Strider :( Options

[Pippin's Mom Kel]

Unexpectedly, our cat Strider died last night. He had just gotten a clean bill of health from our vet yesterday afternoon. He came home, played, ate, did normal Strider things... my husband and I went to find him before bed and found him dead in the litterbox.

We are devastated. We can't wrap our minds around how our healthy 6 year old black cat is dead. And I can't cope with the fact that he died in his litterbox, without us right there. We were HOME. How did we not hear him??????

The other cats are going to grieve terribly. Lancelot and Earl Grey were very close to him. They got to sniff his body before we took him to the vet, at least.

I don't... I have no words. I'm lost.

[Pippin's Mom Kel]

Hi, all. Just sneaking in to let you know we're hanging in there. We're having a few issues with the other cats, though. It never rains...

Tues, Karma went to the vet for a checkup/x-rays since he had a cough here and there. (As in, once every 2-3-4 weeks, one-time episodes, lasting ~2 min, without any further distress.) Chest x-ray normal, but try a humidifier is the advice. Wed, he was fine. Thu, he was very off. Not active, not really interested in eating. Took him to our vet and he perked up. His exam was normal, they drew blood - but we wouldn't get results until the next AM. I was at work, so my husband did this. Karma got home, started acting more lethargic. So husband took him to the emergency vet where they can get bloodwork back quickly. All was normal. Karma perked up and acted like his usual self. Kidneys, liver, blood counts all normal. Sent out the pancreatitis test and a urinalysis. Karma got fluids and ate a little dry food there. Came home, ate a tiny bit more, then went to one of his beds and slept. When he got up to walk, he was limping heavily. He has a chronically dislocated hip, having come to us abused. It normally doesn't bother him, but we talked to the ER vet who said Karma really struggled with the blood draw and he might be sore from that. So we let Karma rest and saw how he was yesterday.

Yesterday, Karma was acting like himself, except not really eating. Ate a few bites of Friskies, a few licks of meat baby food. We gave him mirtazipine to stimulate his appetite but it didn't do a ton. I had to go to work, but throughout the day he was bright, somewhat less active than usual but out, on the sunroom enjoying the sun, and looking relatively normal. Our vet's been kind of dismissive with our worries, so we're frustrated there. When I got home from work, I gave him Cerenia in spite of our vet's advice not to since he didn't seem nauseated - but I know from my experience with a cat with lymphoma that a) it doesn't hurt and sometimes nausea is subtle in cats. Shortly thereafter, he got in the litterbox and moved his bowels, straining to do so. He got out of the litterbox, vomited up the Cerenia and then went in another litterbox and moved his bowels again. It all seemed pretty firm, so I think he might have been constipated. He spent then next 15-20 minutes hopping in and out of the litter boxes, but then he settled. After that, he ate a little dry food. He played the tiniest of bits last night, and got on the bed and demanded snuggles, acting more like a normal Karma. Didn't do any more of the in-and-out of the litterbox thing.

Today, he's not interested in food but he's very bright. He got up and used his litterbox, peed without a problem so we're less concerned than last night with the in-and-out behavior. Our vet tech friend came over and helped us give him some fluids and helped us force feed him a bit. He tolerated it really well, no nausea/vomiting. We're going to keep that up today and see if we can kick start his appetite that way.

Now, of course, Willow girl is off her food. She's a sensitive soul, and she freaks out whenever the carrier's out, thinking she's going to the vet. It's possible she ate overnight. She's bright and acting fine, but didn't want breakfast and didn't want treats - but our vet tech came and she hates having guests. She's so shy. So my inclination there is time, love and patience.

Please think happy thoughts for us. We're getting blown off by our vet, and I'm worried about Willow and Karma.