Cat loss: What are the reasons?

I don't mean to offend anyone by asking this question, and I'm not asking out of curiousity. But it seems to me that many kitties - too many kitties - are dying from dreadful viral diseases and that scares me. Not too many felines seem to die a natural death, or because they just have reached "their" age. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that a cat's life is threatened by many lethal illnesses these days. :(

So if anyone has a feline friend at the Rainbow Bridge, please vote in the poll. Maybe this can correct the impression I got (multiple choice should be possible). In case somebody may feel offended by my question, I apologize in advance. I'm feeling kind of bad to ask this because I don't want to turn the knife in anyone's wound. :( I know it's a very sad subject to discuss. :o

Kirsten

The last cats I had went to the RB at the age of 19. Presumably that is a very old age for a kitty. You are right though, there does seem to be a lot of viruses and stuff out there taking kitties away. Vaccines and vet care have gotten better though!! *although cirtianly not cheaper*

Oh yes, 19 is a very old age, and it was blessed with a long life.

True, vaccines and vet care surely improves the situation, but it still seems to me the risk for a cat to pick up a virus is still very high, especially since the FIP vaccine is not very reliable and the FeLV vaccine is suspected to cause firbosarcoma.

Kirsten

Kirsten, I lost Shrimp Boat from my own stupidity........she ran away when we were visiting a strange place. :(

The only other cat that ever left me was Tigger, my childhood cat, who died of old age, I'm sure. He was 18 years old when he passed.

I have great hopes for Mimi, who is perched in front of me, right now!!!! :) She is 15 years old and doing great.

Logan

They never could figure out what was wrong with our Calvin. They ran every test possible and everything came back normal. We could've paid hundreds of dollars for an autopsy, but we optioned to put the money to use on the living cats. We miss him!

Logan, that's so sad about Shrimp Boat!! :( And yes, 18 years is very old for a cat!

K & L, I'm so sorry about Calvin, but it sure was the right decision to save the money for the remaining cats!

BTW, I have two kitties at the RB:
My Aysche died from FIP when she was only 21 months old, and my Katz went to the RB at the age of 14, she had congestive heart failure.


Kirsten

My cat Oly, a big tuxie wondercat, was not able to come with me when I had to move. He was living with some friends of mine and one day he disappeared and we never saw him again. I really don't know how he died, but it has been a LONG time and I know he would be too old now to still be with us. I thought I saw him on a porch in the area one time with an elderly lady petting him, so I always convinced myself that he had found a new home and lived a good life til the end.

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I thought I saw him on a porch in the area one time with an elderly lady petting him, so I always convinced myself that he had found a new home and lived a good life til the end.

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Yes, that would be nice! It's so hard when pets have to stay behind when somebody has to move! :( Maybe Oly missed you so much and that's why he ran away from your friend....

Kirsten

This is an interesting thread Kirsten. Both my RB kitties died from medical causes - one from cancer and one from kidney disease - but they were also quite old - about 16 and 18. I suppose any cat reaching those ages are quite likely to to have something medical anyway. Who knows really?

RB Butterscotch, feline leukemia.

Our Patty was quite elderly (nearly 20), and had some health problems, such as thyroid.

My old cat that I found in my backyard with kittens died from rat poision. The people behind us set it out. Sad thing is they didn't know that she just had kittens. We lost 3 of the kittens due to the rat poision as well.

Kirsten .... I think the main reason for so many cats not living into their ripe old years, is the same as with our society in general. Look at the AIDS epidemic ..... if we as humans can't practice better health control, then of course "we" aren't going to do much better in the pet world!!!! :mad: :( Needless irresponsibilty .... going against the way God intended His Earth to be ... having a "disposable" way of thinking ... all of these things have sickened our entire planet as a whole.

Sorry I am not more "cheerful" on this subject, but you DID ask!;)

I have not has the experience of losing a pet yet....My mom has A Bichon, which we got when I was 12. She is now 14 and starting to show signs of aging, but switches from aging to puppy mode still. My dad and his wife also have a Bichon and he is 7. I live with my two guys, O&W. They are 1 1/2 or so. So - so far, no losses. I know Mercedes (the 14 yr old dog) - her time will come some time within the next few years, and it makes me really upset, but animals like humans; some are here only for a short time, cause God needs them to come home and others are here for a lengthy time as God wants them to finish up some things on Earth.

