2 y.o. staggering, won't eat or drink

Oh Steph, I'm so sorry about Morgan. My heart hurts with you.

I am so sorry about Morgan
I know how you are feeling right now. My Chuckie passed just as suddenly last week.

I'm so sorry, I was hoping for the best. I'm crying too much now to see the screen.

So, I'm so sorry! That's so terrible.

It is even worse to have to deal with the grief over the death of one cat while you wonder if whatever she died from is going to get your other cats, too. While getting a necropsy and lab tests is a very good idea, you need to know that it is not likely that your other cats will die as well. You are doing everything you can to make sure your other cats stay healthy. That's all you can do. Preserve your grief for Morgan (do not feel bad about feeling grief) and do your best to avoid worrying about your other cats. You've done all you can, and they will probably continue to be very healthy.

Originally Posted by Enuja

So, I'm so sorry! That's so terrible.

It is even worse to have to deal with the grief over the death of one cat while you wonder if whatever she died from is going to get your other cats, too. While getting a necropsy and lab tests is a very good idea, you need to know that it is not likely that your other cats will die as well. You are doing everything you can to make sure your other cats stay healthy. That's all you can do. Preserve your grief for Morgan (do not feel bad about feeling grief) and do your best to avoid worrying about your other cats. You've done all you can, and they will probably continue to be very healthy.

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Thank you for the words of encouragement. We have kittens right now and my geriatric partner kitty, so I'm watching them all very closely for any signs at all. I just hope that we find out soon what took Morgan and implement a plan of prevention.

Thank you all.

Originally Posted by oneteapot

Sorry to hear about Morgan. We all love our little fur babies and worry over them. My thought are with you .
I am still worried about Chipper. She still can't walk. But she is looking well otherwise. In fact, to look at her when she is laying down, you wouldn't know that any thing was wrong.
She still has the vet perplexed. She manages to get where she wants to be but it hurts me to see her that way. I take her back to the vet again on Monday.
oneteapot

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Please keep us updated on how she is doing. I know Monday must seem like a very long way off for you.

Originally Posted by stormy

I am so sorry about Morgan

I know how you are feeling right now. My Chuckie passed just as suddenly last week.

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I hadn't been on the forum in a few weeks, so I hadn't read about Chuckie until I saw your post. I am so sorry you've had to go through this too. It's such a tough decision to make, but I know we both made the one that was right for our babies. I'm not sure how to put in a pic of Morgan - maybe I can figure it out to share with everyone.

I think I figured it out....
Here's my little Morgan.

What a little beauty. Morgan will be missed, but is watching over you now over the bridge until you can be reunited again.

Are they going to do a necropsy as well as run blood tests? It sounds similar to how Spot died, but he was much, much older. His necropsy showed advanced cardiomyopathy, and he had gone into congestive heart failure. He had been fine the previous day and suddenly he was very ill. He had my vet stumped (along with the emergency vets all over the city, as it was a Saturday and she called them all).

I'm sorry to hear about Spot. Isn't it difficult when you don't have time to prepare yourself for their passing? It was so hard this morning because every morning she would be on the back of the chair in our bedroom when I woke up, calling to me to feed her wet food. Then she'd jump up on the counter and rub on me and poke me with her little nose. I'm sure this will get easier as time passes, but man, it sucks. A couple of the other cats seem a bit depressed this morning too, so I'm trying to not feed my emotions into them. I'm playing with them and keeping our routine as close to normal as possible.

Yes, they are going to do the necropsy. The lab tech said that we should start getting results back today sometime, but it'll be at least a week before the final report comes in. Her remains will be passed along to a bacteriologist, then a virologist, and so on, and as each one completes his tests, a preliminary report will be immediately faxed to the vet's office. Her chest xray didn't show any irregularities in and around her heart, but her spleen was enlarged a bit. Hopefully we'll know something soon. The vet said it if does turn out to be toxo he'll contact a toxo specialist when he returns from his conference Monday. Meanwhile, we're walking on eggshells watching every cat very carefully.

If it was FIP and it doesn't sound like it was and you have other cats, you needn't worry about the other cats catching it. FIP is not contagious as originally reported to be. Neither the wet or the dry.

It sounds like heart problems. I am so sorry you lost your kitten.

Oh I am so sorry I only just now saw your first post. My heart is breaking for you. God Bless you and your kitties.

