What should have be done when you see your cat collapsed?

[leamint718]

Please share your experiences.

On Wednesday, it happened to my 9 years old female cat, Juju. My mom told me she thought she heard a loud cough and saw Juju ran downstairs to go outside but my mom was having guests so she didn't immediately look for her. It was in about 10-15 mins later that I finally saw that Juju was lying on her side under the bushes.

I was immediately panicked and grabbed her. She was limp. Her front feet and side of her face were wet. I thought it was from the puddles because it had been raining and I thought I could see her shallow breath and she did kick me twice to be let go. But I didn't, I cradled her and rushed to the vet.

She was not responsive while in the car. Eyes dilated and her tongue was out. We arrived in less than 10 minutes. They gave her CPR and tried reviving her. But she didn't survive.

Now, I'm still questioning myself if I could have done more for her instead of grabbing and shaking her in panic. I'm scared that my actions stressed her more at that time and the way I handled her prevented her from surviving. I now thought maybe at that time she was lying to try to breathe better because only now that I read that cats do that when in respiratory distress. Was she having respiratory distress at that time? Please share your thoughts and experiences. I know, very sadly, that I could not bring her back. But I want to do better in case it happen again to other cats.

A little background of my Juju: She was FeLV positive. Her manifested symptoms of it was stomatitis for the last two years. She had been on treatment and seemed to have responded well to it. She gained her weight back which was lost so much because of difficulty of eating when her stomatitis was at the worst. She was no longer lethargic and she began playing again but not as active as before her diagnosis. Her last visit to the vets (3 weeks ago) showed that she was recovering positively.

Respiratory issues was not at the forefront of my mind when I found Juju collapsed. I thought of so many things: did she got hit by a car? did something bit or stung her? did she fell? was she choking? I have had devastating experience with my other late cat, Daisy who I found the same way as her many years before, lying and gasping for air, but I knew at that time that Daisy did got hit by a car. So that what I was afraid the most to have happened to Juju.

I don't know why but in both cases my instinct was to grab them, shaking them and getting them to the vets ASAP. Maybe I should have calmed down and asses the situation better and provided better emergency care. Please, I need to learn more about it.

The vets did necropsy on Juju, and assumed that the apparent cause was respiratory failure. Major parts of her lungs and spleen had lesions, and minor necrosis. Foamy saliva was found in her throat and her feet and face were wet because of hypersalivation, not from the puddles. What had happened probably was that the lesions on her lungs developed over time but her body was compensating it so she could breathe albeit in smaller capacity than normal. So something must have triggered her on that day, either shock, stress, obstruction or her brain functions that made her gasped for more air but failed. Something probably like asthma attack or minor seizure. I did told the vets how sometimes Juju seemed to have lost her balance after she sneezes, and they said the FeLV might obstruct some of her brain neurones but since it happened occasionally to her, maybe supplements and vitamins might help and not something to treat yet.

Does anyone have experience with cats who are FeLV positive and having seizures and respiratory problem? Please share. Thank you

 

[Kieka]

First, I am so sorry for your loss.

Second, your response is 100% normal. I would advise against shaking, but I get the impulse to make sure they are still alive in those situations. Years ago, my boy went missing for four days. I came home from work and found him laying in the driveway. He did get up and move but I could immediately tell something was wrong. I ran to the garage, grabbed his carrier, got him in as carefully as possible and started calling the vet as I drove. Getting them medical attention as soon as possible can make a difference in the outcome so yes taking them to the vet was the right thing. If the stress of the drive was enough to push them past the point of return, not taking them would have ended in the same result. But at least you tried.

I don't have experience with seizures and respiratory problems or FeLV but I know in humans, seizures can kill. So it is not far fetched for her to have had a seizure and it triggered other side effects. There is absolutely nothing you could have done. You did everything you could. You mentioned the balance issues after sneezes, you were taking her to a vet enough to have mentioned it before, you took her to a vet when you found her. Don't beat yourself up too much. I know there will always be doubts and seconds thoughts. I lost my rabbit two years ago to vet mistreatment (vet A treated incorrectly, vet B said it was too late to try anything else) and I still question what I could have done differently. But the reality is, without knowing what I know in hindsight I did do everything I could. You can't question what did with the knowledge you had at the time. All you can do is know if you are in that same situation in the future what you will do next time.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I don't think second guessing anything at this point is productive for you or Juju - nor having a bunch of different scenarios posed to you here will mean you will have an answer.

There is no way to soften the blow with something like this. Just know whatever was going on with Juju meant it was her time. I wish I had better, more comforting words to offer to you. I only know to say Juju is gone from this world in physical body only. She is still with you, and always will be, in your heart. And when you can get over the initial shock and upcoming grief - of which there is no way around - I hope you can revel in the time you had with her and remember all those times with fondness and appreciation that the two of you were able to spend the time together that you did. RIP little Juju.

 

[silent meowlook]

I am sorry for your loss, and in such a traumatic way.

I have seen FELV + cats seizure. It is usually at the end of their life that I have seen it. Nothing you could have done would have changed this. There is no saving sometimes. Very bad things happen to very sweet little cats for absolutely no reason at all. And, sometimes there is nothing that will change anything. After, we are left so empty and alone, with so many questions. So many different outcomes can play out in our mind, but the reality won’t be changed.

This is very hard to experience. Please allow yourself time to sit with your grief and come to terms with the helpless feelings left after watching one so loved die. Please be kind to yourself. It hurts. After you have processed some of these very shocking emotions, try to remember when she was happy and healthy, her having fun. Keep her alive in your heart filled with love for her. There is no question as to how much you loved her. I hope you can find some comfort in that.

I am sorry.

 

[Kwik]

leamint718 I'm so sorry for your loss,my heart goes out to you and I pray for you to have Peace and Comfort

Please,try to put all these questions away & rest assured that you did everything possible to help Juju- but you see,my friend ,we are all Assigned a time to be born and a time to die- everything that lives must die and not one moment past our expiration date.

You've done nothing wrong,you were there for your beloved Juju,you held her in your arms and gave her your all.....Again,I'm so sorry for your loss-think of all the beautiful memories you have in the time you were Blessed to share with Juju and she with you