The only cat that was actually mine that died was hit by a car. :( Mit-tens was his name because he had the biggest paws I had ever seen on a cat. He was a big lovable orangie and I was so sad when he died, I think he was about 3. But that was over 20 years ago now. (:eek: :eek: ) However, that was the last time a cat of mine was let outside without a leash. Sad to say I learned my lesson the hard way. :(

T & P are another story. I have no idea what will finally take them, but more than likely it will be due to age. Tubby may die of kidney failure since they've already started to fail, but I don't know if I would consider that kidney failure or old age because the reason they failed is because he's old? More than likely both of them will die of some medical complication brought on by age. Ok, I know, I'm making this much more complicated than it needs to be, but like Kim says, you asked. ;) :D

I'm not sure how to vote Kirsten. I have never "sent" a kitty to the RB. Although Speckles is healthy, who known how much longer she wants to stay with me.

I have already told the story of Casper and OJ and I can only assume that they are both at the RB now because they were borm in 1985. The last time I saw them was 1988. :(

BTW Kirsten, I don't see how anyone could be offended by this thread.

Also, how about starting a thread on your health. How are you doing?

Rodan was 10 when we had to put him down due to kidney failure.

Vinnie was only 6 years old and died of complications from ingesting a string foreign body. It was the second time he did that and we were able to do surgery and save him the first time.

When I was younger we lived in the country and had inside/outside cats that suffered the normal dangers....they disappeared or were hit by cars. We lost one that was a year old to feline leukemia, but we did have an old orange tom cat who was an outside kitty that lived to be 19! he passed away in his sleep one winter night.

Now all my kitties are indoors only.

I believe I had seven cats as a child...honestly don't remember most as I was very young. They where all indoor/outdoor and they just "disappeared". I know my dad backed over a neighbor's cat that thankfully I didn't see but he went over and apologized. The longest cat we had was Gigi that we got when I was nine. When we moved to CA my dad gave her to a friend about 40 miles away. I decided not to drive across the country to move and stayed with my best friend for the summer about 20 miles away from my home. My dad dropped me off and then took Gigi to her new home. About three weeks later, she appeared on my best friends lawn!!!!:eek: :eek: :) :) We had a hard time believing it was her but it was!! I called my dad and told him we were getting her a first class ticket to California with me!!!!!!!She died of old age when I was twenty plus. I think she died of sadness from missing me when I left home but she was a ripe old age.

My next two died young of heart failure and the other of diabetes and subsequent kidney problems I'd guess. Thank the good God my two now are healthy as horses (knock wood) and I hope they will be with me for a very long time.
Claudia

Well, much to my concern the viral diseases are in a leading position here. :(

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I suppose any cat reaching those ages are quite likely to to have something medical anyway. Who knows really?

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Debbie, that's true. I was thinking about that before I posted the poll. After all, many very old cats eventually die from kidney failure, it's just that their system is closing down sooner or later.

@Craftlady: I remember your sweet Butterscotch so well!! :(

@catlady1945: Your Patty had a very long life!!

@cubby31682: I'm so sorry!! This is horrible! Poor kitties! :(

@kimlovescats: You think it's our own irresponsible way to treat this planet and its creatures to make nature fighting back? I've always thought it would be something like that when I thought avbout diseases such as AIDS or Ebola...

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some are here only for a short time, cause God needs them to come home and others are here for a lengthy time as God wants them to finish up some things on Earth.

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CatMama78, that's probably a good way to look at these things...

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but I don't know if I would consider that kidney failure or old age because the reason they failed is because he's old? More than likely both of them will die of some medical complication brought on by age. Ok, I know, I'm making this much more complicated than it needs to be,

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T&P's Mom, I agree, that's kind of hard to tell (as mentioned above).

slick, I hope your Speckles will chose to be with you for some more years! :) And you're right, I should give an update on my health; I think I will do it in "General" tomorrow (it's late at night here already).

