Why did my kitty die?I just got a 5 month old kitten that i adopted from a friend about 2 months ago. He seemed very healthy and energetic up until Friday evening (2 days ago) When i got home from work he was acting very lethargic and just laid down a lot... he was drinking and eating a little but not as much as normal. He seemed a little weak and his meow was very horse and scratchy as if he was congested. When i put him to bed he actually slept the whole night which was unusual for him.
When i woke up on Saturday he just laid down and didn't even get up to eat. he seemed very weak and i noticed that when he did get up to walked to his water bowl he had a swivel and was very unsteady. Then he just hung his head over the water bowl and sat in a hunched over position and after a minute or two drank a little then went back to lay down. As the day progressed he seemed to get weaker and weaker so i fed him some food from a spoon but he only ate a little. Then later on Saturday night i went to check on him and he had wet his bed so i got him a blanket and put him in the restroom where his litter box was. He just laid there and barely moved.
This morning i checked on him and he had walked up to his litter box but was too weak to go inside so he urinated outside of the box. it was a very dark yellow puddle. he was very weak and could barely hold his head up and when he did get up to get a drink he could barely walk. I decided to call the emergency vet because i figured he couldn't wait until Monday and they told me to bring him in ASAP so i got someone to pick me up but as i was waiting for the ride he seemed to deteriorate even more. He was laying on the blanket and i noticed his eyes were a strange yellowish color when they are usually gray-green and his gums were very light pink, almost off white. He was laid out on his side and when i tried to pick him up he started screaming.
I finally got him in his carrier but he seemed almost lifeless. he was breathing slowly and not moving. by the time my ride came i checked on him and he was barely breathing. Then he started coughing up foamy white stuff and he started twitching and convulsing. then he just stopped breathing and suddenly died.
I don't understand how his symptoms progressed and became so serious so quickly. I did some research and he seemed to have feline distemper or heart worms. I'm really worried about it being distemper because if i one day decide to get another cat i read that the disease can live on surfaces for up to a year. Unfortunately i don't have the money to get a necropsy performed so i was just wondering if anybody is familiar with these symptoms and if anyone could have some possible hypothesis of what it could have been.
Other Info:
He was an indoor cat however he was born to a feral mother in the backyard of one of my aunts coworker and she took them in and took care of them. She took them to the vet and got them neutered and they got a few shots but did not get all the vaccinations they needed. Before she adopted them out. He was on Nutro Max Cat kitten dry and caned food. i had recently started feeding him the packets but those seemed to make him sick so i went back to the dry food and canned food. He used Fresh Step clumping cat litter and i figured this could be an important factor because i recently heard that the dust could cause problems. I hope someone has some ideas as to what may have caused his death.
No i do not have any plants in my home and all of my household cleaning supplies are in closed cabnets that he couldnt of gotten into except for some fabrease spray i have in the restroom.
As far as me not getting him to the vet sooner if it wasn't a weekend i would have took him to the vet down the street from my house as soon as he got the symptoms but unfortunately it was Friday evening when he first got sick and the vet is not open on weekend and i do not have adequate transportation to get him to the emergency vet. I was lucky that my friends boyfriend was even willing to take me. So shame on me for being so irresponsible
He did not have diarrea or any vomiting, however he did get sick about two weeks earlier and was vomiting and had serious diarrea. i figured it was the food because he seemed active and fine other than that so i took his food away for 24hours and he did not vomit anymore and began to have solid bowel movements after about a day or two so i stopped feeding him the wet food packets. I'm not sure if this has any connection to his sudden illness but it may be possible
Answer by Sceneworld
Im not sure but omg that made me cry i love cats!!!!
Answer by Hmmmmmmmmm
Do you have ANY plants in your house or anything poison? ( http://goodcats.com/toxicplants.html thats a list of poison plants)
It sounds to me like he could have eaten a plant or something poison and gotten kidney failure. (Yellowing of the eyes, dark pee, and very sudden sickness.)
As for distemper, was he not vaccinated?
If you do want to get another cat I would get an OLDER kitten from a shelter who is already vaccinated and immune to distemper, also make sure it is tested for FELV and FIV, so you don't suffer an unfortunate loss again.
Sorry about your loss, that is very sad.
**Edit**
I really am thinking its not distemper due to the dark yellow urine, and yellowing of the eyes, as well as the quickness it came. Plus many of his signs did not match those of distemper;
* Vomiting
* diarrhea
* Depression
* Disinterest in food and water
* Appearance of the "third eyelid," or haw, in the inner corner of the eye
* Lack of grooming, evidenced by dull, rough coat
* Evidence of abdominal pain
* A "hunched over" postural appearance
Plus it seems VERY fast for distemper to show no signs then all of a sudden in 2 days show signs and kill the cat. Normally you will see signs further ahead then 2 days.
** Edit again **
I would talk to the vets and see what they think. Yellowing of the eyes, and urine and the white foamy mouth stuff all indicate kidney failure, so now, how could he have gotten kidney failure... I am racking my brain trying to think.. No antifreeze around or anything at all?
This is a list of some foods that are poison to cats could he have gotten these?
Apple seeds
Apricot seeds/pits
Avodaco fruit/pit
Cherry (the whole thing)
Eggplant (the greens)
Elderberry
Mushrooms
Onion
Potato
Rhubarb (leaf)
Tobacco
Tomato (greens)
Chocolate
Grapes
Raisins
Mushrooms
Garlic
Any of these could result in death.
Answer by redbird
Sorry about your kitty. A vet would be better qualified to give you a possible diagnosis. But please learn from this. Its good that you were attempting to get medical care but pets are like children and young pets are like babies. If you had a baby would you have waited two whole days to get help for him if he had these symptoms?
Answer by Lo
He didn't have all his vaccinations, When you get a pet from any agency or person, you need to make sure that you ask the vet, did you give him all the necessary shots and when do I have to come back. I have never heard of fresh step causing feline distemper, they would take it off the shelves. You probably shouldn't have waited so long to take him into the vet either. If your cat is eating and drinking, they are generally healthy! If not, they are sick and you need to take them into the vet ASAP!
Answer by Randy B
I'm really sorry for your loss. My wife and I have three cats of our own and volunteer for a cat rescue in our local area so we have unfortunately had many that have been lost over the years. Many of the ones we get in are feral and we have problems before they can be vaccinated.
Some of what you mentioned sound like distemper. Only the vet can tell you for sure though.
If you plan on getting another cat/kitten sometime please make sure you wash everything very well. A light bleach and water solution will work and what you can't wash, spray with the solution to make sure it kills anything that may be left.
Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.
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