I still don't know and can't find why my cat died.

here is some background info:
jan 05: pepe was diagnosed with vaccine related sarcoma in his back
jan 05: he had his first tumor removal surgery
june 05: new tumor started growing at the same spot
july 05: second tumor removal surgery, this time a bit more agressive, some muscles removed and bones shaved. took long to recover but he fully recovered.
everything was fine until jan 29, 2006. He puked that night and immediately after he was disoriented, he couldn't walk for a while and at some point he looked like he was choking. I pulled his neck back to look inside his mouth adn throat, I felt like something was stuck. While I was trying to open his mouth he stopped sticking his tongue out.
jan30: pepe went to see hic doc. lots of blood tests, ultra sound, xrays etc... I was told that his liver was not functioning at all. His diagnosis was very poor. He had anemia. Never got an exact answer out of the doc. He stayed at the hospital that night, receiving IV fluids and antibiotics. He had a seizure attack that night I was told. They gave him a dose of valium. He had to stay the next day also...
jan31: pepe came back home, he looked healtier. hospital docs told me the possible reasons to his sickness:
1-unknown, undetermined liver disease,
2-pancreatitis
3-lymphoma
4-brain tumor. nothing was spotted in xrays or ultrasound....
anyways, after a few days pepe's belly started getting bigger. I took him back to the hospital. The doc drained some fluid and did some blood tests. Blood values are still messed up, no changes. Pepe is on antibiotics and also takind a med to better his liver.
I was told that a big surgery was necessary to determine the real cause. They were going to open his abdomin and do an extensive biopsy, from almost each organ. The estimate I had was around $4000.00. I skipped it just because I believed that pepe had already suffered enough. After that I was kindly told to wait and watch what happens.
february 25: I knew something was wrong that night. he really slowed down, hardly went to my bed, didn't know which direction he was looking. like 20 mins later he had a seizure attack whick took longer thn 20 minutes. then it stopped, and it started again, short one this time. he then relaxed. I was thinking that he pulled it, and suddenly he started choking and died in my arms....

sorry to make you upset but I can't tell you how bad I am still feeling after 2 weeks of his death. did I do anything wrong? did I not try everything for him?
Please tell me what you think, what might be the cause? I spent over $3000, money means nothing in this case, my point is: how honest are the vets? they couldn't even tell me the cause and offer me a treatment. all I heard was " you have a very sick kitty with a very bad liver"? I can't get over it.
sorry for the long post, I had to vent. Please let me know your opinions.

thanks,
AL

I am sorry for your loss. Vets are like people in any other profession, some are better than others and some you will have a good rapport with and some not so good. This is very much an uneducated guess but my guess is that the cancer spread to another part of the body and the liver and the brain are very common sites for this spread. Sometimes too cats become very ill and there is no known cause. My young cat has had four episodes of what a feline specialist believes is chronic pancreatitis and two vets and myself have not been able to figure out what is triggering it. We may never know. It's hard to accept because we want a logical reason for everything and there just isn't always one. At least one we can figure out.

You didn't do anything wrong at all. Vaccine related sarcoma is almost always fatal, and it usually comes back worse the second time around. You did everything you could do and gave him as much time as possible.

You did everything anyone would expect you to, which is far more than most people would have done, very impressed.

You'll see your cat again in the afterlife, just know that, he's waiting for you.

I imagine the cancer got in his lymphatic system or blood stream. Once that happens there is no stopping it. Chemo will slow it down but will not usually stop it. What happens is the lymphatic fluid or blood spreads the cancer cells though out the body. It makes it almost impossible to kill all the cancer cells and it will be in just about everywhere. The most common cause of vaccine related cancer is the rabies vaccine. My vet uses the more expensive version ($15.75) of it because it has a very very low rate of cancer.It is also designed to only be used in cats. My vet is the only one that even uses it my area. One way to increase a cat's chances of surviving vaccine related cancer is to vaccinate in a back leg. This way if cancer develops then you just amputate the leg greatly increasing the survival rate. -LB

You did everything right............My baby is 5 yrs old and when he blocked and had to get cathed, i said ok and paid the money to do it. The vet told me to get him fixed and it would help along with the prescription diet he was one..........Well, Eddie got over the UTI and i made an appointment with a vet to get him fixed, well, they put him under, and guess what...........he was already neutered................I got him when he was almost a year old and was told at that time that he was not fixed, anyway, just goes to show that not all vets know everything................just my 2 cents...........

I'm very sorry for your loss. Sarcoma's are very difficult and even when removed in humans, it isn't always a cure. It's a cancer and sounds like it had at some point, already spread to other places. Once it has spread to the lymphs, it is not good news at all. Don't blame yourself. And there's really no blame for the vet either. It's one of those difficult things that sometimes is more powerful then all the developed medicine in the world. Your kitty is waiting for you in the afterlife. And he's very comfortable and perfect.

I'm so sorry for your loss. It really does sound like you did everything possible for Pepe. It's very difficult to know what happened but your story reminds me very much of the symptoms of an Aquired Portosystemic Shunt (seizures, tongue hanging out, vomiting, swollen abdomen, liver failure). It's possible that the tumour didn't have anything to do with his death at all.

This information is about dogs but explains Portosystemic Shunts well: http://www.malteseonly.com/shunt2.html.

Originally Posted by Kumbulu

I'm so sorry for your loss.

It really does sound like you did everything possible for Pepe. It's very difficult to know what happened but your story reminds me very much of the symptoms of an Aquired Portosystemic Shunt (seizures, tongue hanging out, vomiting, swollen abdomen, liver failure). It's possible that the tumour didn't have anything to do with his death at all.

This information is about dogs but explains Portosystemic Shunts well: http://www.malteseonly.com/shunt2.html.

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thanx for the info and thank you to all. I am getting ready to adopt a new kitten (maybe two) but I still remember and think about Pepe everyday. This is the most difficult part of having a pet I guess, it is very hard to forget them when they are gone... he was a great cat, a great friend. RIP Pepe.

I'm so sorry for your loss !! I just lost a dog so I know exactly how bad you feel. I think you did everything you possibly could and then some. It was just his time to go and I'm sure he was happy to spend his last moments in your arms.

Stories like this are the reason I don't vaccinate my indoor-only cats. I was fortunate to have a vet that felt it wasn't necessary when I first became a cat owner. I do vaccinate the dogs because they go outside.