Cheshirekatt, I think 19 years is really a lot for an outdoor cat! That one must have been a true survivor! And he had a very nice passing to the RB!

kitten645, that is so special what your Gigi did; she must have loved you soo much!!

Kirsten

First, Kirsten, welcome back! My three siamese have gone to the Bridge. Thai pased away due to old age. I think she was the oldest cat on this thread! She passed at the age of 22! My second died from a blood clot in an artery. Her name was Frederica. My third siamese,Ming, Was hit by a car. I was very lucky in respect to viral diseases, my kitties seemed to live normal lifespans.

Amanda.........Disease.......FIP. But she was 12 and I think she had a good life. She only got sick at the end.

Thumper...........Heart(?).......it was sudden and we think he had a heart attack. He was 14, so again, we think he had a good life

Brighteyes........An unknown type of growth pressing on her windpipe. But she was also 14 so we never did heroic measures.

Bear.........AGE.........19 plus years, possibly 20.

Y.Lee........Diabetes........even though not a life threatening disease, as hard as we tried, he could not become regulated. He had suffered enough when the decision was made :(

We lost our Roady to kidney disease. She was 10, but we rescued her as a VERY sick stray kitten in Belgium and weren't sure if she was going to make it initially. She was an indoor/outdoor cat for about 5 years and then we saw the light and made her a very pampered indoor queen of the house. She was very tiny though so her kidneys were not very big and eventually gave out.
I worry about Tiger, Pippin and William because we think their eye problems were due to being sick/exposed to the herpes virus at birth and I just wonder if their immune systems are weaker. I know stress brings out the worst in their health, so we try to keep things as calm as is possible ( how do you do that with 5 rambunctious boy cats in the house!?):p

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Originally posted by Kirsten


@kimlovescats: You think it's our own irresponsible way to treat this planet and its creatures to make nature fighting back? I've always thought it would be something like that when I thought avbout diseases such as AIDS or Ebola...



Kirsten

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Sorry, I don't understand your writing .... so are you agreeing with me or not? LOL!! :confused:

When my Pepper became very sick and wasn't getting any better I decided to have him put to sleep because he was suffering.:( My vet had done many tests on him and even performed a free autopsy on him. We still don't know why he was so sick.:( I think that he may have had early stages of cancer. He was almost 6 years old when he died which is still quite young for an indoor only cat.:(

When I was growing up, we had a male cat named Smokey and he was an indoor/outdoor cat. He died because he got hit by a car.:(

The other cat that we had while I was growing up was named Puff. She was probably about 10 years old when she passed away. I was away at college at the time. Back then there weren't any good flea products and my mom thinks she may have accidentally poisoned her with flea medication.:(

I voted "other" for Kuhio. Yes, she was 17, a ripe 'ole age. Yes, she was on medication for a hyper thyroid and had the beginnings of kidney disease.

But she died because she got outside while my husband and I were away. The catsitter didn't look for her. She wandered down the street -- 4 houses away and her fragile condition (due to the hyperthyroid) convinced the neighbors that she was a stray. They called the pound who kept her for 3 days and put her to sleep. My husband was there looking for her and filling out a lost pet form the day before she was put to sleep. They could find no record of her. Denied they had her. Never bothered to match up the found cat and lost cat form, etc. When our neighbors came forward and backed us up, the shelter was forced to admit that they had made a "clerical error".

That's why we encourage folks to microchip their pets and we have gotten involved with a no-kill shelter.

My first kitty, Babs, was killed by a neighbor's dog. She died instantly...

Our @$$hole neighbors at the time who owned the dog, didn't even give us a frikkin apology. :mad: Since that happened, both Angel and Dillian have been strictly indoor cats.

Thanks, David! :) Wow, 22 is really old, she must have had a good and happy life with you!

Jen; I guess like in humans, diabetes sometimes can cause complications that we just can't get under control. :(


rkidsrcats, I hope your Tiger, Pippin and William won't get any problems from that herpes virus! I didn't even know cats can pick up that one!
Your Roady must have been a lucky cat that you found her!!

