1 year old British Blue sudden death

hm2088

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Hello.

I've joined this site searching for answers that I hope someone might have, or even just to understand if this has happened to anyone else.

On January 31st 2020, after being at work all day I came home to find Totoro (my fur baby) had passed away. When I had left him in the morning we had cuddles, there was no sign that anything was wrong with him. Understandably I was devastated. I'm still devastated and my grief is still so raw.

From the start when I got Tots as a kitten, he often had diarrhea which sometimes had blood in it. It was very distressing for me to see at first and we went back and forth to the vets for numerous tests including feline leukemia, giardia etc he tested positive for giardia and was placed on antibiotics, after a while his stomach got better, but then it happened again and back to the vets. This time they prescribed a special hypoallergenic diet, which seemed to help, but he would still have loose stools every now and again but it was manageable and I was satisfied that the vets had conducted numerous tests including sending off stool samples.

So when I got home on that night to find he had passed away, I was shocked and devastated. There was nothing I could do. But still I tried to open his mouth stupidly thinking I could save him some how, refusing to accept he had died.

We took him to the vet and I requested a post mortem to be conducted as I didn't think I would be able to accept that it wasn't my fault without it. The post mortem revealed his lungs where filled with fluid and blood. But beyond that I wasn't really given any reason as to how this could've happened.

Rightly or wrongly, in some sort of comfort I have been trying to find other people who like me, have lost a cat, specifically British Shorthair suddenly, with little to no explanation. My searching has led me to come across several posts/articles mentioning FIP as a killer amongst young cats. Having read about the condition, symptoms, I think it sounds like Totoro could've had this condition.

I guess I'm just searching for some answers, because I don't know if I'll ever be able to accept his death. I was convinced it was somehow my fault. I miss him so desperately, my home isn't my home anymore. I still cry most days and I'm finding this so difficult. I just want my baby back.

If there is anyone out there that can relate to this, please share your story. Thank you.

I wanted to post a picture of him, but I'm still finding it incredibly painful to look at them.
 

Kat.

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I'm so so sorry for your loss.

From what you described, I immediately thought about FIP. If so, there's nothing you could've done to prevent it.

Please don't blame yourself. X
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I, too, am so sorry. The death of one of our furbabies is so painful, and no matter the reason, whether they have a chronic illness, or have a heart attack, whatever happens, it is never easy for the ones left behind. Most of here have suffered such losses, some of us many times, and we always wonder if there was ANYTHING we could have done differently. It's human nature to question yourself in these instances, but believe me, you did nothing wrong. And if it was FIP, it's really better that it took him swiftly than for him to linger and you to have to make the terrible decision of when to let him go, wondering then if it was too soon, or worse, too late :alright:.

Again, I am so sorry for your loss, and hope that soon you'll be able to remember the good times you shared with Totoro rather than that miserable day :hugs:. When you feel up to it, we have a forum for those cats who have passed on here:

Crossing the Bridge

Many people find peace in writing a tribute to their loved ones there.
 

Mamanyt1953

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I am so, so sorry, and yes, it does sound like FIP. And it took him very quickly, which is a mercy. There is currently no reliable treatment for it, no way to catch it early, nothing. Nothing you did do or did not do would have changed this. NOTHING. I am, again, so very sorry, and my heart is with yours.
 
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