My sweet angel Sandy...

joyfulrose

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I cannot believe I'm here again and making this post. Yesterday morning I lost my sweet angel Sandy in the most shocking and traumatic way. I don't understand how this happened or what lead to my sweet baby passing away so suddenly when she was fine only moments before. Everything was fine, Sandy was laying on the sofa next to me and acting like her usual self, completely normal. She seemed happy and content to me and there was nothing at all that I could see from the way she was acting that could have ever prepared me for what would happen in the next couple mins. She was laying next to me on the sofa, I got up to use the restroom quickly and literally a minute later I hear my brother call for me and say "I think something is wrong with Sandy!" I didn't understand what he meant when i was with her just a few moments ago and she was fine. I rushed out to her and I see her laying on the floor right near the sofa where she had been laying and she looked like she wasn't there, like she was unresponsive to her surroundings. She was not moving, i tried to wake her up, calling her name, petting her, doing everything i can to wake her up. i carried her and laid her on the sofa but she was not responding to my voice or anything around her. When i was carrying her I felt something change inside of her (thinking back now, I think it may have been when her heart stopped beating, i just didn't realize it at the time.) Her body was completely limp and wobbly. I was in so much shock. She was fine just moments before. I ask my brother what happened when I had left to use the restroom because she was fine right before. He told me he heard her let out a small meow then he saw her on the floor (but didn't notice when she had jumped down from the sofa) he told me it looked like she was having a seizure (she has never has one before in her life) He said he noticed her laying on the floor taking long slow breathes. Her tongue was sticking out. He thought maybe she was choking or trying to vomit/cough and was unable to, he said he tried to help her. He said he also noticed her limbs moving violently at the same time. He laid her on her side and then that was when he called for me. i was crying so much and in complete shock. I just kept saying she was fine a few mins ago how did this happen.. When i laid her on the sofa she was not moving, she was completely unresponsive and to me it looked like she was no longer breathing and I didn't feel a heartbeat. I checked a couple of times, tried to listen to see if i can hear or see any breathing or a heartbeat but I couldn't. I opened her mouth to see if maybe she had choked on something and I noticed her tongue was stuck against the roof of her mouth and it was very pale. I reached out to several vets, a pet ambulance company, I couldn't find anyone who was open near me that early in the morning on a Saturday. Finally was able to speak with someone and he told me it seems as though she may have passed after i explained to him what happened. He told me there is a way I can check and know for sure if I wasn't certain. He told me to take a finger and try to touch her eye, if she reacts then she may still be able to get help, if not, then he said that means she has passed already. I did as he said and she didn't respond or react, her eye felt like rubber. I finally found a vet who was open soon after that and rushed her there. They examined her and confirmed what I had already known, my sweet angel has already passed. She was non responsive, no heartbeat and her breathing had stopped. The vet told me it could have been a cardiac related problem. She literally passed away within mins. She told me there was nothing I could have done, if it was her heart as she suspects, she said sometimes you never see any signs or symptoms at all. They will seem completely fine and then they can go like just like that. The vet told me she had a dog who passed away the same way. She said that at least i can take comfort in knowing it was not painful for her and that it was very quick.

I am traumatized and still in shock. I would have never expected something like this to happen to my sweet girl. Sandy was my youngest cat out of 4. I had recently lost my two oldest ones not very long ago. My darling Rosie at the end of 2018 and then my darling Sparkles in 2020. Now Sandy so soon after. I don't know why this keeps happening and so soon after each other. I always say I can't go through losing another one of my babies. Rosie was 17, Sparkles was 18, and Sandy my youngest was 14. My heart is broken once again. My heart cannot take all of this loss. I can't believe i started with four beautiful cats and I now have 1.

Sandy was the sweetest cat in the world. She had such a sweet and loving personality. All she ever wanted was to be loved constantly. She adored being pet, she would let you pet her for hours on end. I used to call her Sandykins, she loved it. And sometimes I would play her the song "Oh Sandy" from the movie Grease she loved it so much. Oh, how I miss my sweet Sandykins, I wish i could see her and my other babies one last time. There's so much I want to say and share but I feel unable to say anything more at the moment. I am absolutely devasted. RIP My beautiful Sandykins. I love you so much. ❤
 

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Maria Bayote

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I am very sorry, considering also how you lost her. Your post makes me want to run back home and hug my cats.

There are no words from me to probably comfort you at this time of grief, but as what the vet said, there was nothing you could have done.

Sandy was a beautiful cat. You gave her a beautiful life, and she will carry those happy memories for all eternity.
 

betsygee

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It's very tough to lose a beloved companion when it's so unexpected and unexplained. You did everything you possibly could for your girl. As the vet said, though, there was probably nothing you could have done if the poor girl had sudden cardiac arrest.

Losing our dear fur-kids is devastating and my heart goes out to you. :hugs:

Rest in peace, sweet Sandy. :rbheart:
 

Mamanyt1953

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Rest you gentle, Sandy, dream you deep. Your pawprints are on someone's heart forever.

I am so, so sorry. I will tell you this, I spent many years in human medicine, and in the nature of my discipline, talked with many people who had strokes. Every one of them told me that they did not feel anything DURING the stroke, and only confusion right after. If this is what happened with your girl, then her passing was far harder on your brother, who saw it, and on you, than it was on her. I don't know if that helps, but I so hope it does.

But this I know, that love does not die, it only changes form, is translated and purified into Love, and continues on. And that Love stays with us. Because Love abides. Always, forever, Love abides.
 
