I'm posting on behalf of my sister who tragically lost her 5 year old beautiful red Persian on Monday. She heard him coughing and stretching his neck out, as though he was trying to get rid of something. This continued for about an hour and a half, before she thought, to be on the safe side, she had better phone the emergency vet (Monday was a Bank Holiday in the UK, and there was only emergency cover).
The vet agreed to see him, she took him in, the vet said he had a swollen sore throat and swollen glands. He gave him an antibiotic injection, an anti-inflammatory. He then said he could, if she wished, give him a brief light anaesthetic and have a proper look to see if there was anything lodged there, or she could take him home and see how he went on. As it was a holiday she thought she had better opt for the GA and throat exam, she was afraid of him going home, getting worse and a vet not being available. She held him while the vet put the needle into his front leg and Fudge fell asleep.
The vet took him off and returned minutes later, saying he couldn't find anything at all and Fudge was beginning to come round. However he didn't come round properly and started making squeaking noises. The vet opened his mouth and his tongue was blue. He rushed him back into the other room, gave him oxygen and mouth to mouth rescusitation (sp?) but he couldn't get him back.
My sister took him home devastated. My Dad wanted to bury him for her, but she wouldn't let him, she couldn't accept that he had gone. Later the vet phoned her again, saying how sorry he was, he couldn't get what had happened out of his mind and he was really upset. He asked her to take him back and let her do a post mortem, because he felt he had to know what exactly had happened. He hasn't charged at all, for any treatment, or for the PM.
After the PM he told my sister that his heart had been 100% fine. It appears that his larynx had gone into some sort of spasm as he had been recovering, closing his airway so that he couldn't breathe. He found a piece of straw in there and said that it had tragically been just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
My sister is really beating herself up over this. Understandably she's inconsolable, but also blames herself for agreeing to the anaesthetic (she says she shouldn't have rushed into it, but taken him home and maybe the grass would have moved of its own accord). She's also haunted by the fact that Fudge's last conscious memory was of her holding him down, while he struggled as the vet tried to get the needle in.
She has another Persian, Fudge's brother. The vet advised her to show him Fudge's body so that he would understand he had died and not search for him. She got my Dad to do this as she couldn't bear to do it. She called their breeder for someone to talk to, and the breeder was upset and sympathetic and has offered her the choice of 2 young adult female Persians, (for no charge) as a companion to her remaining cat, obviously when she has got over this a bit. But she's worried about this happening to her other cat, Ben, and worried about taking on another Persian, in case it, or something similar happens again. She's heard that Persians can have breathing problems, because of their flatter faces and wonders if this contributed to Fudge's death. Can anyone reassure her on this or are they susceptible to breathing problems. Sam, I know you're very experienced with Persians - have you ever met this sort of thing? Or was it just a tragic, freak accident?
Fudge was a truly beautiful cat. He was brushed almost daily and my sister lavished loving care and attention on them both. She is single and lives alone, so her cats are her babies. He was in the prime of life, so healthy and incredibly affectionate. That he should suddenly be dead in hours because of a stupid piece of straw seems so pointless, such a complete waste. Such a trivial occurence with such tragic consequences.
I'm sorry to ramble on for so long. But I love my cats and know how hard it is to lose one. But to lose such a beautiful animal, at only 5 years old, to a blade of grass seems crazy and senseless.
The vet agreed to see him, she took him in, the vet said he had a swollen sore throat and swollen glands. He gave him an antibiotic injection, an anti-inflammatory. He then said he could, if she wished, give him a brief light anaesthetic and have a proper look to see if there was anything lodged there, or she could take him home and see how he went on. As it was a holiday she thought she had better opt for the GA and throat exam, she was afraid of him going home, getting worse and a vet not being available. She held him while the vet put the needle into his front leg and Fudge fell asleep.
The vet took him off and returned minutes later, saying he couldn't find anything at all and Fudge was beginning to come round. However he didn't come round properly and started making squeaking noises. The vet opened his mouth and his tongue was blue. He rushed him back into the other room, gave him oxygen and mouth to mouth rescusitation (sp?) but he couldn't get him back.
My sister took him home devastated. My Dad wanted to bury him for her, but she wouldn't let him, she couldn't accept that he had gone. Later the vet phoned her again, saying how sorry he was, he couldn't get what had happened out of his mind and he was really upset. He asked her to take him back and let her do a post mortem, because he felt he had to know what exactly had happened. He hasn't charged at all, for any treatment, or for the PM.
After the PM he told my sister that his heart had been 100% fine. It appears that his larynx had gone into some sort of spasm as he had been recovering, closing his airway so that he couldn't breathe. He found a piece of straw in there and said that it had tragically been just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
My sister is really beating herself up over this. Understandably she's inconsolable, but also blames herself for agreeing to the anaesthetic (she says she shouldn't have rushed into it, but taken him home and maybe the grass would have moved of its own accord). She's also haunted by the fact that Fudge's last conscious memory was of her holding him down, while he struggled as the vet tried to get the needle in.
She has another Persian, Fudge's brother. The vet advised her to show him Fudge's body so that he would understand he had died and not search for him. She got my Dad to do this as she couldn't bear to do it. She called their breeder for someone to talk to, and the breeder was upset and sympathetic and has offered her the choice of 2 young adult female Persians, (for no charge) as a companion to her remaining cat, obviously when she has got over this a bit. But she's worried about this happening to her other cat, Ben, and worried about taking on another Persian, in case it, or something similar happens again. She's heard that Persians can have breathing problems, because of their flatter faces and wonders if this contributed to Fudge's death. Can anyone reassure her on this or are they susceptible to breathing problems. Sam, I know you're very experienced with Persians - have you ever met this sort of thing? Or was it just a tragic, freak accident?
Fudge was a truly beautiful cat. He was brushed almost daily and my sister lavished loving care and attention on them both. She is single and lives alone, so her cats are her babies. He was in the prime of life, so healthy and incredibly affectionate. That he should suddenly be dead in hours because of a stupid piece of straw seems so pointless, such a complete waste. Such a trivial occurence with such tragic consequences.
I'm sorry to ramble on for so long. But I love my cats and know how hard it is to lose one. But to lose such a beautiful animal, at only 5 years old, to a blade of grass seems crazy and senseless.
