My Danny Boy Is Gone, post about my cat Danny's death Options

[DannysMom]

I am new to this forum. Having read some of the posts I feel safe to post about my cat Danny. It seems that the people in this forum really do care and are trying to help each other. It has been over a month since my cat Danny died, but I still miss him so much, and it is hard to get the last vet visit out of my head. This was the first time that I had seen one of my pets die, and the pain was almost unbearable. That very night I drove around, found an isolated spot to park and just broke down in tears. I was calling out his name over and over again, and with each scream it hurt so much. I feel terribly guilty over his death. I feel that I have failed him. I should have kept his weight down more and never let him get so overweight to begin with. Danny was always a good eater, but somehow things got out of hand, and at one time he weighed 19 pounds. His ideal weight would have been 12 pounds. I managed to slowly get him down to 17 and watched his portions more. He was three months shy of his 11th birthday when he died. Danny was a beautiful, gentle Tuxedo cat.

He started eating less the week of Christmas. We had the roofers for a few days at that time, so I thought it was just stress that he ate less and hid under the bed a lot. But on Christmas Day I knew something was terribly wrong. He wouldn't eat or drink. He tried to, but he just couldn't. Danny was very lethargic. He was hiding a lot, and when he jumped up on a chair he cried out in pain. I took him to the 24 hour emergency pet clinic. They did an x-ray and the vet on call thought he might have pancreatitis. The vet also noticed that his heart was enlarged, but she thought nothing of it. I left him at the 24 hour place and they put him on an IV. The next day he had an ultrasound, and the internist found that he had cardiomyopathy, and that he was in congestive heart failure. His liver was inflamed, and he was going into hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver), because he wouldn't eat. They changed the meds on him and managed to stabilize him, but he still wouldn't eat the next day. When I talked to the internist about putting a feeding tube into him, the vet replied that it was contraindicative because it would stress out his heart even more. Well, how in the world were these doctors expecting him to get better without food? They were taking my money, but offered no real solutions, and the internist hedged when I inquired about Danny's long term prognosis. After talking it over with my regular vet (he had seen all the paperwork on Danny from the 24 hour place), I made the decision to euthanize him. After Danny was gone, my vet said that I had made the right decision, because he had been a very, very sick cat.

Still, I wonder. I am angry at the incompetence of the vets at the 24 hour place. Why did that first doctor think nothing of his enlarged heart? Was it really true that they couldn't force feed him because of his heart? I wish I could get an answer to that. When I picked up Danny from the 24 hour place to take him to be euthanized I felt so bad. His green eyes looked so bright and lively again, and he ##ed his head and kept looking at me and seemed happy to see me. He had an accident in his carrier in the car, and that happened frequently on trips to the vet as he was always so scared to go there. He kept crying and pawing at the carrier door. My heart was breaking and I wondered if he knew. I was beside myself. Not my Danny boy. Not this sweet, gently, loving cat who hopped on my bed every morning and licked my arm. Let it be me, but not him!

He seemed agitated when my vet gave him the tranquilizer shot. He was moving his head back and forth. He seemed so much to want to live, and to this day I still question my decision, even though my vet said that I had made the right decision. I just have no peace about it, none at all. He went quickly. I stayed with him, petted his head and told him that I loved him. When he was gone his eyes stayed open. It was a very traumatic experience for me to see his lifeless little body and his empty, lifeless eyes staring into nothing. It haunts me to this day, and I am crying even now as I type this. Danny was a gift from heaven. He was a sweet and loving cat, very gentle, and he always seemed to be so much at peace with himself and the world. I have never seen that in any of my other cats. Every time I looked into his eyes my heart would just melt. He radiated love and peace, and I was so privileged to have known this gentle soul.

When he died something in me died with him. I have lost interest in most everything. I am very depressed and can't seem to snap out of it. I feel I should have done more. I feel that I have failed my Danny boy.