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joyfulrose

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Thank you everyone. I'm thinking a lot today about everything that happened. I wish with all of my heart that I never left the room when I did. Maybe if I was there next to her as I had been moments before I would have been able to do something to help her and Sandy would still be here. I just don't understand why this happened. Did she jump down from the sofa wrong and get hurt and then had a seizure that lead to her death? My brother told me he never saw when exactly she jumped down from the sofa, he only saw her when she was on the the floor already struggling to breathe and having a seizure. I remember that sometimes she used to have a bit of trouble jumping down, but nothing too bad ( I always thought it was just because she was getting older because she was fine jumping up and there were times where she was fine jumping down as well, her back legs did seem to have gotten a little slightly weaker the last month or two I thought it was old age/arthritis i never thought it was ever anything bad or life threatening because she seemed fine and like her normal self. she was still eating and drinking and using the litter box just fine and behaving normally) Was this her heart? Did she have a stroke? Could it have been saddle thrombus? I just don't know. Maybe there was something I missed. She didn't show any signs or symptoms that looked to me to be anything serious. I feel horrible because I wasn't there with her when it was happening. Though I was only gone for a min or two, I wish I would have waited a little longer before getting up and leaving the room. She was laying next to me before I got up and everything was fine. I feel bad for my brother who saw it all happening, I know it affected him, he was questioning that maybe if he had called out for me sooner to come and see what was wrong with Sandy that maybe she would still be here. I don't know though, I don't believe that would have changed the outcome. She passed away within mins, it was almost immediately after I had come to see her when my brother let me know something was wrong. I would estimate no more than 5-10 mins was when she had the seizure until her passing. It was so quick, I don't know if there was anything we could have done, it was absolutely devastating. I know my brother did everything he could to help her, and I tried to do the same when I came but i was already too late because at this point she was already unresponsive and when I carried her I felt something inside of her change. I don't know how to explain it but i believe it was either when she stopped breathing or when her heart stopped. I didn't realize it and I kept trying to wake her up but she was already gone. I kept checking for a heartbeat, tried to listen and see if she was breathing but I didn't hear anything 😭 I don't know if maybe we had been able to get to a Vet quickly, would they have been able to help her? I don't know how we would have made it to one fast enough but I still wonder if it would have made a difference. By the time i was actually able to get her to the vet it had been maybe an hour and a half later. It was early in the morning and on the weekend none of the vets near me were open until later, even the emergency ones which I couldn't understand. The vet believes it was cardiac related, she told me there was nothing I could have done and that often times there are no signs or symptoms that would alert us that something is wrong. It's all just so heartbreaking. My sweet girl didn't deserve this, I'm just so so sorry that it had to be this way. I'm sorry that we couldn't save her. 💔
 

Tigger's Mum

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I'm so very sorry for your loss. She was a beautiful cat. I'm inclined to agree with the vet. It sounds very much like she had a Cardiac Arrest and there is nothing you could have done for her. Sometimes cats (and other species, including humans) have heart conditions that can't be picked up until it's too late.

When my daughter was 14 a large group of her year at school had a night at the ice skating. They left in three groups. My daughter was in the first group. A girl in the third group suffered a sudden Cardiac Arrest. She was dead before she hit the pavement (sidewalk). Because my daughter was in the first group and some distance from the third group, she didn't find out about it until the Monday morning when she went back to school. The autopsy showed that the poor girl had an undetected genetic heart condition. Her parents were told that it was one that can't be detected - until it's too late.

I suspect something similar is what happened with your cat. Please don't beat yourself up. Think instead of the joy and love she gave you and that you gave her. You gave her a loving home and she'll never leave you. She will, like your other cats, live on in your heart and memories.

Hugs to you. This year, in the space of a few weeks I lost two of my oldest cats and my oldest pet snake but their memories will never leave me.

Run free at Rainbow Bridge Sandy where you will all meet again one day.
 

di and bob

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I agree it was most likely cardiac-related, especially with the pale tongue and suddenness of death. When the heart is stopped, the blood stops flowing immediately and seizures shortly follow. I truly don't believe there was anything that could have been done, even with a vet right there there is no coming back. Death is not always as simple as going to sleep, and it is so very hard to watch someone you love go through it.
Please don't torture yourself with all those should haves, could haves. They always happen with grief and it never changes what happened, no matter how much we want it to. You were there with her, at her beloved home, and she is at peace now because she carries your love. It broke your heart to have to let her go, she didn't want to go, she had to. She leaves you with the wonderful memories you have of your life with her, she would never want to bring such pain to someone she loves so much. she would want you to go forward into the future as you would want her to do if you were the first to go because that is love. At such times I always remember a saying that brings me peace, and I hope it brings some to you too. "Do not cry because it is over, smile because it happened". The love and happiness she brought into your life far outweigh the pain of her leaving. But it takes a long time to get to that point. time is the only thing that helps a broken heart. Take care of yourself and kiss that remaining baby for me. Bless you for loving them so much.......RIP precious Sandy. You will be dearly missed, you will always have a secure place in loving hearts. May the good Lord bless and keep you, until you meet again!
 

epona

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Oh I am so sorry, what a terrible shock for you.

Please try to take comfort from the fact that it was quick - she didn't suffer days or weeks of being unwell or in pain, and the last thing she would have been aware of was laying next to you in her home with the people she loved.

So sorry for your loss.
 

catsknowme

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Condolences on losing Sandy....In 2011, I lost my father in a similar way. For some reason, your beautiful kitty Sandy was called Home, albeit far too soon because with such a lovely companion, the time allotted together is too short. I hope that your brother is coping well with the traumatic event - he must really love his sister to have cared so much for her kitties. How is your remaining kitty doing? Kitties do grieve although it may be subtle. Please let us know how you are doing :grouphug:
 
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