Disaster - Espy is dead

"dgk" wrote in message
...
We came back from an early dinner around 6:30 and all was fine. I
figured that there was an hour or so of daylight and I let the cats go
out into the fenced in backyard. Maybe 10 minutes later I heard a very
peculiar noise, like a cat crying out. I went to take a look and
quickly located Nipsy Marlo and Scooter. Espy normally is in one of a
few choice spots but I saw him under the deck on his side.

That's very unusual, I never saw him lie like that. He was dead. I
picked him up and he was completely limp and there was no life in his
eyes. He wasn't breathing. I sat on the lawn with him in my lap
petting him, telling him how much I loved him, but he was already
gone. It sure seems like a heart attack. He was only 10.

He's in a box in my refirgerator and I'll take him to the vet tomorrow
morning to be cremated. His ashes will join those of Nico, watching me
from the china cabinet. Nico was like Espy, smart and curious. I got
Espy before Nico died, otherwise they were so similar that I'd have to
believe in reincarnation.

.I'm a mess right now. I love all my cats but Espy was special. He was
so smart and curious. The doorbell would ring, three cats would run
upstairs or to the basement, but Espy walked to the door to see who
was coming in.

Well, at least it was quick. I guess he didn't suffer. I know that we
all die, but I wish I could have had him longer. He was just special
and I already miss him.

It's not sufficient to say I am sorry for your loss.
He will be waiting for you at The Bridge
Tweed

On Wednesday, September 12, 2012 10:48:42 PM UTC-4, dgk wrote:
We came back from an early dinner around 6:30 and all was fine. I figured that there was an hour or so of daylight and I let the cats go out into the fenced in backyard. Maybe 10 minutes later I heard a very peculiar noise, like a cat crying out. I went to take a look and quickly located Nipsy Marlo and Scooter. Espy normally is in one of a few choice spots but I saw him under the deck on his side. That's very unusual, I never saw him lie like that. He was dead. I picked him up and he was completely limp and there was no life in his eyes. He wasn't breathing. I sat on the lawn with him in my lap petting him, telling him how much I loved him, but he was already gone.. It sure seems like a heart attack. He was only 10. He's in a box in my refirgerator and I'll take him to the vet tomorrow morning to be cremated. His ashes will join those of Nico, watching me from the china cabinet. Nico was like Espy, smart and curious. I got Espy before Nico died, otherwise they were so similar that I'd have to believe in reincarnation. .I'm a mess right now. I love all my cats but Espy was special. He was so smart and curious. The doorbell would ring, three cats would run upstairs or to the basement, but Espy walked to the door to see who was coming in. Well, at least it was quick. I guess he didn't suffer. I know that we all die, but I wish I could have had him longer. He was just special and I already miss him.

.. . . lots of Hornets around this time of year . . . and spiders trying to get warm and into the house . . .

"dgk" wrote in message
...
We came back from an early dinner around 6:30 and all was fine. I
figured that there was an hour or so of daylight and I let the cats go
out into the fenced in backyard. Maybe 10 minutes later I heard a very
peculiar noise, like a cat crying out. I went to take a look and
quickly located Nipsy Marlo and Scooter. Espy normally is in one of a
few choice spots but I saw him under the deck on his side.

That's very unusual, I never saw him lie like that. He was dead. I
picked him up and he was completely limp and there was no life in his
eyes. He wasn't breathing. I sat on the lawn with him in my lap
petting him, telling him how much I loved him, but he was already
gone. It sure seems like a heart attack. He was only 10.

I just read an article in a vet bulletin about sudden death being due to
heartworms in otherwide healthy-seeming cats. Maybe your other cats should
be checked for heartworms?

On Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:40:20 -0400, "news" wrote:


"dgk" wrote in message
.. .
We came back from an early dinner around 6:30 and all was fine. I
figured that there was an hour or so of daylight and I let the cats go
out into the fenced in backyard. Maybe 10 minutes later I heard a very
peculiar noise, like a cat crying out. I went to take a look and
quickly located Nipsy Marlo and Scooter. Espy normally is in one of a
few choice spots but I saw him under the deck on his side.