[moon_beam]

Hi, DannysMom, please permit me to offer you my sincerest sympathies in the physical loss of your beloved Danny. Losing a beloved companion is never easy regardless of the circumstances or how long we are blessed with the privilege of their company. Euthanasia is the last gift of love we can give to our companions at great sacrifice to ourselves so that they can be restored to their former youthfulness in the company of the angels.

DannysMom, I am not a veterinarian nor a vet tech, but I have taken vet tech courses and I do sincerely wish to reassure you that you did the very best for your beloved Danny by releasing him from his failing painful physical body. From first-hand experience I can tell you that feeding tubes are not the "miracle solution" they appear to be. It is a surgical procedure to insert a feeding tube - - hence, the additional stress on your beloved Danny's heart. Would he have survived the anesthesia and recovery from the surgery? Would taking this risk have helped you if your beloved Danny had not survived after all? Feeding tubes can rupture the stomach thus causing infection. Feeding tubes get clogged and need irrigating. Every time something is inserted into the feeding tube it causes a reflex gagging response. My beloved number one kitty son Eli had a feeding tube inserted - - without my prior permission - - during an emergency surgical procedure that resulted in removing a tumor from his abdomen and his right kidney - - of which he was diagnosed with end stage Lymphoma. I hated that tube and so did my Eli, and both of us were ever so grateful when it was removed a few days later. Your beloved Danny is now thanking you very much for sparing him from this "extraordinary measure" of medical care.

Please do not get me wrong - - there are times when a feeding tube can be very beneficial, and this needs to be thoroughly discussed with the treating veterinarian(s) for the pros and cons. But it is not a "cure" for the illness.

I am so sorry that your experience with your beloved Danny's transition to the angels has been such a painful one for you. Even under the "best" of situations there is this horrible grief journey to travel, and one of the hardest emotions to deal with is the "guilt". Unfortunately it is always a part of the grief journey, and it is one of the hardest emotions to reconcile. Please let me try to reassure you that you did everything in your power to give your beloved Danny a happy, healthy, safe, and loved earthly journey with you. Our furkids have weight challenges just like people do - - and you did everything you could to help him get his "boyish figure" back. So please do not blame yourself for what happened to your beloved Danny.

If you have questions about the treatment your beloved Danny received at the emergency vet you always have the right to place an inquiry with your State veterinary licensing board. It is something to consider if this is the route you feel you need to go to get the answers that will help you.

DannysMom, I know there are no adequate words in any language that soothe the seering pain of loss in your heart. One of the many things you need to remember during your grief journey is that you are not alone. Each of us here do understand what you are going through, and we are here for you for as long and as often as you need us. I know it is very hard to believe right now, but eventually this horrible pain of grief will ease and this will be a good thing because this is what your beloved Danny wants for you. He wants you to know that he is forever with you in your heart and your memories - - he is always and forever a heartbeat close to you.

DannysMom, I hope what I have shared with you will be of comfort to you. Thank you so very much for sharing your beloved Danny with us. Perhaps sometime you will feel up to sharing a picture(s) of him with us - - but only when / if you want to. Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers, DannysMom, and that I look forward to knowing how you're doing.

Peace and blessings,
moon_beam

[DannysMom]

...

If you have questions about the treatment your beloved Danny received at the emergency vet you always have the right to place an inquiry with your State veterinary licensing board. It is something to consider if this is the route you feel you need to go to get the answers that will help you.

...

