Sudden cat death

Hi
I have been searching the net for answers and advice.
I have had cats all my life and I will always have them, but what I am about
to write has really shocked us.

On Saturday we took our long haired tom cat called 'Donny' to be groomed as
he was full of lugs and we thought he would feel better. We went back for
him a few hours later but he wasn't finished, we hung around and heard him
meow a couple of times.
One of the ladies came out to us and said that he had been stressing. My
husband went in as I waited outside with our 6 year old son.
Minutes later I was asked to go in the room to where my husband had Donny in
his arms. He was floppy and his eyes were staring.
The lady who groomed him had said up until that point he had been the best
cat they had had as normally they are scratching and etching to get away.
I was speaking to him like normal to then realise he was not moving so we
placed him on the table to where the lady gave him heart massage and mouth to
mouth.
Nothing could be done, he was only 5 so we were all shocked and deeply upset.
He didn't seem ill although he was sleeping on our bedroom floor a lot next
to our bed and he used to stick his tongue out a lot which we found cute and
funny.
Unsure if he may be had a heart attack? One eye was staring and the other
was rolled.
His teeth have always not been white but in the past the vet wasn't concerned,
she advised that we used some special cat toothpaste to which we did a couple
of times. May be it was an infection?
I am just wanting to know if anyone else has experienced anything similar?
We brought him home and buried him, we did not want to get him checked out
with the vet as it would have been more traumatic.
We hold no remorse to the lady that groomed him she tried her best to revive
him and was deeply sorry - she had never had a cat die on her so it was not
only traumatic for us but for her and her staff as well.

I have just put the phone down from my husband who had de-registered Donny
from the vets and they think he might have had a weak heart...

Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks

"saxrocco" u36419@uwe wrote:


Any comments would be appreciated.


Just sympathy. We had a sweet little orange tabby named Punkin who
died suddenly. I had taken her to the vet for routine shots. She was
in her carrier waiting, let out a squawk, and dropped dead. She was
only 5-6 years old and had never shown a trace of illness. The vet
opined that it was a congenital heart defect, but without doing a very
expensive necropsy there was no way to tell for sure.

"saxrocco" u36419@uwe wrote in message news:764afb9064224@uwe...
Hi
I have been searching the net for answers and advice.
I have had cats all my life and I will always have them, but what I am
about
to write has really shocked us.

Very sorry about you loss. Loss of a loved pet can be very painfull.

My cat hates to go to the vet, or some pet place. It can be stressfull for
them and can cause an unknown condition to surface. Certainly no one on the
Web can tell you just what had happened.
John

Thank you both for your kind words.
We miss him so much - I have printed a really nice photo of him so we can
frame it.
We have a grey short haired tom cat called Rover - he misses him too.
Yes the loss of a loved pet is devastating.
We have 3 goldfish too and they have lasted longer than we thought - we
bought a proper tank with a pump and they love it!
Cats have character, so do the fish.
I will try and get a picture on here of Donny and you will see just how cute
he was.

Saxrocco

JohnR66 wrote:
Hi
I have been searching the net for answers and advice.
I have had cats all my life and I will always have them, but what I am
about
to write has really shocked us.

Very sorry about you loss. Loss of a loved pet can be very painfull.

My cat hates to go to the vet, or some pet place. It can be stressfull for
them and can cause an unknown condition to surface. Certainly no one on the
Web can tell you just what had happened.
John

I have got a picture of Donny as my avatar and I have added some pics in my
gallery.
Sorry Richard I meant to comment on your loss, that is terrible when your pet
dies suddenly. We are thinking Donny might have had a heart defect.


Richard Evans wrote:
Any comments would be appreciated.

Just sympathy. We had a sweet little orange tabby named Punkin who
died suddenly. I had taken her to the vet for routine shots. She was
in her carrier waiting, let out a squawk, and dropped dead. She was
only 5-6 years old and had never shown a trace of illness. The vet
opined that it was a congenital heart defect, but without doing a very
expensive necropsy there was no way to tell for sure.

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

So sorry for your loss. I commend your groomer for trying to revive
him. Without doing an autopsy, it's hard to say what happened to him.
Could have been a heart problem or thrombosis (blood clot). Purrs to
Rover.

On Mon, 06 Aug 2007 14:24:40 GMT, "saxrocco" u36419@uwe wrote:

On Saturday we took our long haired tom cat called 'Donny' to be groomed as
he was full of lugs and we thought he would feel better. We went back for
him a few hours later but he wasn't finished, we hung around and heard him
meow a couple of times.

It sounds like a possible heart condition that was made worse by
stress.

It is becoming more common in Maine Coons and Ragdolls. Does he have
any of those breeds in him?

I have a dog who has a healthy heart, but it is too large for her
body. She is a small sheltie, and the vet told me it is common when
breeders try to make the dogs smaller. The outsides get smaller, but
the organs don't always get smaller. So, there ends up being less
space inside. In Jenny;s case, the x-ray clearly showed that her heart
was pushing on her windpipe, so anytime her heart races (excitement,
exercise), she starts to cough and gag because her heart is cutting
off her air.

