Help in determining our cats death please.

[bschott]

Hello,

This past Sunday (during the evening) our cat had expired after 11 happy years. However his death comes unexpected and is of course tragic to our family. For the majority of his life, he's been healthy, non-obese, and active.

However there were times when he acted sick, and was a bit lethargic over the past few years a few times here and there, but nothing that alerted us. Over the years, we kept up with the normal shots, etc as he was mainly an indoor cat, but would adventure out every now and again for a few hours every week (actually he sneek out when we'd open the garage).

Recently, in the past year, one of his eye's was constantly draining, and the vet indicated that is is due to blockage, but was not a big deal. Additionally, the vet made the comment that he looked a bit under weight in that his eyes were a bit withdrawn looking, but from his synopsis -- all was well.

Other times we noticed that he would not eat well, but this wasn't often and only appeared to be that he was board with his particular dry food. Simply changing the food made him happy again.

Sunday night before I went to bed, I saw our cat (butterscotch) at the bottom of the stairs just sitting there. I petted him, and did some work in the basement for the next 40 minutes or so. Before I headed up to go to bed, I walked into another room in the basement and I noticed that he was curled up in a ball, and that he had urinated in one of my equipment boxes. His urination looked very clear -- like water. He tried to get up, but when he tried to walk, it appeared that he could not control the muscles in his legs, and it looked like he was walking on "jelly" legs so to speak. Obviously he was not in good shape as I've never seen this before. I petted him briefly, and ran to get my wife (who was already sleeping). It took me about 5 minutes to get her up and down the stairs. When we returned, we couldn't find him. We spent the next 40 minutes trying to locate him. Since we were unable to locate him, we retired to bed as I was sick, and my wife needed to leave @ 5:00am for work.

Sadly, the next morning our daughter searched and found that he had expired under the couch (in the basement) at a location we were not able to get to.

We are all completely sad as he was a great family member which liked nothing more than to sit on your lap (chest) and nuzzle at your neck.

I'm at a loss as I'd like to understand why he died, additionally our 11 year old daughter is asking about his death and why was it so sudden. Sadly we do not have an answer for her.

Any help in this matter would be appreciated.

Thanks for any feedback.

Brian

[Traci]

I'm very sorry for your loss, how tragic.

1) when was kitty's last veterinary exam, and...
a) did the vet do a complete blood profile, and urinalysis, and thyroid function testing? Did he advise you this should be done yearly or more often in cats over 7 years of age?

2) when was kitty last allowed outdoors?
a) had kitty vomited and/or was he anorexic at any time during the last few days/weeks?

3) what type of work were you doing in the basement? Did you have any toxins, solvents, chemicals out? Any chance kitty was exposed to any?
a) were there any other chemicals/toxins in the home he could have gotten into? (plants, chemicals, household hazards, human meds etc)
b) had you recently used any flea applications or other substances on him?

4) do you trust your vet, what is the level of his competence?

I ask the latter because based on your posts, he wasn't attentive to kitty's health (unless you are leaving out alot of information)

The eye drainage: how did he come to the conclusion it was "blocked"? Did he mean a blocked tear duct, and if so, why didn't he address it, especially knowing it had and continued to progress for some time?

Did he totally evaluate kitty's oral health, nasal cavities/sinus for evidence of bacterial infections or sinus problems or upper respiratory infections?

The weight loss: what did he do to address that? Did he recommend bloodwork and other diagnostics? If not, why? If so, did you decliine?

Lethargy and appearing sick over the years: did you address these symptoms each time with your vet? If so, what was the vet's approach?

Based only on your post, my guess is underlying health condition that went undetected for some time, such as diabetes (the clear urine could indicate diabetes or kidney disease), or renal disease or any other condition that was exacerbated by a secondary problem, such as bacterial infection. Toxins are a possibility if he was allowed outdoors and not supervised. (plants, antifreeze, rodenticide poisoning, viral disease)

Unfortunately, only a necropsy could determine for certain.

Please, if you have other pets, and if you know they are ill and obviously something is wrong, don't wait, get them to an emergency vet immediately!

