Members mlsmlsmls Posted March 6, 2023 Members Report Share Posted March 6, 2023 I got Honey (7mnths) from a rescue centre just over a week ago and immediately fell in love with her. She was such a sweet girl and all she wanted to do was lay in our laps purring her head off and get fusses / lick our hands. We kept her in one dedicated room upstairs as we have a dog, so wanted to introduce them slowly and properly. They saw each other through a baby gate a few times, but that’s as far as it got. She had a bit of a runny nose / runny eyes when we got her and was sneezing, which gradually got worse and started affecting her eating. I took her to the vets first thing last Monday morning and he told me it was very likely just an upper respiratory infection as she looked otherwise fine, not dehydrated or anything. He gave her an anti inflammatory injection, some mite treatment for her ears, a ´spot on’ treatment and sent me home with antibiotics and other medications. She hasn’t eaten properly for about 24 hours at this point and the vet said not to worry too much as she should feel better soon and start eating again, as long as she is drinking water. I expressed concern about her not eating and said I'd struggle to give her the antibiotics, but the vet didn't seem concerned and said she should start to feel better soon and to put her meds in eggs / chicken / white fish and she should eat it. I would have happily paid for tests etc. But he was so chilled about the whole thing, and chalked it up to her getting ill from all the recent changes. She had also been spayed a week or so before. The rest of the day and Tuesday she was noticeably tired but her nose and eyes seemed much better, so we just spent time with her, encouraged her to eat, etc. but she wasn’t interested. I slept on the floor of the room with her Tuesday night, hoping that she would feel comforted and start to eat, and said I would go to the vets first thing in the morning if she hadn't. She cuddled up next to me. Then at about 4/5am I noticed she was stumbling around struggling to breathe and had peed by her water bowl so I knew we had to get her to the vets asap. Got her into a 24 hour hospital and they told us she was going into organ failure and asked if we wanted to test her, so we got her bloods but it wasn’t clear what was wrong with her. She quickly deteriorated and the vet was told us her heart had stopped and it wasn’t advised that she be resuscitated as she very likely had brain damage and was too weak to pull through. We were obviously devastated and totally shocked as the vet said she seemed fine the day before. They asked if she had been exposed to any toxins, which is very very unlikely as we’ve only had her in one cat-proofed room. So the vet thinks it may have been a viral infection - although other cats who lived with her at the rescue have shown no signs. I can’t stop blaming myself and wish I had taken her back to the vets straight away on Tuesday morning. I also wish I had forced the antibiotics down her. I don’t think I will ever get over it; it's killing me not knowing what happened and that I could have saved her. She was the sweetest girl I ever met and I feel like we failed her before she even had chance to live her life. If we hadn't adopted her, she probably would still be alive as the rescue would have known better, how can I live with knowing that? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators KayC Posted March 6, 2023 Moderators Report Share Posted March 6, 2023 I'm so sorry for your loss and her untimely death, it's not something anyone would expect, esp. so young! I can't help but wonder if something hadn't been going on to begin with. You can rest assured your kitty is at peace now... The what ifs blame game happens to most of us going through early grief, it did me when my husband died 17 years ago...it's not that we are guilty of anything but loving them, and the truth is feelings are not facts, but it's that we can't wrap our heads around what happened, and our mind is trying to find some different possible outcome so it searches all the what ifs... Comfort for Grieving Animal Lovers A Dangerous Villain: GuiltBreaking the Power of GuiltA Dangerous Villain: Guilthttp://www.pet-loss.net/guilt.shtmlhttp://www.griefhealing.com/article-loss-and-the-burden-of-guilt.htmhttps://www.griefhealingblog.com/2019/08/pet-loss-when-guilt-overshadows-grief.htmlhttps://www.griefhealingblog.com/2017/07/pet-loss-when-guilt-goes-unresolved.html I hope this short video brings you some comfort and peace. