Review needed - Cat death

[NikkiB]

A little bit about Lucy:

We rescued her about 1.5 years ago as a senior. Had been living wild. Extremely stressed and fearful. Extremely small, weighed around 3kg when we got her, max weight we ever recorded was 3.4kg. Over time she became a happy sociable cat. Approximate age on rescue - 10 years.

Medical history: Shortly after adoption we had her teeth sorted, cleaned and 1 extraction. Had a blood panel done on her to check all major health issues - none noted except slightly low potassium.

4 months ago thought she had lost weight, took her in for a full geriatric blood panel and urinalysis to be on the safe side, nothing noted except the potassium again.

This is where is gets drastic/fatal: (This has all happened within the last 2 weeks)

Wednesday/Thursday - noted diarrhea, extremely liquid, no vomiting, eating & activity normal
Friday - taken into the vet, weight 2.8kg, abdominal mass detected by palpatation. Ultrasound given, small cell lymphoma suspected from ultrasound results. Cat prescribed prednisolone starting this day. Still had diarrhea, eating & activity normal.
Saturday - Eating & activity normal, vomited clear liquid approximately 5 hours after eating. Stool starting to thicken.
Sunday - Eating & activity normal. Vomited food appromately 4 hours after eating followed by a large hairball. Diarrhea returned.
Monday - Eating & activity normal. No vomiting. Solid stool.
Tuesday - Eating & activity normal. No vomiting. Solid stool. Official ultrasound report back, small cell lymphoma highest suspect, possiblity of acute IBD. Blood work recommended to be sure before starting chemo drugs.
Wednesday - taken into vet for bloodwork, weight 2.7kg. Thought to have slight anemia, given iron/b shots and a broad spectrum antibiotic just in case of infection. Would not eat for the rest of the day, tried to syringe feed, all foods tried. Activity and eating normal before going to the vet. Activity zero after returning, lethargic, vague, wobbly.
Thursday - taken into vet for assistance with food. Vet thought breathing off later during the day (had not been at home prior). Xrays given, fluid in the lungs along with a vague mass (not analysed or determined what it was) Syringe fed A/D food and given fluids and nutrients. No activity or eating on own. Visited vet, she recommended PTS. Took cat home for final night at home. Died overnight. Bloodwork returned, high percentage of abnormal blood, bone marrow affected, turning leukemic. Didn't understand all of the blood work results - told stage 3-4 lymphoma.

Now this has all been a bit of a shock and I am one of those people who likes to understand things. One for my own peace of mind, and two because I have other pets and if it was something specific I want to make sure it doesn't happen again if possible. I cannot get my head round how fast this all became.

I know cats are good at hiding things, but I have had cats with cancer before and nothing like this. I also cannot find any veterinary journals or records reporting death in under a week from lymphoma. However I can find a vast number of cases reporting death after antibiotics.

Could the shot on Wednesday morning have been fatal for my cat? She was stabilising and about to start chemo up to this point. This is the exact point she turned for the worse.

I hve not had the final bill yet from the vet so at this point do not know the specific antibiotic given, just that it was broad spectrum.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

[growler~GateKeeper]

I'm so sorry about Lucy

My last cat had Lymphoma & Chronic Renal Failure along with possible IBD and near the end a persistant infection. From the time the lymphoma was diagnosed & confirmed until she was pts was only a few months. She was being treated with homeopathic remedies and near the end we added Clavamox antibiotic pills.

Lymphoma & IBD have been linked in some theories, if she had IBD then it's harder to absorb nutrients. Lymphoma is a rapid growing cancer because it spreads through the lymph system which is all throughout the body.

You mention an antibiotic shot - I'm going to assume it was Covenia. There have been suspicions/reports about various reactions pets have had to the shot, as of yet I don't think there is any concrete studies to confirm/deny a link.

It is possible the lymphoma was very aggressive and the shot had little/nothing to do with her death, it's also possible her system was overloaded and being so tiny she couldn't muster enough of a fight.

[marko]

I'm so sorry to be reading this and please accept my deepest condolences.

Growler has some good theories here and being so tiny likely didn't help at all.
When my cat Ziglet passed away a couple of years ago, it also happened very very quickly (within 2-3 weeks).

I just wanted to thank you for adopting a senior cat, you made Lucy's short time with you special and that is a very beautiful thing.

Sweet Lucy

Sincerely,

Marko

[NikkiB]

I will know the specific antibiotic in a few days when I go to collect her ashes. The printer at the vet wasn't working so I never got the invoices as I went along. I have however read plenty of those reports about specific ones so I will be paying close attention.

Yes she was very tiny, that always did worry me. It was not for want of eating though, her appetite was great!

The only thing I can say for her dying at home is at least we don't have that endless question of did we do the right thing.

Attaching a picture for anyone interested

[Dog Dancer]

Lucy was beautiful and I'm so sorry for your loss. But know in your heart that you rescued a senior and filled her final days with love. There is a special place for people like you.

[hazelrunpack]

Oh, she was gorgeous. I'm so sorry for your loss You were her angel when you adopted her and now she's yours, watching over you.

Lucy