[bschott]

Thanks for the follow up, and I'll try and answer your questions to the best of my ability here as my wife was the primary care taker and is not currently present

1) Late Summer early fall
1a) No, not that I was aware of. He didn't advise us that any blood work should be done at all, nor were we aware of this on our own.
2) Butterscotch had not been out in quite some time -- maybe a few months or so because it was/has been cold out. He mainly only traveled outdoors during the summer months.
2a) No, no vomit, no anorexia that I was aware of. However on Sunday, my wife mentioned to me that she really didn't see him for most of the day, thus potentially indicating that he might have not been well. But as I saw him earlier in the evening on Sunday, he didn't look sick the first time I saw him.
3) Yes, there are bottles of certain fluids which I would call toxic to any animal/human if they were consumed, but these have always been here, and they are not in places where he could get to them (jumping/climbing, etc) and they all have tight lids, etc.
3a) No, nothing new and/or different that's been added or changed other than the addition of a new dwarf hampster that he's shown only a little interest do, but of course anything around this little guy is not toxic or otherwise.
b) Yes, and no. Recently as in this past summer, but not in the last 4 months.
4) I guess not now. Apparently not too high.

I'm not leaving out much attention, and in regards to your comments -- yes blocked tear duct, but as I noticed with other things he dismissed it and said that it will go away in time. I'd much rather have it addressed right there and now, but butterscotch has never had that before so we weren't sure how to address it anyhow.

No, he didn't evaluate much, General groping (not sure what the technical term is -- sorry) of our cats body, and viewing the teeth, eyes, etc.

No, he didn't recommend any tests, or otherwise, He just sent us on our way. Since we've never had to deal with that before during his life -- I guess I could say that we weren't sure what to ask for or rather demand in lieu of his general lack of concern.

I guess I should mention that I noticed that his breath was bad over the last week, but he's only had really bad breath maybe 3 times over his life span for a small period -- maybe 2 weeks.

Otherwise, We gave him a bath a on Friday, and he seemed normal and his usual self.

Finally, I have already buried him near our yard and my daughter has already decorated his burial site. I'm saddened and I do not wish to bring him back up for any testing. I guess I was only hoping that while not perhaps conclusive that we might have had a direction to look towards in explaining his death.

We may like to have another cat join our family in the future and I just wanted some direction and/or thoughts to take into consideration for future health of that animal.

Obviously -- first and foremost is the lack of attention from this particular (recommended by a neighbor) vet since we moved into this community 3.5 years ago.

Thanks for your feedback.

[Traci]

Just one more question....what did you use with the bath you gave him on Friday? Anything not pet-safe? (i.e, anything of concern could be essential oil," natural oils", tea-tree-oil, citrus oils, herbs, human products, etc.)

The breathe may or may not have been significant. If it was persistent and progressing, it could indicate diseased teeth, which could lead to serious bacterial infections, or abcesses, or it could indicate uremia, related to renal disfunction.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I understand this is very difficult for you.

I would strongly encourage you to seek a new vet promptly for any other pets you may have or pets you wish to have in the future. I get the distinct feeling your current vet is not committed to his patients, and from your description of at least two serious conditions, his lack of recommending tests or other dignostics, let alone OPTIONS for you, is downright appalling. His lack of recommending yearly bloodwork is also appalling, as this is the only way to monitor vital organ function and detect disease early on. He had clear knowledge that Butterscotch's eye was draining, and the weight loss was concerning, and at that time should have recommended, advised additional testing to ensure nothing was developing.

I'd strongly recommend a feline-only vet, at the very least, a vet clinic who is AAHA-accredited (you can find them in your phone book with the AAHA logo on their ad). If you are in the position to talk to your neighbor, I would also at least talk to them briefly about your concern, or maybe advise caution....if this vet is incompetent, other pets should not be put at risk. That's not to say I have the whole story here, because I don't, but judging by your posts, I'd never utilize this vet again.

My best guess would be diabetes or renal failure at the top of the possibilities. I realize this doesn't change anything, but I hope you can find some sort of closure in time. I'm so sorry! It sounds like Butterscotch was a loved member of the family and that you gave him a wonderful life.

Should you decide to adopt another kitty, feel free to search the site here, the forums, and of course post any questions you have. Ideally, find a new vet promptly, and get your new kitty to the new vet for a complete exam/testing for FELV/FIV, deworming, and vaccinations where appropriate. And, please keep kitties completely Indoors ONLY.

[bschott]

Traci,

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions and/or concerns.

Brian

[mamabear]

I have nothing medical to add but would like to say that I am so sorry for the loss of your wonderful kittycat. Hugs to all and especially your daughter who found him.