Apparently some other people feel there is something wrong with this place. They've gotten some good reviews on Yahoo and Google, but there are also some that are troubling and not so good. It makes me sick to even think about this place. They knew how sick Danny was, and instead of being honest with me and telling me that they kept fleecing me for money. I understand that these 24 hour places are expensive to run, still...there is no need to see distraught pet owners as nothing more than 'cash cows'. Danny's heart condition had been diagnosed by their internist who wanted to shuffle him off to their heart specialist. Why a specialist for everything? They had determined he had congestive heart failure, so what else is there to diagnose??? My own vet could have diagnosed Danny just as well had it not been a holiday.


therealstory ‎ - Feb 7, 2011
The only thing this place is interested in is your payment to them. They could care less about your pet or your feelings, they only want your credit card information to keep piling up the bill. After being told one thing and then another 2 days later, with a completely different outcome from the previous conversation with them, and then only to be asked about payment several times before anything had even been done, their true colors really shine through. I wouldn't recommend this place to ANYONE and if you can go anywhere else except here, DO IT !!!! Not only do they want to charge you for every single thing they do (and don't do), they are the highest cost related vet in this area.

Southwest ‎ - Jan 22, 2009
Inadequate Vet Customer Service My dog passed away during emergency surgery. When the vet notified me that my dog would have to go into surgery, I asked her for the cost of the surgery and the implications. She said that she would return with a printout of the cost. She never returned to discuss with me the surgery and instead, had the front desk attendant speak with me. I had to ask for her to return to the waiting room because she had not provided any details of the surgery, the risk, recovery rate, etc. I felt like this was truly a business and that they were rushing to get me in and out of the building. I called to find out the status of my dog's surgery because several hours had gone by and they had told me that they would contact me with a status. The was told that they were really busy and that the vet would call me when she went into surgery with my dog. She did not call me and once again, it was the front desk attendent who contacted me. Thirty minutes into the surgery, my dog's heart stopped.

by missing shadow
04/16/2009

I was referred to this vet when my lab Shadow was sick. I would never never go there again!!!! all they care about is money not the care of animals. When we got there a man was upset because he had brought his who died at home to have cremated and was charged an euthanasia fee. I was told than my lab had cancer. And that chemo may help or we could give pain meds. My dogs legs and paws swollen so bad. we decided to have her euthansia cause she was 11 years old and we didnt want her to suffer anymore. Than filled out all the paperwork to do it,crying the entire time. just to have the docter refuse to do it, without having 1200.00 in test done.
we felt having her euthansia was the humane thing to do, plus as the owner i felt it is my choice. this was an friday we took our dog home with meds she suffered the whole weekend by sunday she had to be carried outside to potty. Monday we took her to Midway Vet the Vet could not believe that that vet sent our dog home it such bad shape. tiderwater animal was terrible DO NOT TAKE YOU BELOVED SICK PET THERE!!!

by pmbm3
11/01/2011

I had the worst experience with the emergency center. I arrived at about 10:30 in the evening with my 3 yr old pug who was in labor and had stopped contracting. The doctor said we needed a c-section. At about 3:30 they said my pug had two pups and was not mothering them. The vet assistant came out with my pug and her pups squealing and said they need milk in 30 minutes or they will die. My pug was out of it. I asked where I get milk and she said maybe Walmart that the vet was out of stock. I asked about another clinic and she said she could help me find the number after she checks another patient out. The man said to take care of me first. I end up getting her home and the pups nursed off of her but she laid there lifeless. I dosed off for a bit and woke up finding her bleeding. I took her back and they hydrated her and wrapped her. Around 4:30 the new doctor said she had to go back in. One of the stumps needed more sutures. No wonder she did not want to nurse her babies. She was ready to go at 11:30 at night and was acting and looked great. After paying for two surgeries she is better. She is now taking great care of her pups!!! It was the worst experience I have ever went through. The 2nd doctor was great and printed me up papers on how to take care of the pups if the mother does not. I wish she would of been the first doctor I saw.


1 of 5 stars
Apr 29, 2011
by Guest42915
I went to the clinic Monday night at 9:00 pm with my new puppy vomiting and lethargic seem to not even care my opinion this is not a good place for emergency. Others came in and they all seemed to the staff to be more important than mine. I finally left at 10;30 pm without never seeing a vet. wanted to do test on my dog with out even seeing the Vet $177.00 that is crazy....