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Posted by Topic subject:   Why did my cat die?
Matt69
New Member

Posts: 4
From:London, ON, Canada
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 08-07-2003 09:25 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Matt69   Click Here to Email Matt69     Edit/Delete Message
A couple weeks ago I noticed my cat had trouble walking. It slowly got worse to the point where he wouldn't walk anymore and if he tried his legs would give out. I took him to the vet and he said that he had lost all his muscle in his back legs from lack of excerise. He gave me pain killers (Anafen) to give to my cat and told me to excerise him. All seemed fine but then my cat's condition started to go downhill rapidly. 5 days after seeing the vet my cat stopped eating and drinking and he was in a comatose state. His eyes weren't wide open but they weren't closed either. My parents decided to take him to the vet on Tues so have him checked and probably put to sleep. Monday night when I carried him to my room he was limp as if he were dead already. Once I put him in my bed he put his head up and he was blinking and looking around. That lasted about 2-3 min and then he was comatose again. The next day after I went to work my parents said that he started into convulsions so they rushed him to the vet but on the way, he died in my moms arms. I am glad that he dies the natural way but my question is how did he go downhill so fast?

Can someone point me to a usefull website I can read up on? Sorry about the long post but I would appreciate the help, Thanks in advance!

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MistyGirl
Member

Posts: 30
From:Portland, TN, USA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 08-07-2003 10:22 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for MistyGirl   Click Here to Email MistyGirl     Edit/Delete Message
Did your vet not say what he had? Maybe it's not too late for an autopsy? Or would that be out of the question...?

It almost sounds like Feline Leukemia...I use to live next to a family whose cat had that and they said the cat would just lay in the yard, unable to move. They also said the cat had convulsions. Did your cat let you come near him, or did he growl and stuff? They said their cat wouldn't let them touch him.

Here's a site that might be of some help. It helped me learn about cocciddia when my kitten, Misty had it:
http://www.marvistavet.com/index.html

Anyways, I'm sorry for your loss. It's very hard to lose a pet.

------------------

quote:
Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function - Garrison Keiller


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Matt69
New Member

Posts: 4
From:London, ON, Canada
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 08-07-2003 10:31 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Matt69   Click Here to Email Matt69     Edit/Delete Message
I was able to hold my cat and pet him whenever. Like I said, he was comatose and wouldn't move...you could stick your finger in his eye and he wouldn't move. I am just surprised how fast he went downhill, it was about 3 weeks from when he was fine until he died. He purred when I pet him right up until about 3 days before he died, but when he purred he made a gurgling/weining sound. All the vet said was that he had lost muscle in his back legs and to excerise him. When he died we dropped him off at a different vet to be cremated but the vet wasn't there o we couldn't ask questions. Thanks for the website, I will look through it.

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MistyGirl
Member

Posts: 30
From:Portland, TN, USA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 08-07-2003 10:52 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for MistyGirl   Click Here to Email MistyGirl     Edit/Delete Message
It really does sound like Feline Leukemia or something like that to me. They usually go down pretty fast with that. Again, sorry for your loss.

I did a search on it, just to make sure I wasn't totally off . Here's a list of symptoms:

quote:
During the first few weeks after the initial infection, cats may have the following symptoms:
Blood cytopenias (deficiency of any of the various cellular elements normally present in the blood)
General malaise
Lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes)
Mild fever
Symptoms depend on the type of virus and the stage of disease. Common general symptoms include:
Anemia
Blood in the stool
Chronic, recurring infections (FeLV-infected cats are susceptible to bacterial, fungal, protozoan, and other viral infections.)
Decreased appetite
Decreased stamina
Depression
Diarrhea or constipation
Excessive drinking and urination
Infertility
Jaundice (a yellowing of the skin, whites of the eyes, mucous membranes, and body fluids)
Low-grade fever
Lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes)
Neuropathies, which can cause anisocoria and hind limb paralysis
Weight loss

[This message has been edited by MistyGirl (edited 08-07-2003).]

[This message has been edited by MistyGirl (edited 08-07-2003).]

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Matt69
New Member

Posts: 4
From:London, ON, Canada
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 08-07-2003 11:05 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Matt69   Click Here to Email Matt69     Edit/Delete Message
My cat didn't have any of those symptoms except for maybe losing weight and not eating. He wasn't thirsty and he didn't want to drink anything. Plus a week before he died the vet said he didn't have a fever. The possibilities are endless as to what happened and we may never know but I would like to try to understand why he died, for my own reassurance. Again, thanks for the help!

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MistyGirl
Member

Posts: 30
From:Portland, TN, USA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 08-07-2003 02:40 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for MistyGirl   Click Here to Email MistyGirl     Edit/Delete Message
Oh, sorry for the confusion then!

Sorry you couldn't have figured out what it was

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Sparkycat
Member

Posts: 22
From:Staten Island, NY, U.S.A.
Registered: May 2003

posted 08-07-2003 02:55 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Sparkycat   Click Here to Email Sparkycat     Edit/Delete Message
I'm very sorry about your cat. You didn't say if the vet ran any tests. I lost one of my cats about 7 weeks ago. He too, was just fine and then all of a sudden he started running a fever and stopped eating. He was very weak. They ran blood tests and gave him x rays and the vet said that he was pretty sure that he had cancer. We were going to have an ultrasound done but he died before the test. From my experience, once they stop eating and drinking, they do go downhill pretty fast. Something happens to their liver due to the lack of food and water. Again, I'm sorry for your loss.

