat who ingested antifreeze. Did the vets take a sample of your cat's blood? Obviously nothing can be done now, but I suggest you contact your vet, and tell him or her what happened to Bella. He or she needs to know. Unless a necropsy (autopsy) is done, the cause of death will never be known. She may have had a stroke or aneurysm. Remember that she had ten years of life. The horrible way she died is a tiny fraction of the time she spent with you. I live in Southern California, where there are numerous veterinary hospitals. But the closest emergency one is ten miles away. Sometimes the care we need for our animals just isn't as available as we would like. Bella is at peace now. If she had a stroke, her brain was malfunctioning, and she won't remember what happened. She is not blaming you for anything. She is not there in heaven, mad at you. So do not continue kicking yourself. You were put in an awful situation. But Bella has been released from the pain, and cast off her sick body. May she rest in peace, and may the knowledge that she is healthy now give you peace as well.

Bella was such a beautiful little girl. I am so sorry she passed. You did all the right things in getting her to a vet, and hope you aren't blaming yourself. RIP beautiful girl you will always be loved 

You tried everything you could do. You took her right away and then followed up. It is the only thing a cat owner can do unless they are the vet! You had no choice but to rely on the expertise of the people there and they only had the present condition in front of them to examine. Unless there are obvious reason to do so, a vet probably isn't going to go much beyond what you described. Even then, there may have been no way for a vet to see if something else was going on. Maybe too the timing was unfortunate and it had nothing to do with the injury.

I know it's so difficult to watch your friend in pain but like others have said it was short and just a small part of her big life with you. There was nothing you could have done. And I have learned that when a kitty presents with alarming symptoms like you describe they don't have long and you spared her the agony of having to ride in the car and go to the vet again too in that state. It wouldn't have changed the outcome but instead her last moments were with you, the people she loved, at home, in the place she loved to be.

I'm so sorry for your loss of beautiful Bella.  The collage is a lovely tribute.  I know this is especially shocking because the vet told you everything was okay.  You didn't fail her; you did everything you could.  I don't think any of us would have handled the situation differently.  

Once, DH and I had a kitten we loved very much.  He became sick and was diagnosed with a rare illness that could only be obtained by eating after an animal that carried the disease.  They questioned whether he could have eaten after wild animals.  Since he was an inside-only kitten, we were puzzled.  However, my sister-in-law had unexpectedly dropped her kitten off at house while she went on vacation.  Not something we agreed to in advance, just a 'here's my kitten, we'll be gone a week" type of thing.  Her kitten was sick and we paid to have him boarded the next day on.  That is the only way I can think that my kitten could have gotten sick, the only outside animal with which our kitten came in brief contact.  He stayed at the vet's office for two weeks, gradually getting better. Then they called to let us know he was ready to come home.  The receptionist said the vet was questioning why we hadn't picked him up; he had recovered and was playing in the cage.  My husband asked them if they keep him one more day.  I don't know why DH made that request, but that extra day meant our kitten Crossed at the vet's office rather than at home.  To this day, we don't know what went wrong.  

Please be kind to yourself.  If Bella had stayed at the vet's office, the devastating outcome could have easily been the same.  Bless you.  

I'm very sorry for your loss of Bella. You did what you could, so don't beat yourself up. The very sad outcome was beyond your control.

i am so, so sorry for your loss. that collage is beautiful. what a gorgeous girl. you did everything you could have, sometimes life just doesn't turn out the way that we hope it will but things happen and we have to suffer through them even when it isn't fair or doesn't make sense to us. she is at peace now and is so so lucky to have had such a loving home over the course of her life. i don't think any other loving momma or papa here would have done anything differently from the way you did. RIP sweet Bella, i hope you are at peace and that one day you and your aching parents can be reunited