Sudden open mouth breathing for 10 minutes

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countrygirl576

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I brought her home alive and didn't think that would happen, but it might be a short thing. She is super dehydrated (which I knew she would be from all the throwing up. One thing I learned today fluid is absorbed in your small intestines. Not your stomach). They did blood work, and everything is good except she has an infection, and her potassium level is super low again. I told the vet I don't want to put her down if she still has some life left in her, but I don't want her to suffer too. So, they gave her fluids with potassium (I gave her potassium med when I got her home), antibiotic shot, cerenia shot for the throwing up and I have pain medicine at home to give her. Will see how it goes over night with her and if nothing has changed then there is no more that can be done but at least this way I have given her all the chances she could have. Even if this does work, she has a short time. Vet wasn't sure but it could be 2 days or 3-4 weeks. The tumor will keep growing pushing on everything and it affects how her body does. She wouldn't eat when I got her home, but they never do. It takes a few hours for them to settle down.
 
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countrygirl576

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The tumor can be felt with the exam now when before it couldn't. It's the size of a large orange or small grapefruit. She still hasn't eaten anything. She will go to the water/food dishes but just sit there looking at them and turn walk away. Maybe with her 2nd dose of potassium tonight she will perk up. When she is quiet her breathing is good. Up and moving she breaths harder.
 

iPappy

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The tumor can be felt with the exam now when before it couldn't. It's the size of a large orange or small grapefruit. She still hasn't eaten anything. She will go to the water/food dishes but just sit there looking at them and turn walk away. Maybe with her 2nd dose of potassium tonight she will perk up. When she is quiet her breathing is good. Up and moving she breaths harder.
Looking at the water/food dishes makes me think she wants to eat but something is holding her back. Maybe a few doses of potassium will perk her up, and get her appetite going. Does she have a favorite "special" food or treat you don't give often that you could try tempting her with?
 
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countrygirl576

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Things went gone downhill at 9:30 tonight. Not sure why but she can hardly walk now. Her breathing while being still is hard again and I tried giving her more of her potassium with the oral syringe and she screamed a meow I've heard my other 2 cats do at the end time. She can't swallow and that is why she won't drink or eat. What little bit of liquid I got in her mouth drooled out. Imagine the tumor was cancer and it has spread. Tomorrow morning I'm calling the vet at 8:00 am and telling them I will be bringing her in to end her misery instead of fluids and cerenia shot. As much as my head and heart say no....give her a chance....my head and heart also know she doesn't have any more chances. I've done what I could for her and I won't have her choke to death. My dad died from cancer and in the end, he choked to death and so did his mother. Not a nice way to die. I did give her more pain medicine so I hope that will help her through the night.
 

iPappy

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When I decided enough was enough with Tag, he could barely breathe and he refused to drink unless out of my hand. Painful doesn't even describe that decision I had to make. But if they can't eat, drink, or breathe normally despite vet care, what can we do? And how long will they last?
I refused to let my Tag die by being unable to get oxygen. I could hear the fluid in his lungs, we knew we were on borrowed time and we knew the cancer had spread, and I called the vet because his discomfort turned to misery. The happy part of his life was over. I chose to end the suffering that would ultimately drag on and take his life. He got a dignified end, meant for a little king. 🕊
I am so sorry C countrygirl576 . We fight for them so hard. :hugs:
 
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countrygirl576

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She's gone. Got to the vet this morning when they opened up. I know it had to be done. There was no saving her, but it doesn't make it any easier. When they gave her the final medicine, she slowly lifted her head up to look me right into my eyes and stayed there until she was gone. I held her head up for her and looked her right back and told her I loved her so much and so sorry I couldn't save her. I've never had any of my pets do that and it broke my heart. I'm hoping she was saying one last goodbye to me and not asking me why I was killing her. I don't know how to do this anymore. Have 3 left and I can]t deal with it anymore. I tell them how much I love them but look what I do to them in the end. I know she would have suffocated slowly, which was what was happening overnight, but it still doesn't change how I feel. I will always feel like I killed them, and I don't understand why her?? No major health problems at all until now. I worried for some many years about her sister and her sister has outlived her. Life is cruel that's all I know. Now to bury her. Bury my little baby.
 

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It's in her adrenal gland. They can't do a biopsy because it is way too risky of a procedure and surgery is too. Most animals never recover from that type of surgery. Lots of major blood vessels there. With her age they are assuming it is cancer so just enjoy her and hope for the best. They could do steroid shots, but her heart is enlarged so that is out. She's almost 16 yrs old
The cat in my profile photo had a carcinoma in one of her adrenal glands, the mass was about 1 inch large.
She was 16 yo, with CKD, a slight HCM, she was FIV+, was weak and coming from another long therapy for another carcinoma.
The surgery was risky, I was told, but I agreed to have it done and everything went fine. She recovered in about three weeks.

That carcinoma was depleting all her potassium and I had to supplement her daily, or she couldn't even stand on her legs.
I took my chances, so hopefully you can do just the same.
 

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I am so sorry for your loss. As hard as this is, you did the right thing in order to save her from what was undoubtedly going to be more suffering.
 

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I’m so sorry.

You didn’t kill her. You did your best to save her. The tumour was killing her, and what you did was spare her any more of that awful pain and distress. Cancer is a horrible disease. I have lost several cats to it over the years. Better to help her go, painlessly and very quickly, than choke to death as awaited her. I don’t imagine for a moment she was blaming you, even if she could know she was about to die (not something I think a cat could conceptualise like that).
 