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Matt69
New Member

Posts: 4
From:London, ON, Canada
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 08-08-2003 08:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Matt69   Click Here to Email Matt69     Edit/Delete Message
The vet didn't run any tests and when I brought him in to check why he wasn't walking the vet just said he didn't have a fever. One thing I noticed is the vet didn't even check his breathing or heart with a stethiscope (sp?) I never thought to mention until it was too late. Oh well, I guess his death will forever remain a mystery. It could've very well been cancer though. Thanks to everyone for their help and support.

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julieb
New Member

Posts: 2
From:IL USA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 08-15-2003 02:01 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for julieb   Click Here to Email julieb     Edit/Delete Message
hi, there. First of all I am very sorry you lost such a special pet. I am going through the exact same thing you are right now as I type this. I have a cat who is 17 years old, and he is expressing the same symptoms as your cat did before he died.

My cat has had a medical history of diabetes and arthritis of the hind legs. We have to give him arthritis shots to help him walk. On Tuesday, the shot didn't seem to work. He started walking around in circles to his right, and began to bob his head up and down. We immediately brought him to the vet that day (Tuesday), and the doctor told us that he had a stroke. The doctor also told me that it won't be long before our beloved kitty will pass away.

Right now my cat will not eat, will not drink water--- won't do anything! He still purrs when we pet him and flips his little tail when we pet him. He does seem to be in a comatose state, but he is still responsive to sounds (when we call his name he looks our way). His eyes do seem a bit weird looking to me (kinda half shut, and glazed over).

I'm just wondering if he's in too much pain, and we should be taking him to the vet to be put down, or if we should just wait to see what he does on his own?? He's not crying or making any sounds.... ugh! This is so hard.

Anywho, just thought I'd letyou know that possibly your kitty could have had a stroke as well. Do a search for "saddle thrombus" on google.com. This is what the vet told us--- it's the technical word for "stroke" in a cat.

Hope this helps you some.

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julieb
New Member

Posts: 2
From:IL USA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 08-15-2003 02:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for julieb   Click Here to Email julieb     Edit/Delete Message
hi, there. First of all I am very sorry you lost such a special pet. I am going through the exact same thing you are right now as I type this. I have a cat who is 17 years old, and he is expressing the same symptoms as your cat did before he died.

My cat has had a medical history of diabetes and arthritis of the hind legs. We have to give him arthritis shots to help him walk. On Tuesday, the shot didn't seem to work. He started walking around in circles to his right, and began to bob his head up and down. We immediately brought him to the vet that day (Tuesday), and the doctor told us that he had a stroke. The doctor also told me that it won't be long before our beloved kitty will pass away.

Right now my cat will not eat, will not drink water--- won't do anything! He still purrs when we pet him and flips his little tail when we pet him. He does seem to be in a comatose state, but he is still responsive to sounds (when we call his name he looks our way). His eyes do seem a bit weird looking to me (kinda half shut, and glazed over).

I'm just wondering if he's in too much pain, and we should be taking him to the vet to be put down, or if we should just wait to see what he does on his own?? He's not crying or making any sounds.... ugh! This is so hard.

Anywho, just thought I'd letyou know that possibly your kitty could have had a stroke as well. Do a search for "saddle thrombus" on google.com. This is what the vet told us--- it's the technical word for "stroke" in a cat.

Hope this helps you some.

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Sparkycat
Member

Posts: 22
From:Staten Island, NY, U.S.A.
Registered: May 2003

posted 08-15-2003 03:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Sparkycat   Click Here to Email Sparkycat     Edit/Delete Message
julieb - I had the very same thing happen to one of my cats (Saber) two years ago. He was a few days short of 13. He was fine and then one morning he was going in circles and couldn't stand up. We rushed him to the vet and he said the same thing - it was a stroke. He stayed there a few days but just could never stand on his own. The vet said that he never would. We had to make that terrible decision to put him to sleep. He was a cat that could jump to the highest places and I couldn't make him live without even being able to stand. I never knew that a cat could have a stroke.

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Linda
New Member

Posts: 1
From:Plover, Wisconsin, USA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 08-17-2003 05:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Linda     Edit/Delete Message
This sounds like what happened to a cat of mine a couple of years ago. My cat was 14 years old. He was having trouble moving so we took him to the vet. The vet really could not figure out what was wrong. I said that I thought that my cat had had a stroke. The vet said that cats did not have strokes. He did some blood tests and sent us home(after we paid the bill)with some medicine and no diagnosis. My cat got progressively worse and lay comatose on the living room sofa for a couple of days. I fed him sugar water and gave him the medicine from the vet and watched for signs of progress. He lingered for several days. We took him back to the vet and he died on the way in the car. The vet then said "I think he had a stroke. Cats can have strokes like humans. I am truly sorry for you loss. Cats are very precious.

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