That's very unusual, I never saw him lie like that. He was dead. I
picked him up and he was completely limp and there was no life in his
eyes. He wasn't breathing. I sat on the lawn with him in my lap
petting him, telling him how much I loved him, but he was already
gone. It sure seems like a heart attack. He was only 10.

I just read an article in a vet bulletin about sudden death being due to
heartworms in otherwide healthy-seeming cats. Maybe your other cats should
be checked for heartworms?


So very sorry for your loss. Purrs to you and your other furbabies.

On Sat, 15 Sep 2012 08:56:09 -0700 (PDT), KittyLove
wrote:

On Wednesday, September 12, 2012 10:48:42 PM UTC-4, dgk wrote:
We came back from an early dinner around 6:30 and all was fine. I figured that there was an hour or so of daylight and I let the cats go out into the fenced in backyard. Maybe 10 minutes later I heard a very peculiar noise, like a cat crying out. I went to take a look and quickly located Nipsy Marlo and Scooter. Espy normally is in one of a few choice spots but I saw him under the deck on his side. That's very unusual, I never saw him lie like that. He was dead. I picked him up and he was completely limp and there was no life in his eyes. He wasn't breathing. I sat on the lawn with him in my lap petting him, telling him how much I loved him, but he was already gone. It sure seems like a heart attack. He was only 10. He's in a box in my refirgerator and I'll take him to the vet tomorrow morning to be cremated. His ashes will join those of Nico, watching me from the china cabinet. Nico was like Espy, smart and curious. I got Espy before Nico died, otherwise they were so similar that
I'd have to believe in reincarnation. .I'm a mess right now. I love all my cats but Espy was special. He was so smart and curious. The doorbell would ring, three cats would run upstairs or to the basement, but Espy walked to the door to see who was coming in. Well, at least it was quick. I guess he didn't suffer. I know that we all die, but I wish I could have had him longer. He was just special and I already miss him.

. . . lots of Hornets around this time of year . . . and spiders trying to get warm and into the house . . .

Possible I suppose, we do have a fair number of spiders. No hornets
that I'm aware of.

On Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:40:20 -0400, "news" wrote:


"dgk" wrote in message
.. .
We came back from an early dinner around 6:30 and all was fine. I
figured that there was an hour or so of daylight and I let the cats go
out into the fenced in backyard. Maybe 10 minutes later I heard a very
peculiar noise, like a cat crying out. I went to take a look and
quickly located Nipsy Marlo and Scooter. Espy normally is in one of a
few choice spots but I saw him under the deck on his side.

That's very unusual, I never saw him lie like that. He was dead. I
picked him up and he was completely limp and there was no life in his
eyes. He wasn't breathing. I sat on the lawn with him in my lap
petting him, telling him how much I loved him, but he was already
gone. It sure seems like a heart attack. He was only 10.

I just read an article in a vet bulletin about sudden death being due to
heartworms in otherwide healthy-seeming cats. Maybe your other cats should
be checked for heartworms?


That's interesting. There doesn't seem to be a simple way to diagnose
the problem and the treatment can be as bad as just letting the
heartworm live out its life in the cat. Espy showed none of the signs,
but that in itself isn't conclusive. The vets are not in until
Tuesday, I guess they're Jewish, so I'll check with them then.

On Sat, 15 Sep 2012 08:56:09 -0700 (PDT), KittyLove
wrote:

On Wednesday, September 12, 2012 10:48:42 PM UTC-4, dgk wrote:
We came back from an early dinner around 6:30 and all was fine. I figured that there was an hour or so of daylight and I let the cats go out into the fenced in backyard. Maybe 10 minutes later I heard a very peculiar noise, like a cat crying out. I went to take a look and quickly located Nipsy Marlo and Scooter. Espy normally is in one of a few choice spots but I saw him under the deck on his side. That's very unusual, I never saw him lie like that. He was dead. I picked him up and he was completely limp and there was no life in his eyes. He wasn't breathing. I sat on the lawn with him in my lap petting him, telling him how much I loved him, but he was already gone. It sure seems like a heart attack. He was only 10. He's in a box in my refirgerator and I'll take him to the vet tomorrow morning to be cremated. His ashes will join those of Nico, watching me from the china cabinet. Nico was like Espy, smart and curious. I got Espy before Nico died, otherwise they were so similar that
I'd have to believe in reincarnation. .I'm a mess right now. I love all my cats but Espy was special. He was so smart and curious. The doorbell would ring, three cats would run upstairs or to the basement, but Espy walked to the door to see who was coming in. Well, at least it was quick. I guess he didn't suffer. I know that we all die, but I wish I could have had him longer. He was just special and I already miss him.

