we adopted a kitten rejected by its mother. I knew there was a chance he had a medical condition as a reason for being unwanted, I just never suspected we’d bond before it took him. He was seemingly healthy at every check up (with the exclusion of needing to be dewormed).
5/19 he stopped eating as much as normal. It caused concern, but only mildly as I assumed he must be eating the dry food I left out for him, and he was still eating enough of his KMR.
5/20 he woke normally. He even seemed to have an appetite again and sucked down his bottle with a vengeance! I put him in his crate and had to run errands. He normally napped at this time any ways.
I got home around 11 (3 hours after he was happily playing and had breakfast.) he seemed sleepy but I told my (responsible) daughter she could play with him in her room while I put my infant down for a nap.
She came to me and said he was gagging and making a funny noise. I took him and he was gagging so bad his eyes seemed to bulge and his tongue forcefully almost looked swollen the way it came out. I tried to remain calm and asked her if there was any chance he ate something small from her room.. but she guaranteed me it wasn’t possible.
I held him for 15 minutes seeing if it would pass but his breathing became shallow and rapid so I rushed him to the Er (fortunately there’s one 10 minutes from my home.
The dr was in surgery but the nurses took his vitals and said his temp was low but his oxygen looked good so I could hold him while we wait.. by this point he was completely limp like his spine had broken and couldn’t even hold his head up. The dr got to us 15 minutes after arrival and listened to his heart and immediately said he had a heart murmur and potentially a growth or valve issue and recommended euthanasia. He checked blood sugar and said extensive testing won’t fix him and the most humane route is to put him down. I couldn’t bare to watch him suffer and the dr said he was struggling to breathe and likely in pain.
We only had him for a month but I’m so devastated. I’m having nightmares that the dr lied and he was just dehydrated.. or that he broke his spine and that’s it.. the dr said he never noticed a heart problem at previous exams (he happened to be our regular veterinarian) so I think that’s why I’m having dreams.. but how do I learn to cope. Did I do the right thing? I miss him so much
5/19 he stopped eating as much as normal. It caused concern, but only mildly as I assumed he must be eating the dry food I left out for him, and he was still eating enough of his KMR.
5/20 he woke normally. He even seemed to have an appetite again and sucked down his bottle with a vengeance! I put him in his crate and had to run errands. He normally napped at this time any ways.
I got home around 11 (3 hours after he was happily playing and had breakfast.) he seemed sleepy but I told my (responsible) daughter she could play with him in her room while I put my infant down for a nap.
She came to me and said he was gagging and making a funny noise. I took him and he was gagging so bad his eyes seemed to bulge and his tongue forcefully almost looked swollen the way it came out. I tried to remain calm and asked her if there was any chance he ate something small from her room.. but she guaranteed me it wasn’t possible.
I held him for 15 minutes seeing if it would pass but his breathing became shallow and rapid so I rushed him to the Er (fortunately there’s one 10 minutes from my home.
The dr was in surgery but the nurses took his vitals and said his temp was low but his oxygen looked good so I could hold him while we wait.. by this point he was completely limp like his spine had broken and couldn’t even hold his head up. The dr got to us 15 minutes after arrival and listened to his heart and immediately said he had a heart murmur and potentially a growth or valve issue and recommended euthanasia. He checked blood sugar and said extensive testing won’t fix him and the most humane route is to put him down. I couldn’t bare to watch him suffer and the dr said he was struggling to breathe and likely in pain.
We only had him for a month but I’m so devastated. I’m having nightmares that the dr lied and he was just dehydrated.. or that he broke his spine and that’s it.. the dr said he never noticed a heart problem at previous exams (he happened to be our regular veterinarian) so I think that’s why I’m having dreams.. but how do I learn to cope. Did I do the right thing? I miss him so much