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Thread: Cat had to be euthanized a week after routine check-up

  1. #1

    Cat had to be euthanized a week after routine check-up

    Hi All,

    I'm looking for some feedback. I had to have my sweet little kitty, Journey euthanized on October 2nd. I don't know what happened. He seemed fine when I took him in, but his labwork did show that he had hyperthyroidism. The first dr. said that he had no masses and that he would be able to feel them because he was thin. The second dr., a partner, rescribed Methimazole, 10 mg/ml, 3 ml, twice per day. After four doses Journey became very ill, vomited seven times and then just started going down hill. He became listless, unable to keep food down, and some days no water. He tried to eat for about three days, but vomited it up immediately. After that he just stopped trying, but sometimes did drink water. I thought he showed signs of feeling like he was going to die because he was going behind things and in the basement and just laying. I had xrays done and one portion of his small intestine was very dialated. The second dr. said at first that he thought this could be a tumor, but then later said this could just be gas. He kept saying I should take him to a town about an hour away to get an ultrasound done, but that that might not show anything, and the only thing that might discover what was wrong was exploratory surgery. Then when I told him to do the exporatory surgery and bypass the burium xray and ultrasound, he refused saying that because he was older, 14, he might have high bloodpressure and wouldn't survive the anesthesia. This didn't make sense to me because he was either going to starve to death, or I was going to have to have him euthanized anyway. I thought he was suffering because he had to be living off of his muscle tissue because he had no fat. So I finally decided I had no choice. I didn't want him to coninue on this way and I couldn't get them to do anything to find out what could have caused this so suddenly. When I took him in to be euthanized, the first dr. saw him again. I was surprized that though he knew why we were there, he took him and examined him again, and then told me that an option was to take him to the place an hour away for ultrasound, or have exploratory surgery. I told him his parter had said that he wouldn't do the surgery, and I felt he was too sick to travel for an hour to a strange place and have a test done that they both said might not show anything anyway. All this tore me up emotionally. It was very hard for me to make that decision, and then to be told that I had other options, which really I didn't have because they wouldn't do the surgery, made me feel so guilty. I still don't know why he got so sick so suddenly. I know he probably did have hyperthyroidism, but what could have caused him to suddenly be unable to eat? I can't help but feel he would still be alive if I had not taken him in for his check-up. Journey was such a comfort to me over the last year that I had him, because my husband died in 2007, and just a few months later, I had to euthanize my 19 year old kitty. He was such good company for me and had such a sweet nature. Have any of you had experience with such a thing happening so soon after a routine check-up, or after starting the Methimazole?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    40,169
    We are so sorry to hear about Journey , and we are sad to hear that it happened after you did the right thing and had Journey taken in for a routine check up.
    Do not feel guilty as yyou did the best that you could, and an operation may have prolonged Journeys suffering.
    We are sorry that you lost your Husband and Your Cat Companion so close together.
    We are praying that things will improve for you soon.
    Your Husband and Cat Companion will be with you in spirit , and will be there to comfort you and be there for you always.
    We are saying Prayers for You at The Found Cat Hotel.
    THE RAINBOW BRIDGE FOUND HOTEL ANGELS HAVE A NEW FRIEND IN CORINNA.


    ALMOND ROCCA BATON AND ELLIE ANGELS ARE GUARDIANS TO ETERNAL KITTENS ROCC-EL AND T TEEN ANGEL, ALMOND ROCA , VLAD , PAWLEE , SPRITE. LITTLE HEX, OSIRIS AND ANNIE ANGELS.
    EBONY BEAU TUBSTER AND PEACHES BW SPIKE & SMOKEY


    NOW PRECIOUS AND SAM ARE TOGETHER WITH ETERNAL KITTENS SAMMY ,PRESLEY, SYLVESTER AND SCRATCHY JR , MIGHTY MARINA, COSMIC CARMEN, SAMSON ,UNDER KITTY AND SUNKIST AUTUMN & PUMPKIN.
    MIA AND ORANGE BLOSSOM ANGELS HAVE ADOPTED TUXIE , TROOPER , SONGBIRD AND LITTLE BITTY KITTIES MIA-MI BLOSSOMER, TUXEDO AND DASH AS THIER ETERNAL KITTENS.
    PRINCESS JOSEPH AND MICHAEL ARE CELEBRATING 19 YEARS AS LUCKY FOUND CATS

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Ploss's Halfway House for Homeless Cats
    Posts
    18,311
    I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Cats that age have a difficult time when under anesthesia. I recently had to put my precious Mollie Rose down because she had advanced kidney disease, and the vet told me that there wasn't much he could do for her, given her age.

    RIP sweet Journey.

    Rest In Peace Casey (Bubba Dude) Your paw print will remain on my heart forever. 12/02
    Mollie Rose, you were there for me through good times and in bad, from the beginning.Your passing will leave a hole in my heart.We will be together "One Fine Day". 1994-2009
    MooShoo,you left me too soon.I wasn't ready.Know that you were my soulmate and have left me broken hearted.I loved you like no other. 1999 - 2010See you again "ONE FINE DAY"
    Maya Linn, my heart is broken. The day your beautiful blue eyes went blind was the worst day of my life.I only wish I could've done something.I'll miss your "premium" purr and our little "conversations". 1997-2013 See you again "ONE FINE DAY"

    DO NOT BUY WHILE SHELTER ANIMALS DIE!!

