Loss of a pet

[brmstn69]

Thursday I came home from work to find one of my four cats very ill. She died quite suddenly, within ten minutes of my finding her. I still don't know what happened to her, she was only six years old and always seemed healthy and happy.

Tonight I came home from work, fucked around on the computer a few hours, then went to the kitchen to get a drink and found another of my cats ill.

This one is quite old, I've had her for 11 or 12 years now and she was at least 4 or 5 when I got her. She belonged to a neighbor's son who moved to a place that didn't allow pets. He gave it to her, but when it didn't get along with the cat she already had, she threw it out. I found her and took her in.

She's always been the stereotypical cat, fiercely independent and pushy, mostly doing her own thing, eyes always bright and full of wonder. She never let me forget that she didn't need me but would on occasion be very affectionate.

For the past couple of hours I've been forced to watch her slowly die, that light in her eyes slowly dim, and I'm unable to do anything about it.

All I can do is lay here in bed with her and pet her, trying to comfort her. Every once in awhile she'll reach her paw out and touch my hand, raise her head to look at me, and for a brief moment that light in her eyes will return, but it fades again all too quickly. But for the last hour or so, she's just been motionless, her heartbeat steady but weak, it's just a matter of time now. God, I hope it's soon, for her sake and for mine. I can't take much more of this...

 

[ggold]

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

I have had many over the years, and know a few things.

First, are they at all outside cats? If so, and even for indoor ones, FELV can be a cause. It sometimes takes a long time to manifest itself - over four years in one case for mine. Look that up, there is good info around.

Another common issue is chemicals. They are very efficient at finding hidden things, so many household chemicals can cause them problems. One of the worst is antifreeze, so if they get into the garage, or to a small pool outside from draining a radiator, that is not good at all.

Again, sorry.

 

[NightLitch]

It's hard to lose a pet

I know exactly how its feel to lose a part off a family member no mater if this is a human are a pet. The only thing we can do is take them to Veterinary if the pets are sick and be nice to them. BadBoy and I bred up ferrets for a few years ago and when the ferrets die we feel a part off us die with them to. Is hard but you need to be strong and to give them all help you can and stay by their side..

Nautilus

 

[Squallmuzza]

Terrible to hear. Losing one pet is a horrible experience, let alone 2. I would definitely take the other pair for a full work up as soon as you can, just for your own peace of mind and the ensure there are no environmental causes. Big hug for you dude. Just from the way you've talked about them, I can tell they meant alot to you.

 

[brmstn69]

Thanks everybody. It's finally over. I wish I could say that she just closed her eyes and went peacefully, but it wasn't so. I won't bother you with the details, and quite frankly I don't want to relive them here.

To answer a few questions, they are all indoor cats and have only been outside to go to the vet.

We are considering the possibility that chemicals might have been involved. Both of the cats that died had a bad habit of sneaking into my mothers apartment and we found a bottle of insecticide that had been knocked over.

I seriously doubt it was Feline Leukemia. Out of all the cats, these two were the healthiest. The two I have left have always been, for lack of a better term, the sickly type.

One is a Khao Manee (a solid white Tibetan breed) that I got because the breeders didn't want her. She was the runt and had two gold eyes. For show cats they want one blue eye and one gold eye or both blue. She is 17 years old and has always been small, thin and frail. I'm sure that if there were any communicable disease to blame she'd be the first to sucb to it.

The other is a common alley cat, two years old and born from a mother that was so severely abused while pregnant that she had permanent brain damage. A friend of mine rescued the mother. Again she was the runt and her growth is stunted. So again she'd be more susceptible to disease than the others...

 

[Irishman25]

Mate i am so so so sorry
I cant imagine the pain your going through just waiting
Loosing a pet is like loosing a member of the family, its so hard
My heart really and truely goes out to you as you wait and watch

 

[NightLitch]

it's so sad to read this and know how sorry you are. The best thing you can do now is keep an eye on the other two cats. There are virus illness that is around us all the time. If the cat's imunitet weakened by something the cat can be infected and the disease takes over. I will hope this is the end now and the two others cat will not be affected by the other.

 

[ggold]

But good on ya for taking some that others won't.

 

[smallsleepyrascalcat]

The real smallsleepyrascalcat is dead, Kitty died in the animal hospital at about 22:30 CET.

We always knew she was ill. She had Feline Leukemia from the day we got her, over 8 years ago. The doctor told us from the start she would not get old. But tonight, he said that he had never seen another cat with Feline Leukemia surviving that long.
We are arrogant enough to take this as an evidence that we took good care of her.
She was put down tonight, because she had a tumor on/in her lower jaw. Two days ago I found blood on the blanket where she was asleep. The doctor now said that the tumor broke up and bled. She wasn't able to eat or drink anymore and... the odds were to put her down or to let her die of thirst.

I was on my way home when I passed the animal hospital when I recognized my stepfathers car on the lot. I went in and found him crying. He didn't have the strength to go the last way with Kitty, so my mother was with her.

Damn, I loved this cat, I even choosed my nickname after her.

So be assured brmstn69, I know how you feel right now.

P.S.: I know this was best for her. She sure is now at a place where pain is unknown. That's the most important. She doesn't have to suffer anymore.

 

[ggold]

Sorry.

 

[Irishman25]

This turning into the cat lovers page, hugging each other thinkin of our lost kitty's?

 

[XMan101]

I know how you feel. Pets affect everyone who has one. A close friend lost his cat and was very upset, not a person who would normally cry down the phone.

I had 2 kittens, at different times, when I was a kid. They didn't die (at least no evidence they did) but vanished , both at around their 1st birthdays. Both were wonderfully playful & happy. It was very upsetting when they didn't return home as normal. There was a terrible feeling of emptiness, and we never found what happened to either of them. We didn't have another after that.

