lost another furbaby

[beccaB]

We lost our kitty yesterday and the circumstances around that loss are what bothers me the most. I'll explain... I took her to the vet about a week ago for a steroid shot for her allergies. She would get so irritated she'd scratch her ears until she had ear hematoma. The steroid would bring some relief. When I took her in that last time she had been eating cat litter and laying down in her litterbox. And also having diarrhea and some vomiting, as cat litter is not a natural food for cats. It was obvious to me and my daughter who loved that cat, that this is not normal. When I explained this to the veterinarian she kind of blew it off , saying "oh that's weird" ( we were the last appointment of the day) After a few days of her deteriorating my daughter looked up "cats eating cat litter" on the internet and found that is certainly is in indicator of more serious issues at hand. And maybe her issues were so severe that we might not have been able to save her, but her death certainly was not expected at this time. I'm so upset about losing her so suddenly, I don't really know what to do with myself, and I wonder if the vet should have some accountability. It was her last day at that clinic before moving on to another clinic.

[Gowest]

I am so sorry for your loss - I am a big animal lover and lost my first dog this year - it is very hard, no matter what the circumstances......

Medicine is never an exact science - and yes, mistakes do happen, but please don't dwell on this - surely no one enters veterinary medicine who does not love animals. Even when we do our best, we don't always get the outcome we want. I would give her the benefit of the doubt.

Do you have other babies to comfort you???? I adopted another dog when I saw moose going downhill and nearing the end, and it was a tremendous comfort to have bean during my mourning of moose. They were together for about 6 months before he left us.

Again...so sorry.

debi

[indysteel]

Becca, I am so sorry for your loss. I certainly understand your pain.

Without knowing more about your kitty's affliction, it's hard to say how best to deal with this vet or the clinic. It's unfortunate that she blew it off like that. I've certainly been to better and worse vets over the years and have been frustrated myself when they didn't discuss an obvious test or react urgently enough to what seemed like an emergency to me.

Spend some time thinking about what course of action or inaction will help you and your daughter heal from this loss. From there, hopefully you can decide on how best to proceed.

((((((())))))).

[TsPoet]

I am so sorry for your loss!
I imagine that the symptoms are weird enough that the vet just didn't catch them. I also bet that cats do weird things, and when you see that every day of your life, as the vet does, you stop paying attention.
Which doesn't make it any easier for you or your daughter.

[OakLeaf]

Oh becca, I'm so sorry.

((((((((beccaB))))))))

[spokewench]

So, sorry Becca - Your Kitty will be at the rainbow bridge with all of our loved furry ones.

[redrhodie]

(((beccaB))) I'm so sorry for you loss. I'd weigh whether filing a complaint will make you feel better, or just draw out your grief, before going through with it. You tried your best to get her help. You may have been able to prolong her life a little, but it sounds like she was in a bad place.

I went through a long, drawn out, painful death of a cat, and a short and sudden one, and in both cases, I felt a lot of guilt that I didn't do the right thing, that if I had done something different, they wouldn't have died. In hindsight, I know I did my best for them. So did you. I hope you can find comfort in that.

[bmccasland]

(((((Becca)))))
So sorry for your loss, and under strange circumstances must make it even harder. :(
Two TE kitties in a matter of days. There'll be nose sniffing at the Rainbow Bridge for certain.

[WindingRoad]

)))))))Becca((((((( I am sorry to hear about your kitty, it's never easy, they become such a big part of our lives. Take comfort that she isn't suffering now and is playing with the giant ball of yarn in the sky with all her litter mates. :)

[arielmoon]

(((Becca))) so sorry to hear this and the circumstances. It is always harder when we think that there is something we (or someone else) could have done differently.

[smilingcat]

Always saddens me to hear about a death of a kitten. It is never easy and always filled with lots of emotion. Profound sadness, second guessing on what we should of, could of...

It's okay for every one to cry and mourn the loss of innocent little kitten. It's normal.

As for the kitten, it may have had some fatal issues. Having allergy so bad to have a hematoma on the ear to needing steroids is very serious. Steroids are very hard on the liver and certain ones have been known to cause cats to permanently become diabetic (from a single steroid shot).

Even if the vet was more experienced, kitten most likely would not have survived. You can't administer steroids so routinely. It is very serious.

Eating of cat litter is also a very serious problem especially if the litter is the clumping clay kind. Next time you decide to have a kitten to brighten up you life, I would highly recommend using wheat scoop brand of litter. It is wheat based so that the kittens/cats can pass it through their body. It's also non-toxic and eco friendly.

I belong to a cat rescue group and we have had our share of kittens not surviving. Combined with our years of experience, vets who specializes in cats, and we still can't cure all the kittens and we still are left in the dark as to why a kitten didn't get better.

My heart goes out to you, your family and especially to your daughter. No one is at fault.

Sincerely,
smilingcat

[Gowest]

Couldn't have said it better myself smiling cat....

Hugs from all of us cat ladies.....

[beccaB]

Thankyou to everyone for your thoughts. I did actually explain to one of the vets from that clinic that we had seen one of their vets and explained the cat litter eating scenario and how it was not really addressed at that time. That vet said that the kitty probably had some kind of end stage cancer and there might not have been anything they could have done about it. I do understand that, I just wish we would have known something really serious was going on so we would have had time to prepare for her unexpected and rapid demise and death. This was a total shock really. The cat was actually around 11 or 12 years old. I wish I would be one of those lucky people to have a cat live to be 25! As for the rainbow bridge, I have always had cats and dogs, and when I am ready to join all of them in heaven, how will I ever have enough time to play with all of them:D

[Bike Chick]

((((beccaB)))) I'm so sorry about your sweet little kitty.

[marni]

I wish I would be one of those lucky people to have a cat live to be 25! As for the rainbow bridge, I have always had cats and dogs, and when I am ready to join all of them in heaven, how will I ever have enough time to play with all of them:D[/QUOTE]

I am so sorry for your loss. It is never easy. You will mourn, and eventually you will begin to really , rather than just telling yourself, believe that you did the best that you could at the time.

I am in end days with my geriatric cat Cappucinno who is 19. Having a cat live so long is a mixed blessing. He will be the third cat I will have lost at an advanced age and it just gets harder and harder so see one third of my life disappear at a time. I have loved each of them and been blessed by having them in my life but I am afraid this one will be particularly hard since he has always been such a dear sweet velcro kitty.

Be assured that your kitty knew he was loved and cherished and I hope comfort comes soon.

marni

[jusdooit]

So sorry for your loss. I have found after losing several pets that there is often a very serious illness that goes undetected. Animals by nature hide it when they are ill. It's how they survive in the wild without becoming targets of other animals. This is also why serious illness go undetected until it's too late. While it's disappointing the vet did not react to the unusual symptoms, it is likely nothing could have been done.

[Ann G]

Becca, I'm so sorry. Animals we love become part of our lives. The Rainbow Bridge website was helpful for me when I went through a kitty loss.