Since you mentioned him sitting on the floor with his tounge out
sometimes, I suspect that he had something going on with his heart,
and the grooming session was probably too much excitement for him.
Unfortunately, it is not something you can really predict.

I'm so sorry to hear about loss, and sudden losses can be so horrible.
I had one last year. Kira was sick of one thing, but died of renal
failure, only 3 days after having bloodwork that pointed to anemia,
and had no sign of kidney problems. It was only later that the food
recall came out, and it began to make sense.

Unsure what breed Donny was, but as I have said there are pictures in my
gallery and I use his picture as my avatar.
I thank you all very much and this site has helped ease the pain.
Rover our remaining cat however is clinging to us more than what he used to -
I guess this is normal?
I am sure that in the future I will bring more cats in to our lives as I
can't bare never to have any...
I sent a photo of him to the groomer today to thank them for all that they
did.

Keep in touch!
Clare x

Meghan Noecker wrote:
On Saturday we took our long haired tom cat called 'Donny' to be groomed as
he was full of lugs and we thought he would feel better. We went back for
him a few hours later but he wasn't finished, we hung around and heard him
meow a couple of times.

It sounds like a possible heart condition that was made worse by
stress.

It is becoming more common in Maine Coons and Ragdolls. Does he have
any of those breeds in him?

I have a dog who has a healthy heart, but it is too large for her
body. She is a small sheltie, and the vet told me it is common when
breeders try to make the dogs smaller. The outsides get smaller, but
the organs don't always get smaller. So, there ends up being less
space inside. In Jenny;s case, the x-ray clearly showed that her heart
was pushing on her windpipe, so anytime her heart races (excitement,
exercise), she starts to cough and gag because her heart is cutting
off her air.

Since you mentioned him sitting on the floor with his tounge out
sometimes, I suspect that he had something going on with his heart,
and the grooming session was probably too much excitement for him.
Unfortunately, it is not something you can really predict.

I'm so sorry to hear about loss, and sudden losses can be so horrible.
I had one last year. Kira was sick of one thing, but died of renal
failure, only 3 days after having bloodwork that pointed to anemia,
and had no sign of kidney problems. It was only later that the food
recall came out, and it began to make sense.

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

On Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:51:05 GMT, "saxrocco via CatKB.com"
u36419@uwe wrote:

Unsure what breed Donny was, but as I have said there are pictures in my
gallery and I use his picture as my avatar.

I haven't seen any weblinks in your posts. No way to know where your
gallery is.

On 6 Aug, 15:24, "saxrocco" u36419@uwe wrote:
Hi
I have been searching the net for answers and advice.
I have had cats all my life and I will always have them, but what I am about
to write has really shocked us.

On Saturday we took our long haired tom cat called 'Donny' to be groomed as
he was full of lugs and we thought he would feel better. We went back for
him a few hours later but he wasn't finished, we hung around and heard him
meow a couple of times.
One of the ladies came out to us and said that he had been stressing. My
husband went in as I waited outside with our 6 year old son.
Minutes later I was asked to go in the room to where my husband had Donny in
his arms. He was floppy and his eyes were staring.
The lady who groomed him had said up until that point he had been the best
cat they had had as normally they are scratching and etching to get away.
I was speaking to him like normal to then realise he was not moving so we
placed him on the table to where the lady gave him heart massage and mouth to
mouth.
Nothing could be done, he was only 5 so we were all shocked and deeply upset.
He didn't seem ill although he was sleeping on our bedroom floor a lot next
to our bed and he used to stick his tongue out a lot which we found cute and
funny.
Unsure if he may be had a heart attack? One eye was staring and the other
was rolled.
His teeth have always not been white but in the past the vet wasn't concerned,
she advised that we used some special cat toothpaste to which we did a couple
of times. May be it was an infection?
I am just wanting to know if anyone else has experienced anything similar?
We brought him home and buried him, we did not want to get him checked out
with the vet as it would have been more traumatic.
We hold no remorse to the lady that groomed him she tried her best to revive
him and was deeply sorry - she had never had a cat die on her so it was not
only traumatic for us but for her and her staff as well.

I have just put the phone down from my husband who had de-registered Donny
from the vets and they think he might have had a weak heart...

Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks

Deep condolences to both you & your husband for your shocking
unexpected loss.
I know it doesn't take your pain away, but rest assured that 99% of
everyone here, does understand exactly what you have been through &
feel for you too.

In time, you might get some of the answers that you seek, however,
some things can never be explained, & the best you can do, is to
accept that it was time to go to the Rainbow Bridge. They will take a
piece of your heart, & leave a bit of theirs that will always be in
the corner of yours. No cat will ever replace that, but one day, you
will find that you have so much love to spare, & when that time comes,
the right cat will choose you. I promise that, from experience.
I hope that your shock & pain eases with time & TLC.

And, know for sure that Donny wouldn't want you to mourn overly. He
will watch over you, & rejoice on the day that you find it in your
hearts to be able to move on & offer a home to another feline family
member, eventually. Please dont beat yourself up overly. Life is like
that- & sometimes it just doesn't feel fair. You loved him, & that was
what mattered to him.
Sheelagh "o"