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members VMac Posted March 24, 2023 Members Report Share Posted March 24, 2023 I’m very sorry about your kitten. Having lost my cat recently I know how painful it is and how overwhelming the guilt can be. But it sounds like you were really responsible, did everything you could, including encouraging your kitten to eat to get the antibiotics into her stomach. And when a vet doesn’t seem too concerned we’re guided by them as they’re the professionals who’ve spent years training. My cat collapsed two days after a routine appointment. I’d mentioned something about a supplement I’d recently stopped giving him as I wondered if it was upsetting my cat’s stomach and the vet wasn’t concerned. In fact he didn’t seem particularly interested. But I often wonder if stopping the supplement put my cat into crisis two days later when an emergency vet gave a poor prognosis and I felt I had no choice to have him put to sleep. It sounds like your kitten might have already unwell when you adopted her which had nothing to do with anything you did or didn’t do. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mlsmlsmls Posted March 25, 2023 Author Members Report Share Posted March 25, 2023 14 hours ago, VMac said: I’m very sorry about your kitten. Having lost my cat recently I know how painful it is and how overwhelming the guilt can be. But it sounds like you were really responsible, did everything you could, including encouraging your kitten to eat to get the antibiotics into her stomach. And when a vet doesn’t seem too concerned we’re guided by them as they’re the professionals who’ve spent years training. My cat collapsed two days after a routine appointment. I’d mentioned something about a supplement I’d recently stopped giving him as I wondered if it was upsetting my cat’s stomach and the vet wasn’t concerned. In fact he didn’t seem particularly interested. But I often wonder if stopping the supplement put my cat into crisis two days later when an emergency vet gave a poor prognosis and I felt I had no choice to have him put to sleep. It sounds like your kitten might have already unwell when you adopted her which had nothing to do with anything you did or didn’t do. Thank you ❤️ It really helps to hear other’s perspectives on the situation. I am so sorry to hear about your cat. That must have been such a shock to go from stomach issues to ER. They hide it from us so well don’t they, little angels. Like you said, we put all our trust in the professionals as they have the expert knowledge - or should have - that we don’t. We obviously did everything out of pure love, but guilt creeps in after such a shocking and traumatic experience to help us make sense of things. I hope you are being kind to yourself and know you did everything you could for your cat, including ending their pain when it came to the end, as that is the best thing we can do. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mlsmlsmls Posted March 25, 2023 Author Members Report Share Posted March 25, 2023 On 3/6/2023 at 11:13 AM, KayC said: I'm so sorry for your loss and her untimely death, it's not something anyone would expect, esp. so young! I can't help but wonder if something hadn't been going on to begin with. You can rest assured your kitty is at peace now... The what ifs blame game happens to most of us going through early grief, it did me when my husband died 17 years ago...it's not that we are guilty of anything but loving them, and the truth is feelings are not facts, but it's that we can't wrap our heads around what happened, and our mind is trying to find some different possible outcome so it searches all the what ifs... Comfort for Grieving Animal Lovers A Dangerous Villain: GuiltBreaking the Power of GuiltA Dangerous Villain: Guilthttp://www.pet-loss.net/guilt.shtmlhttp://www.griefhealing.com/article-loss-and-the-burden-of-guilt.htmhttps://www.griefhealingblog.com/2019/08/pet-loss-when-guilt-overshadows-grief.htmlhttps://www.griefhealingblog.com/2017/07/pet-loss-when-guilt-goes-unresolved.html I hope this short video brings you some comfort and peace. Thank you ❤️ I’m sorry to hear about your husband, I bet he was an amazing person and loved you so much. I got the vet report back and they think it could have been FIP. It’s still tough and I think about her all the time, but I think I’m settling at a stage of grief I can stay with for a while without it being so raw and painful, and channel it into helping other cats who need someone to love them, as I know that is what she would have wanted. I’m so glad to have met such a loving and pure soul, but just wish she got the live a long and happy life that she so desperately deserved. I’ll never take life for granted again. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators KayC Posted March 25, 2023 Moderators Report Share Posted March 25, 2023 Everything you said here is so beautiful. God bless you going forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now