trevor_r85
December 1st, 2008, 02:40 PM
Hello all,
I registered on the forums in an attempt to narrow down the cause of my cat's sudden death yesterday, and being a university student I cannot afford to pay to have an autopsy done to find out what really happened. He was my best friend, and if anyone could offer me some possibilities of why he died would really help the grieving process.
The Facts
-4 year old male calico indoor cat named Cubbee
-visited the vet regularly (annual basis), healthy aside from scabs he would develop on his chest area from what the vet speculated as an allergy to rubber or leather (he always laid on my girlfriends leather boots while waiting for her to come home). He was given medication 2 years ago for it, and he has been healthy ever since.
-Nutram food, Temptations treats
-average weight and size
-playful, friendly, energetic, and always wanted to be right beside me no matter where I was
The Signs
-in the 4 years of having him, he never had a single bowel accident on the floor.
-2 weeks ago I came home, and he had pooped on the floor for the first time ever.
-last week I came home and their was a clear liquid on the tiles in the kitchen. Not urine, was unscented, possibly vomit (which also would have been a first)
-despite all of this, no differences in his evergy level or no signs of anything abnormal.
The Death
-I called him out to the kitchen to get some treats and was watching him eat them.
-all of a sudden he flew backwards and landed on his side with his back arched and tail poofed (similarly to when he was startled or scared)
-he let out 2 deep and loud breaths, then his pupils dialated and his tongue fell out of his mouth and was purple. (all happened within the course of about 10 seconds)
The Aftermath
-I was so shocked and had no idea what to do, so I was pumping his chest, shaking him, and put my finger in his throat to attempt to clear anything blocking his breathing passage (which there was nothing)
-Helplessness is a very upsetting feeling, and thats how I felt when I could not do anything to revive him.
-he died in my arms looking right at me with his eyes open, after eating the treats that I had given him. It is not my fault, but it is difficult not to blame myself for not being able to help him, and giving him treats in the first place.
I have been offered many theories on what may have been the cause of his death, and all are somewhat probable seeing as I cannot afford to have him examined. Some of them include:
-an ingredient in plaque fighting treats that causes a heart buildup
-a bacteria in his dairly flavoured treats (plenty of dairy recalls where I live in Toronto, Canada)
-he choked on the treat
-he had a heartattack/stroke
Upon researching it a little bit, it seems that a very likely explaination is that he either had a previous heart condition from a young age, or something called Cardiomyopathy which I don't know much about at all.
The purpose of this post is to get some expert advice, seeing as the only sources I have available at the moment are people in my apartment and the internet. If anyone has any idea of what could have caused his death, or anyone has had a similar situation and actually been in a position to have their pet examined, your input would be very much appreciated.
**On a side note, I have to say I am utterly disgusted with the animal organizations in my area. First off, on a sunday night at 6pm nothing is open and I was madly flipping through the phonebook for a 24-hour vet phone service similar to the 24-hour doctor phone line and could not find one. I called a place that happened to be open in the next town over, and they said they would pick up my cat for a $150 fee. Instead, my girlfriend and I wrapped him in towels, put him in a box, and stored him in a cold area until this morning when we could take him to the humane society. I was even more saddened when I was told there that it would cost $20 to take his body, $40 to creamate him with other animals, $150 to creamate him alone and have his ashes returned, and $500 to have him buried. These organizations do help animals that are alive and in need of help for free, but apparently after the animals life is over is how they make their profit and pay their bills. I realize that they do need to make money somehow to pay their expenses, but it was just an awful feeling not to be able to give my Cubbee his own creamation ceremony, let alone have him buried :(
I registered on the forums in an attempt to narrow down the cause of my cat's sudden death yesterday, and being a university student I cannot afford to pay to have an autopsy done to find out what really happened. He was my best friend, and if anyone could offer me some possibilities of why he died would really help the grieving process.
The Facts
-4 year old male calico indoor cat named Cubbee
-visited the vet regularly (annual basis), healthy aside from scabs he would develop on his chest area from what the vet speculated as an allergy to rubber or leather (he always laid on my girlfriends leather boots while waiting for her to come home). He was given medication 2 years ago for it, and he has been healthy ever since.
-Nutram food, Temptations treats
-average weight and size
-playful, friendly, energetic, and always wanted to be right beside me no matter where I was
The Signs
-in the 4 years of having him, he never had a single bowel accident on the floor.
-2 weeks ago I came home, and he had pooped on the floor for the first time ever.
-last week I came home and their was a clear liquid on the tiles in the kitchen. Not urine, was unscented, possibly vomit (which also would have been a first)
-despite all of this, no differences in his evergy level or no signs of anything abnormal.
The Death
-I called him out to the kitchen to get some treats and was watching him eat them.
-all of a sudden he flew backwards and landed on his side with his back arched and tail poofed (similarly to when he was startled or scared)
-he let out 2 deep and loud breaths, then his pupils dialated and his tongue fell out of his mouth and was purple. (all happened within the course of about 10 seconds)
The Aftermath
-I was so shocked and had no idea what to do, so I was pumping his chest, shaking him, and put my finger in his throat to attempt to clear anything blocking his breathing passage (which there was nothing)
-Helplessness is a very upsetting feeling, and thats how I felt when I could not do anything to revive him.
-he died in my arms looking right at me with his eyes open, after eating the treats that I had given him. It is not my fault, but it is difficult not to blame myself for not being able to help him, and giving him treats in the first place.
I have been offered many theories on what may have been the cause of his death, and all are somewhat probable seeing as I cannot afford to have him examined. Some of them include:
-an ingredient in plaque fighting treats that causes a heart buildup
-a bacteria in his dairly flavoured treats (plenty of dairy recalls where I live in Toronto, Canada)
-he choked on the treat
-he had a heartattack/stroke
Upon researching it a little bit, it seems that a very likely explaination is that he either had a previous heart condition from a young age, or something called Cardiomyopathy which I don't know much about at all.
The purpose of this post is to get some expert advice, seeing as the only sources I have available at the moment are people in my apartment and the internet. If anyone has any idea of what could have caused his death, or anyone has had a similar situation and actually been in a position to have their pet examined, your input would be very much appreciated.
**On a side note, I have to say I am utterly disgusted with the animal organizations in my area. First off, on a sunday night at 6pm nothing is open and I was madly flipping through the phonebook for a 24-hour vet phone service similar to the 24-hour doctor phone line and could not find one. I called a place that happened to be open in the next town over, and they said they would pick up my cat for a $150 fee. Instead, my girlfriend and I wrapped him in towels, put him in a box, and stored him in a cold area until this morning when we could take him to the humane society. I was even more saddened when I was told there that it would cost $20 to take his body, $40 to creamate him with other animals, $150 to creamate him alone and have his ashes returned, and $500 to have him buried. These organizations do help animals that are alive and in need of help for free, but apparently after the animals life is over is how they make their profit and pay their bills. I realize that they do need to make money somehow to pay their expenses, but it was just an awful feeling not to be able to give my Cubbee his own creamation ceremony, let alone have him buried :(