I am so sorry....you did everything you could.

Originally Posted by hissy

If it was FIP and it doesn't sound like it was and you have other cats, you needn't worry about the other cats catching it. FIP is not contagious as originally reported to be. Neither the wet or the dry.

It sounds like heart problems. I am so sorry you lost your kitten.

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I've read a few posts on here mentioning heart trouble. Do heart problems frequently manifest in pneumonia and staggering as well? I didn't hear anything back today about necropsy results, and my senior alpha male is acting like he isn't feeling great. Hopefully he's just feeling a little icky from the frontline plus.

Thank you for the info on FIP - that makes me feel better, since that is one of the possibilities.

Cardiomyopathy can result in congestive heart failure, where fluid spills into the lungs. It can also cause saddle thrombosis, where a blood clot blocks some or all of the blood flow to the hind legs. These things can happen very rapidly. From what my vet told me, cardiomyopathy does not always show up on the x-rays since the walls thicken inward. Often, it is a congenital problem that doesn't show signs until it's very late in the game. My childhood cat, Alex, had a heart murmur for 12 years with no problems. One day he woke up and was fine, talking to my parents as always. Five minutes later, he was gone. With Spot, he started off with a fever the night before. I took him to the ER vet where they gave him fluids (which I now know was a bad idea for a cat in heart failure, but we didn't know what was going on at that point).

These sites have lots of information about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: http://members.aol.com/jchinitz/hcm/
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/hyp-cardio.html

It is very hard when they leave us suddenly. It is hard on our remaining cats as well. They grieve in their own way. After Spot's passing, Willow became very loving and demanding of attention. After my mom's cat lost her best canine friend, she too became very demanding and more vocal. Trying to stick with the routine is good. Don't be too concerned about not showing them your pain. Our cats can be wonderful comforters in times like these.

Heart failure can lead to pneumonia. The staggering could be due to the cat having 'thrown a clot'--the weak heart pumps a blood clot into the major vein that feeds the cat's back legs, resulting in blockage and the incapacitation of the cat. While some have survived this it isn't for long, usually.
I am dreading the day I come home and find Gizmo in this condition.

Took my Thumbs kitty to the vet for his walking/jumping trouble. She couldn't figure out what was wrong, and she wants to wait until we get the final report from Morgan's labwork before making a definitive diagnosis. The preliminary necropsy results are indicating that it was FIP that took Morgan Wednesday. The vet said they've tried treating cats for it but have never successfully done so. Our other 12 - including Thumbs, who is 13, and 5 kittens 4 months old - have all been exposed. Now we are just waiting. Meanwhile I had her give Thumbs an injection of pain meds, but his gait is getting more unsteady. I can't bear the thought of not having him after our 12 1/2 years of sleeping together every night. The vet made it clear that FIP could be a death sentence for all of our feline family members, and I'm terrified right now. I hate not knowing, but I suppose we must prepare for the worst. Please keep us in your prayers!!!

Originally Posted by spiritedstef

Took my Thumbs kitty to the vet for his walking/jumping trouble. She couldn't figure out what was wrong, and she wants to wait until we get the final report from Morgan's labwork before making a definitive diagnosis. The preliminary necropsy results are indicating that it was FIP that took Morgan Wednesday. The vet said they've tried treating cats for it but have never successfully done so. Our other 12 - including Thumbs, who is 13, and 5 kittens 4 months old - have all been exposed. Now we are just waiting. Meanwhile I had her give Thumbs an injection of pain meds, but his gait is getting more unsteady. I can't bear the thought of not having him after our 12 1/2 years of sleeping together every night. The vet made it clear that FIP could be a death sentence for all of our feline family members, and I'm terrified right now. I hate not knowing, but I suppose we must prepare for the worst. Please keep us in your prayers!!!

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Oh my gosh hon, I have my fingers crossed for you and your babies! Do you know how long before you get the labwork back?

Originally Posted by spiritedstef

The vet made it clear that FIP could be a death sentence for all of our feline family members, and I'm terrified right now. I hate not knowing, but I suppose we must prepare for the worst. Please keep us in your prayers!!!

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stef, that just goes against just about everything I've ever read or been told about the disease. There's lots of info out there, and your vet is certainly more knowledgeable than I am, but read this...it might make you feel a bit better.

http://marvistavet.com/html/fip.html