My seemingly healthy cat passed away.

[KMartShopper]

Hey everyone, I’m wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences to what I went through a couple of weeks ago. I keep blaming myself and wondering if I cold have done more. I’m a 5 (previously 6) cat family, ranging in age from 6 years - kitten. Everyone is indoor only, UTD on vaccines, fixed, and gets along.

Thursday night on 5/26, I noticed my cat Mr. Scratchy (6 years) not acting like himself. He was normally very friendly, and he was just laying behind the couch. It was weird, but not alarming. It’s been very hot and humid, so I thought he just wanted shade or something. I put the a/c on full blast and went to sleep. He didn’t sleep in my room, which he normally did. I didn’t see him Friday 5/27 in the morning before I went to work, but I don’t always see everyone in the mornings. When I got home from work, everyone greeted me at the door as usual except for Mr. Scratchy. I found him laying on a mattress in the basement, just hanging out by himself. That’s when I figured that something must be wrong. But again, I wasn’t alarmed yet.

Here is where I regret things… Not taking him to the emergency vet right then and there. I took him to the vet Saturday morning 5/28, when he was still by himself in the basement and didn’t even want wet food. I was lucky to get into the vet, being Saturday and a holiday weekend. Mr. Scratchy was weak getting into his carrier and didn’t fight me.

The vet is about a 20 minute drive. In that time, his condition went downhill fast. They immediately took him back and put him on oxygen and IV fluids. Blood work showed an elevated white cell count. An X-ray showed that his intestines were all bunched up in one small area of his abdomen. I was bombarded with questions: Did he get outside? Did he eat something? Has anyone else been sick? No to all of the above. The vet had two theories… He could have lymphoma, which would explain the white cell count, or he could have eaten something long like a string, but they didn’t see anything on the X-ray. The vet didn’t have the capability for surgery on a Saturday morning of a holiday weekend, so they called other emergency vets for me. There were two places that could have taken him, but he started tanking at this point. He couldn’t even hold his head up. He was vomiting green stuff. He couldn’t move. The two vet techs were just petting him and holding the oxygen on his face.

The vet was straight with me that I could transport him, but he probably wouldn’t survive the journey. And if he did survive the journey, he wouldn’t make it through surgery. He looked… Awful. I could have taken him home and hoped that he survived the ride home so he could die in his bed, but I chose to have him put down. I held him and talked to him and it was over. From the time I got to the vet to the time he was gone was only two hours.

The vet was very kind and tried to reassure me that there was nothing I could have done. Cats are famous for hiding their pain and sickness. But I keep wondering if I could have saved his life if I had acted sooner. I pick up his ashes tomorrow. My house just feels like there’s a giant hole in it. Mr. Scratchy was part of a bonded pair, which makes it worse. I adopted him after my mother died and I just miss him so much. Thank you for reading… Has anyone else going through a sudden and traumatic death?

 

[FeebysOwner]

RIP Mr. Scratchy. I have not had anything like that happen to me, but I have unfortunately read many different situations on this site with some similar instances. Hopefully, some of these members will see your post soon and share their experiences.

Believe your vet with what they told you - we cannot always know that something is going on until it is too late. Cats just can't tell us and so short of signs of a problem, which many times can be very far into an illness or issue, there is almost no way to know. Mr. Scratchy was not old, and that makes it even harder to be suspicious of a very serious condition.

I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[fionasmom]

I am so sorry for your loss of Mr. Scratchy. If you would like to post a tribute to him in our Crossing the Bridge forum, you are more than welcome to do so.

I have lost younger cats suddenly over the years. It is hard to accept that we were not able to have done something in time; however, that is the catch as a serious condition brewing under the surface does not always give symptoms until it is too late. Cats are notorious for hiding their distress. Mr. Scratchy did not present any hugely obvious symptoms. Heat could have explained some lethargy and lack of appetite and you did not let it ride beyond 2 days observation.

Folded intestines has several possible causes, of which ingesting string is only one. There are more serious causes as well, caused by tumors or infections, so don't perseverate on the idea that he ate string.

 

[2 dozen]

So sorry, my sympathies on losing a beloved cat. My Calvin became sick last Friday 5/27 and my vet was booked, emergency vets were 2-5 hours away with no guarantee of seeing him but finally found a nearby vet that had an opening. He was given an antibiotic and med for fever, seemed ok on Sat but went back to hiding under bed on Sun, Wouldn't eat, not even Temptations and I had to give him water by syringe.Got to see regular vet on Tues where they repeated the antibiotic and antifebrile meds and did blood work which came back Wed positive for feline leukemia. Vet recommended euthanasia due to 12 other housecats which I did but regret that decision as I posted my question here and the responses made me wish I gave him more time to fight his infection or whatever he had. The first indication I had that something may be wrong was him sleeping all day Thursday in the dog's crate just as Mr Scratchy wanted to be left alone in the basement. He and another cat immediately jump up on counter as soon as I start opening cans of cat food as they cannot wait till I put the filled trays down but he was not there Friday am and maybe not on Thurs eve but I don't remember. We always second guess ourselves and only in retrospect realize their change in behavior signaled something was wrong. We do our best and maybe sometimes we make mistakes but that is all part of caring for and loving them. You gave him a good life and did bring him to the vet as soon as you realized something was wrong but I know how you are feeling as I am feeling the same. I wish we could turn back the clock but hopefully if there is a next time we'll have a better outcome.

 

[BellaBlue82]

I am so sorry to hear about Mr. Scratchy, my heart goes out to you while the tears well up a bit in my own eyes.

Please, do not think of the "could" or "what ifs." I can share my own experience with our GA cat Sonny. My husband basically got him for us shortly after we got married and moved into our new home. He was a crazy orange tabby, but a true pal. Always there to cheer us up, give us love, energetic as always.
Not long after his 12th birthday, he got sick on a Saturday as I remember. This guy hated to get sick, and I knew something was wrong when I saw the white foam. Took him to the ER vet, they gave him fluids and antibiotics and said he probably has some kind of GI bug (his WBC was also elevated.) He didn't pur, didn't eat, his behind the couch all the rest of Saturday into Sunday. Sunday morning was... Well traumatic. It's too much to say here, but I lost it, and scooped him up so fast and got to the ER vet again as quickly as I could. They did an ultrasound and their best guess was he had lymphoma and/or a tumor in his stomach. There was a mass, and they could operate, but only like a 10% chance he would make it from how it was wrapped around his digestive system. We had to make that difficult choice as well, and that was the day we said goodbye to our beautiful Sonny. I cried for about 2 months straight, so I'm empathetic to your loss.

These things happen, there is never any rhyme or reason as to why. I used to kick myself and think "if only" or "what if we tried surgery" but he would have hated life after that IF he even survived.

I have his ashes and paw print in my curio in the living room and I still talk to him every day. I hope your pain subsides, and you can keep those beautiful memories alive of Mr. Scratchy.

 

[furmonster mom]

I’m so sorry for the hole in your heart.

As several other folks here have said, try not to play the “what if” game. This is going to be harder because you really don’t have a cause to help with understanding what actually happened. As has been mentioned, intestinal issues can have a variety of causes.
You did the best you could with the information you had at the moment, which is only what any else would be able to do.

We all wish our little furmonsters could live the longest lives possible, but even then it seems so short. We can only be grateful for the love they bring into our lives for as long as fate allows.