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I am so sorry. I struggle with that "I killed them" feeling, but after awhile I remember that euthanasia literally translates into "good death". Like being put under before a surgery, and just not waking up. As hard as it was for you, I am glad she got to go quietly, with you holding her sweet little face in your hand while being told how much she is loved rather than slowly having her air cut off. How I wish they would live to be 20 and then just pass in their sleep, but this rarely happens unfortunately. :hugs:
 
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countrygirl576

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I don't understand why no one told me she had a short time. I didn't see this coming. Thought maybe she'd go next year not so soon and she went downhill fast. They guessed it was cancer. I don't know how to ever go to bed without her again. The house will stay messy for I don't know how long. I'm not moving her stuff.
 

catloverfromwayback

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It can happen so fast. When Katie was diagnosed they said she had maybe two weeks left, which was accurate - I wish I’d had the chance to euthanise her instead of her going through her last hours in heart failure and dying in my lap. Maddie was initially misdiagnosed and when the vet (different vet, twenty years later) diagnosed the cancer it was too late for anything but palliative treatment, which didn’t help. Not that I think an earlier diagnosis would have made any difference. But the key was getting her out of her pain, she couldn’t eat, vomited, fought against her medications - she was suffering. When all you can do to relieve their pain is let them go, that’s what you have to do. And you did. You helped your darling the only way left.
 
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countrygirl576

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I just looked at the date when I posted this. My little fur baby only lasted a month to the day. Posted it Nov. 6th and put her down Dec. 6th. How did I think it was 2 months??? 😢 😢 Slept like a rock last night and no dreaming. Woke up thinking all was fine and great and then it hit me.......it hit me like a train.......everything isn't fine and great. It never will be again
 

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My partner had this happen to him the day after we had to let our Poppy go at the end of October. I felt so bad for him, and now for you because it's like having it happen again :(
Even almost 3 months on sometimes it hits me all over again with Tag. It's less in intensity but it still is there. Grief is a very real thing, and there is no wrong way to handle it (unless things like depressive self harm in any way come up of course.) I think a hard part for a lot of people is feeling like you're allowed to begin to feel happy again at some point. It's hard to explain, but it's almost an involuntary self induced guilt trip when you feel little moments of feeling normal again.
I hope you're doing OK C countrygirl576 . :hugs:
 
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countrygirl576

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It took over a year to get over putting my cat down 5 yrs ago. I would get up 3 times a night and check on the others because my head kept telling me something was wrong with them, and they needed my help. It would start 1/2 hour after getting into bed. The cats were not happy with me shinning a flashlight at them 3 times a night because they were sleeping all 3 times. I am hearing things too now, but I know that is normal. I think I hear them throwing up or they're falling ect and need my help but there is nothing wrong with them. All three of them are sleeping or looking out the window. Did finally go upstairs this morning to finally take a shower and change my cloths. I hate going upstairs because that meant her following me up for treats on my bed but my other cat (her sister) did the same thing, and she has been meowing more and more wanting upstairs, so I did it finally for her. This might sound stupid but there were only a few treats left in the bag that I gave her, and I kept it. It's the last treat bag I bought for the one I just lost. Guess tonight I will try going to bed instead of sleeping downstairs with the TV on. Her sister meowed quite a bit last night because normal schedule is sleeping upstairs, and I have to be with her because she is the one who has seizures.
I don't understand the doctors thinking. The one who did the ultrasound to find the tumor at the hospital. The specialist. He said they normally would give a steroid to help slow the tumor down but she had an enlarged heart, so he didn't dare to...why??? He knew she had a short time...me....I thought she had until next year sometime.....so what hurt would it have been to give her the steroid??? I feel like I let her down. I feel like I have let all of them down. Didn't take her for a second opinion and I should have. Maybe I should have said ok do the surgery anyways. I never worried about her like I have the others and maybe if I had she would still be here with me. I just don't understand how a cat who had only 2 minor health problems in her whole 15 yrs of life suddenly dies from cancer.
I have decided to crochet "end of life" blankets and see if my vets office will use them there. Years ago I made two blankets each for my fur babies when the end time comes. One blanket has their name on it and a saying how I will miss them. That one they are wrapped with. The second blanket I made to cover them over to keep them warm. I know that is really stupid but the thought of them in the cold ground in the casket just wasn't right to me. I have always made sure they were warm during wintertime. They offered a blanket to me but I told them I brought one with me. They did much better than the last vet office I was at. After putting my fur baby down they asked me if I wanted a garbage bag. Ticked me off and told them noooooooo she wasn't garbage. She had a blanket and I wanted her put back into the carrier. Why would anyone put their pet in a garbage bag when they have the carrier????? Could offer a cardboard box instead. The blanket they offered Tuesday wasn't very pretty but at least they offered one, so I am going to make one and take it when it's finished and see if they say yes. Bad part I can't make one big enough for a really big dog. It's going to be my therapy. I was crocheting toys for tots but I would rather do this instead. Not into anything that has to do with Christmas right now.
I'm not sure how long it will take to get over her being gone. Each one has been different. Just wish she could have been with me for one more Christmas.
I'm sorry for what all of you have gone through with yours. It seems we all go through the same thing in the end. They bring such joy in the beginning and throughout the years and such awful heartache in the end time. Thank you for all the help and understanding.
 
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