I'm sad to report that this morning I found 2.5 year old Little Red in my yard with a saddle thrombus. I thought he had been hit by a car since he couldn't move his back legs but the ER identified it right away since his feet were cold. We did an X-ray to confirm he was already in heart failure, and decided to put him to sleep. It was a tough decision and even though I read a lot of successful recovery stories on here while I was in the waiting room, I believe it was the right decision given his state of heart failure and probability of another thrombus, which seems incredibly and terrifyingly painful.
Little Red was born near my yard to a feral mom. He was one of 4 - after TNR on all 5 of them, two of the litter live with me inside and he and one sister stayed out with the mom. The three of them were always traveling around together and visit every day to eat and use my shelters to stay warm at night in winters. The other two were with him when the thrombus happened (as seen on my patio camera footage) and tried to comfort him as he cried out. They left for a bit and he tried to get into my Kitty Tube, but couldn't get his back legs in and then the plastic cat-sized entry door got stuck on his torso when he backed out of the shelter. He cried out again and the other two sprinted back to his side from the woods, and tried to help him but didn't take long for them to head back off to the woods. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time to see them care for him in the footage.
He eventually got the plastic door off by dragging himself around, and about an hour later (3 hours after the thrombus), I went out to feed them which is when I heard him crying and then it was another hour before we made it to the ER and they gave him pain medication. I feel terrible that I didn't go out sooner, but I didn't check the camera first thing like I sometimes do and had no idea he was hurting. At the same time I am grateful he was so close to home and that I wasn't away at work and was able to help him as soon as I did. And in his life he knew he had a home and was loved.
Anyway, I have a couple doubts about what's best at this point. The two cats outside seem to be waiting for him here and lingering longer than normal. They must be worried about him given they saw him in so much pain. At the ER I opted for cremation, but is it better to bring his body back here and let them see him so they know he passed? I think I could call the vet in the morning to change it if that's better. But even if I bring him back, will he smell too much like the hospital for them to know him? Will he smell like me and they might think I am dangerous? I hate robbing them of closure if they need it.
I also don't know if I need to worry about his littermates' health and possible heart conditions? The ER vet didn't seem to concerned.
Thank you for making it to the end of this post!
Little Red was born near my yard to a feral mom. He was one of 4 - after TNR on all 5 of them, two of the litter live with me inside and he and one sister stayed out with the mom. The three of them were always traveling around together and visit every day to eat and use my shelters to stay warm at night in winters. The other two were with him when the thrombus happened (as seen on my patio camera footage) and tried to comfort him as he cried out. They left for a bit and he tried to get into my Kitty Tube, but couldn't get his back legs in and then the plastic cat-sized entry door got stuck on his torso when he backed out of the shelter. He cried out again and the other two sprinted back to his side from the woods, and tried to help him but didn't take long for them to head back off to the woods. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time to see them care for him in the footage.
He eventually got the plastic door off by dragging himself around, and about an hour later (3 hours after the thrombus), I went out to feed them which is when I heard him crying and then it was another hour before we made it to the ER and they gave him pain medication. I feel terrible that I didn't go out sooner, but I didn't check the camera first thing like I sometimes do and had no idea he was hurting. At the same time I am grateful he was so close to home and that I wasn't away at work and was able to help him as soon as I did. And in his life he knew he had a home and was loved.
Anyway, I have a couple doubts about what's best at this point. The two cats outside seem to be waiting for him here and lingering longer than normal. They must be worried about him given they saw him in so much pain. At the ER I opted for cremation, but is it better to bring his body back here and let them see him so they know he passed? I think I could call the vet in the morning to change it if that's better. But even if I bring him back, will he smell too much like the hospital for them to know him? Will he smell like me and they might think I am dangerous? I hate robbing them of closure if they need it.
I also don't know if I need to worry about his littermates' health and possible heart conditions? The ER vet didn't seem to concerned.
Thank you for making it to the end of this post!