Kim, I agree with you that far that I think that the presence of the human race on this planet brought many things out of the balance. Over-population, for example, and in these case it seems that nature fights back and "creates" diseases to work against that. Many things seem to be out of control these days.

krazyaboutkatz, that's so sad about your Pepper! :( And your mom must have felt so bad when she thinks she accidently poisoned Puff! Luckily there are better products these days!

kuhio98, I remember Kuhio's sad story from the cat memorial forum. It's such a terrible error that shelter has made!! :(

GoldenRetrLuver, that's so sad!! And how cruel of that neighbor to not even apologize!! :mad:

Kirsten

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Originally posted by Kirsten
Thanks, David! :) Wow, 22 is really old, she must have had a good and happy life with you!

Jen; I guess like in humans, diabetes sometimes can cause complications that we just can't get under control. :(


rkidsrcats, I hope your Tiger, Pippin and William won't get any problems from that herpes virus! I didn't even know cats can pick up that one!
Your Roady must have been a lucky cat that you found her!!

Kim, I agree with you that far that I think that the presence of the human race on this planet brought many things out of the balance. Over-population, for example, and in these case it seems that nature fights back and "creates" diseases to work against that. Many things seem to be out of control these days.

krazyaboutkatz, that's so sad about your Pepper! :( And your mom must have felt so bad when she thinks she accidently poisoned Puff! Luckily there are better products these days!

kuhio98, I remember Kuhio's sad story from the cat memorial forum. It's such a terrible error that shelter has made!! :(

GoldenRetrLuver, that's so sad!! And how cruel of that neighbor to not even apologize!! :mad:

Kirsten

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Kirsten, I know for a fact that she was November 1 1981, went Rainbow Bridge August 23, 2003!

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Originally posted by david p
Kirsten, I know for a fact that she was November 1 1981, went Rainbow Bridge August 23, 2003!

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That's amazing!! I wish every cat would stay around that long!!!

Kirsten

The only cat I've lost was my dear, Perkins. The vet wasn't 100% sure what was wrong with him but he was having problems with his heart...his heart beat was irregular. :( He was 9 years old.

Smoke has aStroke, Scrappy had Diabetes, and Kidney Failure , as Did Fluffy, and Pouncer had Heart Disease! Smokey, and Sheba, died of Old Age!

The cats in throughout my life passed on for different reasons:

Paddy had leukemia and died when he was a few years old. This was before the vaccine was available.

His his mother Cricket, his sister CC, and CC's daughter Cocoa all lived long, happy lives (18+ years) before passing naturally.

Katie died from kidney failure after a short illness.

Samantha got lost outside and never returned. She was only 2, and I have many regrets about her disappearance.

Sable, the first cat I knew as a pet, left our family when he was about 15. He had Cancer.

Nike, he was hit by a car (that swerved into our yard!! :mad: ).

Chance, he dissapeared last October. I hope he's alive and well, but my gut instinct tells me he is gone. :(

Well, first of all let me say that the poll looks more encouraging now regarding the viral diseases. Many cats have been mentioned here that were 18 years or older, and that's a very long life!


manda_moo87, I was once told by a vet that heart diseases in cats are more common than they used to think all the time. :(


catmandu, you have lost so many already! :( So many angels at the RB now!

Kona & Oreo's mom, has Paddy been exposed to his mother and sister when he was sick? Just curious because they didn't seem to have picked it up from him then!

ramanth, I'm so sorry about Chance!! :( I hope you're instincts are wrong this time!

Kirsten

I can't vote because Ripley is my first ever cat and thank goodness he is still alive but I think this is a very interesting thread/poll Kirsten.

Smokey the Elder died of cancer. She was probably quite old; I was never sure how old she was when I adopted her in 1993. She had had numerous litters. The vet suggested she was 10 in 1996; so she may have been as old as 13. She was such a sweetie.

jazzcat, and I hope that experience will still be many many years away from you!

Smokey the Elder must have been such a special cat! Did you adopt her from a shelter?

Kirsten