Looking for answers, why my girl got sick

guitarfish

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It's been 5 days since I had to have my 7-1/2 yr old female put to sleep. I have a lot of grief and other issues I'm dealing with. I think guilt is there too. Could I have done more? The point of this thread is, does anyone have any ideas what could have been wrong with her?

She was never a super healthy cat to begin with, and I suspected early on that she would not live an extended life, eg 15 years. She had hyperthyroidism, so she had a felimazole pill morning and night. It was always a chore to get her to eat, and she didn't eat a lot. She was maybe 9-10 pounds, and never "filled out" as I've seen cats do. We got her when she was 1-1/2, and had her for 6 years. She was an indoor cat, except for some times my wife took her out in our yard for 15-30 min, supervised, usually in summer.

She woke us up at 4am on a Monday morning vomiting. No solids came up, just stomach juices. She vomited 8 or so more times the rest of the day, and was very weak. The next morning we got her to the vet. They rehydrated her. Kidneys were OK. They said it was something gastrointestinal and must have eaten something. We can't imagine what that would be. It's just my wife and I, and 3 cats. The other 2 are fine, and no one has been outside in weeks. We had a bouquet of carnations, but I don't see any evidence she ate those, and nothing was thrown up like that.

I almost never travel, but as fate would have it, I was away for 4 days, got back Thursday night. My wife was caring for her during this time, giving her water & broth by eye dropper. According to my wife, her abdomen appeared to cause her pain when touched, and she thought it might have been swollen, although I didn't notice that. We saw her urinate at least once during this time, but never defecate. She had water, broth and less than an ounce of food over a 6 day period. Aside from one instance on Friday night when she drank a good 1/4 cup or so, she never voluntarily ate or drank.

When she starting lying down in her litterbox, and hiding in a place she'd only go during thunderstorms, we didn't want her to suffer anymore. So now she's gone, and I'm wondering what the bleep happened. It was so fast, and I never expected her to be gone at age 7. I'll probably never know the answer. But I'd like some ideas.
 

Mamanyt1953

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I am so, so sorry for your loss. I know it tears at you. While we can never know for sure, we do know that she had issues from day one. It is very possible that there was some hidden genetic issue going on. I so wish that your vets had done bloodwork...or did they? You didn't mention it. Regardless, you and your wife did your very best for her, and she knew that she was loved and cherished. That is what you need to remember...she left knowing how loved she was. In the end, that is all that matters.
 

MissClouseau

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They rehydrated her. Kidneys were OK. They said it was something gastrointestinal and must have eaten something. We can't imagine what that would be. It's just my wife and I, and 3 cats. The other 2 are fine, and no one has been outside in weeks. We had a bouquet of carnations, but I don't see any evidence she ate those, and nothing was thrown up like that.
I take this as they ran a blood test at the vet? I can't tell you what the kitty had but without further diagnostic tests, vets go with the more likely option and if it doesn't work, they ask for further tests. Both so the cost won't be a fortune every time and to not have the patient go through stressful tests like endoscopy/biopsy. I think they tried to treat her for a stomach bug (was her red blood cells/white blood cells abnormal? Showed infection?)

I can't tell you what your kitty had but if she ate something poisonous, her kidneys would typically show that. It's possible something has been going on before there was a symptom. If there was an infection, that could have been secondary to the hidden bigger problem.

She had water, broth and less than an ounce of food over a 6 day period.
Not eating for more than a day is very dangerous for cats as that leads to fatty liver disease that could lead to liver failure. Usually if the cat doesn't eat on her own or with syringe feeding, hospitalization is needed so either they can syringe feed there or insert a feeding tube. I say this in case another cat gets sick but please don't kick yourself, there is absolutely no evidence this is what caused the cat lose her life and she could have been saved otherwise. We can't know "what if..."s
 

di and bob

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It could be so many things, it's really hard to say.....It could have been an obstruction, because of no bowel movements, or severe constipation. An x-ray is relatively cheap and would show this and many other things. If bloodwork didn't show anything, and she has been 'sickly' a little all her life it could be a genetic fault, or even FIV, which is slow sometimes in cats. I know it is hard, but try not to dwell on all those should ahves, could haves that come with grief. It changes nothing. Celebrate that she shared your life for a while, and that you were able to give her what she wanted most in this world, the love of a family. I'm so very sorry, RIP sweet little girl......
 
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guitarfish

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Thanks all. When at the vet, they did an x-ray, presumably didn't see anything. I wasn't there, I don't have the details on what tests they did. Originally they said it was her kidneys, but then they said that test was invalid because of how dehydrated she was. So after rehydrating they gave the kidneys a pass, and said it must be something gastro.
Costs can run up so quickly as you know, and when you have a few pets, between food, litter, vet visits, it really adds up. Just this experience with our girl was over $800 in one week.
Again, thank you all for the compassion.
 
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