Even the hardest person has a weak spot when it comes to this, and nothing wrong in that.

My sympathies to both of you !

 

[LuiM]

Yea I know how it is. Pets get into human heart although they're just animals. The irony is some we eat like chickens and pigs (etc.), some we give souls, invite them to our homes and make them for our friends. That's how we people are. Social beings. We socialize even with animals. I even cried after my two dogs, parrot and hamster.

They say the best way to overcome the sadness after a lost pet is to get a new one. It could help. But after my last pet died I said to myself I've had enough. The problem is I get too attached. So I decided no more pets for me.

 

[Irishman25]

there is nothing like a home with a pet
they make us smile, laugh, cry, angry but mostly no matter if a cat or dog or whatever they do show affection some way and so make it into our hearts
and importantly no matter how bad of a day when u sit down and pet ur pet it somehow does seem brighter

 

[brmstn69]

The real smallsleepyrascalcat is dead, Kitty died in the animal hospital at about 22:30 CET.

We always knew she was ill. She had Feline Leukemia from the day we got her, over 8 years ago. The doctor told us from the start she would not get old. But tonight, he said that he had never seen another cat with Feline Leukemia surviving that long.
We are arrogant enough to take this as an evidence that we took good care of her.
She was put down tonight, because she had a tumor on/in her lower jaw. Two days ago I found blood on the blanket where she was asleep. The doctor now said that the tumor broke up and bled. She wasn't able to eat or drink anymore and... the odds were to put her down or to let her die of thirst.

I was on my way home when I passed the animal hospital when I recognized my stepfathers car on the lot. I went in and found him crying. He didn't have the strength to go the last way with Kitty, so my mother was with her.

Damn, I loved this cat, I even choosed my nickname after her.

So be assured brmstn69, I know how you feel right now.

P.S.: I know this was best for her. She sure is now at a place where pain is unknown. That's the most important. She doesn't have to suffer anymore.

I'm really sorry to hear that Kai...

I have an uncle that has an I.Q. over 160, he was in college until he was 40, more or less a "professional" student. Before he became a pathetic drug addict and crippled himself in a failed suicide attempt, he has earned various degrees and become sort of a "Jack of all trades", He has been a concert pianist, computer engineer, taught mathematics, physics, and quantum mechanics, etc.
He also took courses in holistic medicine and veterinary medicine because, amongst his twenty plus cats, he had two with Feline Leukemia (yes, as you can imagine he is a fanatic, insane genius). He kept them a separate sealed off room of his house to avoid infecting the others. Using a controlled diet, herbal medicine, and vitamins, he kept those two cats alive, happy and healthy for 18 and 20 years, the average life span of a normal healthy cat. I will also note here that he had one of the healthy cats that lived over 35 years. I would also point out that he spent around $20-$30,000 a year to care for all those cats...
About 10 years after he started his "program" with the infected cats he told his veterinary professor that they were still alive. The professor was amazed and practically begged him to return to the university to conduct a extensive study. But he refused because that would require him to do a control group and he could not treat some of the cats and allow the others to die...

 

[Tom]

Brmstn69, Kai,

I truly feel for you. It is such a tough thing to go through. When it was time to put my first dog down several years ago, it was the absolute worst thing I've ever gone through. For me it was worse than being by my Grandmothers side as she died. It still chokes me up.
But I know they are in a better place, because I believe that, but I know it doesn't stop the pain.

Brmstn69, I can't tell you how many people I know lost one pet, and another died shortly after. Sometimes, it really is a case of dying from a broken heart. They may have been ill, but one might just have died from losing it's best friend.

My heartfelt condolences go out to both of you! I dread the day I have to go through that again.

Pets are often closer to us then friends and family. They form a bond
that people just can't. I think they have senses we can never appreciate.
They know when we are down, when we are ill, feeling lonely, at those times they are always there to offer comfort.

I recall a story of a pet that died. The parents were so worried because their young son was so attached to the pet. They explained death as best they could to such a young boy, they even had a funeral for it.
The parents couldn't keep their composure together through all of this, but the little boy was OK. When they finally asked him why he wasn't crying and sad, he replied he was, but animals are only with us for a short time because they learn how to love right away. People need longer to learn how so we have to live a lot longer.

 

[slboot]

I recently lost an 17 year old solid black male cat. He had a great personality and was like a person. I miss him greatly.

 

[smallsleepyrascalcat]

Well, this is a real bad news thread for cats. It seems to be all happening at once for GH cat owners. My own little cat has a small lump on her back, and the hair kind of sticks up. But she seems fine and does not complain in any way. Probably a wound from a fight with another cat.

Our little cat had this too two times already.
I'd go to the veterinarian with her if I were you.
Such an abscess can be dangerous. The first time our Romy had one at the root of her tail, we didn't discover it until she wasn't able to move the tail anymore.
The doc had to remove it.

 

[JeroenS]

I once had a cat, he lived with my family and after I left home he lived with me till he died at age 20 (when he was 20 he had Alzheimer and kidney-problems), he was a Tom-cat (male) and he was burried in the garden of my first house (due to renovation projects my first house was demolished so probably his bones were removed too), second pet I had was a rabbit, he was sold to me as being a "dwarf rabbit" but it turned out he was a "Lotharinger" (over 1 meter long when he streched out), I had no idea about rabbits then, when he died I had him cremated ad now his ashes rest in a secret place, not to be found until I die myself

 

[Tjerk12]

I love animals. There was a moment that I had three dogs, three cats, ten chickens, four geese and three horses. Now there are only one dog, a cat, one chicken and two horses left. Each time it felt as if I lost a friend. A terrible pain. I buried them all in my garden (that's against the law in The Netherlands). In my mind they are still alive. I feel sorry for you.