Death of my cat, I need any info I can get.

[ImissButters]

I had a 5 1/2 year old, 13.6 pound beautiful orange and white cat pass away last Saturday due to unknown circumstance and need any advice on finding a possible solution.

She had contracted fleas on Tuesday afternoon about 4:30 after running outside into for about 30 minutes. The only reason I know this is because I remember slight muscle twitches on her back but not paying attention to it until that night, when a flea landed on my arm, which I immediately gave her two flea baths within an hour and a half of each other, vacuumed the house twice and mixed a citrus/water mixture to keep them away from my cat if any survived.

The next morning I went to the vet to get her topical flea cream, but was told because I bathed her, her oils were not strong enough to hold the ointment, and was given a small flea pill(about half the size of a pencil eraser in circumference) that would take effect in 30 minutes and last two days.

Two days later, I had combed her and noticed all the adults were dead, she had stopped itching and I seen no more threat of fleas, so I decided not to use the cream, and to save it in case it happened again.

Saturday morning, I was woke to the sound of her vomiting, there were three puddles in the floor, which I examined after she had passed (no blood, just food). I was going to be running late for work, so I decided to wait the two hours until my girlfriend got home to take her to the vet.

My baby girl didn't make it the two hours, she had died in my room. It was hard to look at her, I was extremely upset, but I noticed a small hint of black on her chin, I don't know what that could have been because she literally wouldn't eat anything but dry cat food, and of course water.

Here are my guesses:
She had been to the vet a week prior due to a hotspot on the base of her tail (where the tail and back meet)-Could it have not been a hot spot, even though the two shots they gave her cleared it up completely?

-Could have the two shots, counter acted with the flea pill to cause a lethal mixture?

-I noticed a small amount of pink residue in her water bowl, she didn't live in poor conditions at ALL(she was my baby and I treated her better than anyone) but I realize this is bacteria, could it have killed her? I give her water every day, and wash the bowl out every day or two so it's hard to think this could be the reason.

-The flea pill itself killed her? I found it strange that when I asked the vet in a message what the name of the pill was, they only said "sorry for your loss" and basically "we don't know what happened to your cat". I never asked what happened, I asked what the name of the pill was.

-The fleas killed her? I said before they died off the cat, but today I noticed they are still in my house (4 days after I buried my girl).

I'm sorry for the lengthy post, and I know there is not 100% definite answer, I'm only asking a professionals opinion in the matter, what would you do in this situation?

I can't live with the fact my little girl died and I don't get to know why, she meant more to me than anyone and I'll never own another animal because I feel wholey responsible, if I would have acted immediately, I feel I wouldn't be writing any of this.

Thank you to anyone who has read this, if for some reason I forget this site or can't find the page, you can reach me at jeremiah.***@****

[opus88]

I'm so very sorry for yr loss....it's difficult at anytime but even more so when sudden, unexpected and unexplained

We are not Vets on this site, only pet parents

You mentioned 2 previous shots that were given for the hot spots, do you know if one was an antibiotic called convenia? It's a possibility this is what she was given, and if si I would suspect this is the cause of her death...Google convienia kills. It's been responsible for many fatalities

Also the flea meds are very harsh, this combined with an already ailing immune system could have contributed yes.

Again I am so sorry, I hope you find some answers

[ImissButters]

I am going to call right now and find out, why on Earth would anyone use something that is potentially fatal? And to not even try to educate an owner on the risks, I would never tried anything with a risk of fatality.

Greatly appreciate the quick response, any more help is also appreciated.

[ImissButters]

I basically will have to go in and talk one on one with the person who treated my cat.


They're so worried I'm going to sue or something silly that they are obviously tip toeing around my questions. I just wish they realize I want answers, not revenge. :(  I'm such a wreck I can barely stand this run around mess, it's hard enough having zero support.

Nobody knew the cat but me, so I can't even talk to anyone about it without the pity card, it almost seems easier to lose a loved human because at least then you have people with similar loss. It's affected my work, my sleep is next to non existent, and I can't eat but once a day. I had her everyday for almost 6 years and now it's just stopped all of a sudden, but to everyone else I'm just supposed to suck it up and be a man about it.

[Piparskeggr]

You can write all you want here, we will read and, hopefully, respond in a helpful manner.