. . . lots of Hornets around this time of year . . . and spiders trying to get warm and into the house . . .


I was thinking about this a bit more because he did die soon after
going into the backyard. Of course, my cats have been going into the
backyard for 16 years without anything bad happening but something
could have happened this time.

For a spider bite, it seems unlikely that the cat would die almost
instantaneously:

http://www.ehow.com/about_5089400_sp...toms-cats.html

But if he was allergic then all bets are off although that wasn't
mentioned in the article. We don't have Black Wdows around NYC that
I'm aware of, nor the Brown Recluse. Those are really the only spiders
that would pose a threat.

We mostly have yellow jackets around, not hornets or wasps. And again,
unless Espy was allergic, one sting wouldn't kill him instantly. So
while it's interesting that he died farily soon after going out, I
think it more likely that his heart gave out than that something
suddenly caused it.

The vet gave me a 99% chance that it was cardomyopathy. He didn't
mention heartworm but that is also a possibility - we do have a lot of
mosquitos around and they carry it.

I guess I should have done an autopsy just to rule out anything like
heartworm. I'll check with the vet for testing the others.

"dgk" wrote in message
That's interesting. There doesn't seem to be a simple way to diagnose
the problem and the treatment can be as bad as just letting the
heartworm live out its life in the cat. Espy showed none of the signs,
but that in itself isn't conclusive. The vets are not in until
Tuesday, I guess they're Jewish, so I'll check with them then.

What do you mean your vets are not in until Tuesday?!!
My vets are available 24/7, 365/12.

Christina Websell wrote:


"dgk" wrote in message
That's interesting. There doesn't seem to be a simple way to diagnose
the problem and the treatment can be as bad as just letting the
heartworm live out its life in the cat. Espy showed none of the signs,
but that in itself isn't conclusive. The vets are not in until
Tuesday, I guess they're Jewish, so I'll check with them then.

What do you mean your vets are not in until Tuesday?!!
My vets are available 24/7, 365/12.

dgk speculated that they might be Jewish, and tomorrow is one of the High
Holy Days of the Jewish calendar. So if they are Jews, they probably
closed the practice for today. But if so, they should have someone covering
for them.

(Hey, dgk, do you have a nickname or something? Maybe you can make one
up? Something a little more mnemonic, not to mention friendly, than your
initials, assuming that's what they are? )

--
Joyce

A clean house is a sign of a broken computer.

On Tue, 18 Sep 2012 02:08:38 +0000 (UTC), Bastette
wrote:

Christina Websell wrote:


"dgk" wrote in message
That's interesting. There doesn't seem to be a simple way to diagnose
the problem and the treatment can be as bad as just letting the
heartworm live out its life in the cat. Espy showed none of the signs,
but that in itself isn't conclusive. The vets are not in until
Tuesday, I guess they're Jewish, so I'll check with them then.

What do you mean your vets are not in until Tuesday?!!
My vets are available 24/7, 365/12.

dgk speculated that they might be Jewish, and tomorrow is one of the High
Holy Days of the Jewish calendar. So if they are Jews, they probably
closed the practice for today. But if so, they should have someone covering
for them.

(Hey, dgk, do you have a nickname or something? Maybe you can make one
up? Something a little more mnemonic, not to mention friendly, than your
initials, assuming that's what they are? )

Right, that should even have been Wednesday since religious Jews are
out Monday and Tuesday. Of course we have emergency vets and such but
I'll just wait for Wednesday. It isn't an emergency anymore. Damn I
miss that cat.

Hmm. No nickname but dgk, yes initials, doesn't really flow. I'll
think of something.