  4. #4
    My 18 year old blackie Boo was on Methamizole for a while because he was diagnosed as hyperthyroid. However, he wasn't able to tolerate the drug and I had to take him off it. He vomited a lot and hung his head like a horse and was so bone thin that it really scared me. Since I've taken him off it, he's back to his old self, has even gained a little weight. Some cats just can't tolerate the meds. My other options were to have his thyroid removed or to have him swallow radioactive iodine and quarantine him for 4 days. No one could go near him or touch him during that time. There was no way that I would put him through that, so I stopped all meds and he seems to be doing really well.

    I'm sorry to read of your Journey's passing. It's heartwrenching, I know, as do most of us here on PT because we've lost our beloved furkids, too. Take comfort in knowing that you did the best you could for Journey and that his illness is at an end and he is now at peace. Keep the faythe.
    Blessings,
    Mary



    "Time and unforeseen occurrence befall us all." Ecclesiastes 9:11

  5. #5
    Thanks everyone,

    It has been very hard for me grief wise since Journey's life ended. I was doing better with the grief from losing my husband, but now that Journey is gone, that has gotten worse. The house is empty now.

    I just wish I knew what caused him to be so ill so fast. It would help if I knew for sure that he really had something fatal. He seemed fine, but thin, when I took him in for his check-up. I worry that maybe he just didn't react well with the medicine and would have recovered if I had given him more time. The vet said that cats can live a long time without food. He did drink water on his last day, which I think he kept down. It's so hard to know when the right time has come to let go. It's also very hard to know if you did the right thing when you really don't know what's wrong.

    Thanks again and thanks for the prayer and kind words about Journey.

    Journey'send

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    96

    Journey's Mom

    Hi,
    You did the best you could for Journey. I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm so sorry about your husband, too. You've been thru a lot. It seems like the two Vets didn't agree with each other and were giving you different options and really confusing you. I had something similar happen with my 16 year old kitty, Tommy, but with different diseases and different circumstances. My kitty went in feeling fine and came home terribly sick and traumatized. I was so heartbroken and had wished I had never taken him in for a senior exam. She wanted me to bring him back for an ultrasound, but she would have anesthetized him again. With him being so sick, I feared he wouldn't survive the anesthesia. Tommy had intestinal lymphoma, diagnosed by a different Vet later. But he was showing no symptoms went I took him in for his senior exam. The vet sedated him and did a needle aspiration which went awry and caused an infection. I found another Vet, and Tommy rallied for seven months. I had so many questions though as to what may have happened to see a cat happy and fine in the morning, only to pick him up three hours and looking terribly sick. I'm rambling on too long here, but what I did was call the Vet and Staff and get answers. I called many times. Even a year later I still had questions for this first Vet and got some different answers.

    You seem to have so many questions and confusion, just as I had that time. Why not make an appointment with Journey's Vet and take in all your questions and see if this will help you understand more of what went on during the exam. My heart and prayers go out to you. Please let us know how you're doing.

  7. #7
    Thanks TommyCat,

    It helps to know that others understand. I too am sorry for what you went through with Tommy. I agree it is very upsetting when you take a cat in who seems healthy and come home with a sick one. This happened to me before with this same Vet service. That time my cat was also healthy, but by the next day she was staggering and her pupils were not the same. When I called about it, as an emergency, the vet said if her eardrum was punctured and he used alcohol to clean her ear it could have caused that problem. He then asked me what he used on her. My cat Scitty almost died then and the only way she lived was by me feeding her warm baby food every two hours when she cried for it for many weeks and holding her water bowl for her to drink. She was never the same after that and seemed like her jaw was out of place when she chewed.

    I don't think I could get anything else out of them since I told the one I saw last all of this, and he didn't offer any further explanation. It is something I will consider though.

    I am feeling better grief-wise, and today was a good day for me.

    Thanks again,
    Journey'send

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    96

    Journey'send

    Hi,
    I am glad you are doing better. It takes time. These little furbabies give us such unconditional love and companionship. Do you have another remaining kitty? I was sorry to hear what happened with Scitty, too, with the same clinic. I prolbably will never learn exactly what happened that day with Tommy, but like your kitty, he never recovered and was so traumatized. The Vet did E-mail me with a detailed letter with the steps she did with him and her best reasaons as to why he came home so terribly ill that day. Now I try and focus on the good memories of Tommy and the funny things he did, and I'm so grateful that I had him for 16 years. Take care of yourself.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Arizona, US
    Posts
    12
    Hi,
    I took my babies for their checkups the first week of October and then my Squeak became ill on about 2 weeks later. She seemed to perk up so I didn't go back to the vet right away but in a few days I knew it wasn't getting better.

    I am so sorry your vets didn't have good communication with you. I feel totally lost right now without my baby but my dr has tried to go over everything with me. She did an autopsy as well since the "illness" came on so quickly and had no telltale signs of what it was.

    There are so many illnesses a cat can have without symptoms showing to their parents. It is heart wrenching.

    I am so sorry your baby had to go. Feel free to email me if you need to talk more. I'm grieving as well. I never thought in a million years that my baby would be leaving me so soon.

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