We've all lost kitties over the years, my wife and I 3 of our girls in the past 2 years.

We lost one suddenly, like you.  April Dancer died at the vet from anaphylactic shock from a mild sedative.  She was only 6 1/2, definitely heart rending.

Keep us informed, please.

[opus88]

yes we all feel your pain, for most all of us have lost a beloved pet and its okay to mourn them just as you would a human baby....they are after all our babies

its not so much that convenia is a fatal medication....but it can be as with many medications there are side effects and adverse reactions...when taking an antibiotic in pill form, if there is a reaction...we simply discontinue use and it clears the system within 24 hrs. with the injectible convenia...it STAYS in the system for 6 WEEKS...therefore the reaction just compounds no way to stop its affects.

I don't know if this is what your kitty was given, I just saw a red flag when you mention he had 2 shots...you have a right to know what these were!!!

I will send you a couple links to more info on this

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=convenia

some other posts from pet parents and warnings

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Cats/Just-Say-NO-To-Convenia-This-is-a-dangerous-drug/show/1865523

[MYoungAtHeart]

I am so sorry to hear that your baby has died, we love them so much, most of us cannot even bear to hear of this sadness.  

I am with my girls 24/7 and am still surprised how quickly one or the other can take sick or have issues.  

I do know for sure that it takes a long time to deal with the death of a pet, don't let anyone try to hurry you through the process.

We are here for you and I do hope we will hear about what is found out concerning your little girl.

M

[ImissButters]

Thank you, I will check these before my vet visit tomorrow, I'm just too drained to research anymore. Trying to keep my mind busy so not to focus too much on the hard parts, I had lost pets as a child but my parents would always do the burying and all the tough parts, this was the first time I had to pick her up (she had a boys name because we thought she was a little boy when me and an ex girlfriend got her) and put her to rest myself.

Anyway thank you all so much, it is the only support I've had during this and I was starting to think I might have been crazy for taking it so hard. I will update tomorrow night after work.

[CML2014]

Hi Dad,

Your baby, Butters, met up with a horrible set of circumstances . Like Opus has already said it was probably due to something the vet gave her "perhaps Convenia" and perhaps there were some toxic effects when combined with other meds.

Know this----You did nothing wrong. You were caring enough to only want the best for your baby and not have her in distress. You could not have known that there would be this type of reaction, so please do not blame yourself. It is hard not to, we all feel so responsible when something happens to our babies, like we should have known what to do. We are only human and as far as I know our Kits cannot speak to us so we just have to wing it . As responsible and loving cat parents, all we can do is make sure our pets are treated by those professionals we trust.

Even our trusted vets , in trying to help our pets , sometimes make matters worse. Of course it is never intentional , they are blind sided just like us.
Yes you should sit down with your vet and talk about this, you need closure. You also need to make them aware of the dangers of Convenia, if that is what was given. You will help save the next one.

Only those of us who are lucky enough to have loved and been loved by our beautiful kits understand the profound heartache that ensues when we loose them or even think we may loose them.
So you just keep coming back here and tell US! We will always be there with a sympathetic ear, because we will need you and people like you to be there when our time comes to grieve a loss
.
You gave her the most precious thing any creature could have....LOVE...and that is why she will always be with you, you just have to be open to feel her.

Please let us know how things go with your vet. Come back as often as you need. There are so many loving people here  who understand your pain. You are not alone, friend.

Sincerely
CML






  

[Piparskeggr]

We lost Dancer in October 1997, I still miss her every day, so please, do not think such a set of emotions is unusual or unseemly.  You invested your love and care into Butters, it is natural to feel hurt when you lose a bit of yourself.

April Dancer was my little house gremlin and would greet me every day when I came home from work.  I'd stop halfway up the stairs from the basement, she'd jump on my shoulder to escort me the rest of the way, look around, she that it was safe for me and then jump off to complete her afternoon patrol of the house.

We gave her 6 1/2 years she would not have had; rescued her from a parking lot on Eglin AFB when we were stationed there.

We brought her to the vet for a simple procedure, did everything right, but it turned out wrong.  It took my wife and I awhile to accept that.  It helped that we still had Queen Victoria, Calamity Jane (the Grey sisters) and Cerridwen Blythe (another rescue) who needed us.