Recent loss and Questions About Diet

[Chazchand]

My cat of six years, Eggroll, was put to sleep yesterday. He started throwing up his food four days ago, which I thought was either because of a hairball (which he got frequently) or because I had recently changed the brand of dry food I was feeding both him and his brother. When he stopped eating the next day, I made an appointment with the vet for the earliest they had. I didn't think his condition was that serious, or else I would have swallowed the emergency fee and brought him in right away. As a student, I don't have much money so this was an important consideration. The next night, he was having trouble walking and constantly going to the litterbox, but not really doing anything. Then I found him lying down in the litter and it seemed there was something wrong. A few hours later he could not walk, and was beginning to breath heavily. Then he simply stopped trying to move and went and lay in a corner. By the time I was going to bed, he was obviously in distress, limp and lifeless. He had never liked to sleep beside me in bed, but that night, for the first time, I picked him up and brought him to bed with me, beside me under the covers and just petted him and he purred, and flapped his tail. I know he was happy and that it was a comfort. Sometime in the middle of the night, he tried to get back into the closet, but couldn't walk and I was awoken by a thud as he fell off the bed, and crawled with his front paws to the corner. He couldn't make it so I picked him up and placed him on a blanket and realize now that he was going off to die. He made it to the morning, but he was (as the vet later said) catatonic and minutes away from death. I rushed him into the clinic and, still stupidly thinking it was something trivial, was shocked to be told he had a urinary tract blockage and that they had drained close to a pint of urine from him that he was in critical condition. The next hour was very difficult: presented with a bill for thousands of dollars in order to treat him, and then told that there was only a thirty percent chance he would survive, I had to make the decision to put him down. I'm comforted with the fact that his last night was spent knowing that I was there for him, and that he was loved, but I'm having an incredibly hard time dealing with these feelings of guilt, that I didn't do enough, didn't act fast enough, put my own financial interests ahead of a treatment which may have saved him. I'm angry at myself for not noticing what was going on, I'm angry at the vet for not telling me when I called and explained that he was having trouble walking and not eating, that I should bring him in right away. I'm shocked at the cold and distant way that the vet, who we imagine as someone who is only concerned with the health of the animals they treat, seemingly more concerned with the cost of treatment, and changing her prognosis based on what direction I was going in (treatment or euthanasia). That a vet would present you with the dilemma of going broke and not being able to pay the rent or to save the life of your companion without having some sort of option for a progressive payment plan seems to me to be the epitome of callousness. In short, I feel like I'm to blame and that I selfishly chose to look out for myself, and not for my friend who gave so much and asked for very little.

Now I'm told that these blockages are inherently genetic, that a dry food diet is a contributing factor (when I seem to remember the all knowing vet telling me that a dry food diet was fine for my cat). I'm concerned that Eggroll's brother may have the same problem at some point, and I'm unsure what I should be feeding him to help protect him from this. Any advice would be appreciated. But still, while the loss and the emptiness is a heavy burden, the guilt that goes along with what has happened is almost unbearable.

[ogdred]

What a heartbreaking situation. I'm very sorry that you had to lose Eggroll in such a traumatic way. Obviously if you had known how serious his condition was you would have acted differently--you cannot blame yourself for not knowing. I think it's lovely that your boy got to spend his last night with you. You loved him for six years, and he knew that, and was comforted by it to the very end.

In short: boy kitties are fairly prone to urinary blockages. Switching to an all or mostly canned diet is an excellent preventative measure. Cats are designed to get most of their liquid from their prey, so they don't have a strong thirst drive. On dry food alone cats become dehydrated, which is a huge contributing factor in urinary problems. The advantages of wet food over dry are slowly being recognized by the veterinary community, but old-schoolers do exist who still advocate for kibble. Unfortunately, many veterinarians don't have much knowledge about feline nutrition .

The good news is that now you know about the danger of urinary blockages, so even if Eggrolls brother does encounter the same issue you will know what must be done. That said, I think that if you switch him over to some high quality canned food you could probably avoid the situation entirely.

[Mitts & Tess]

Im so sorry to hear of your kittys passing. I think you got excellent advice from Ogdred. You did the best you could with what you knew. It sucks to be wiser from a tragic situation. The blessing is you will do much better diet wise for his brother. Cats hide pain. By the time your noticing symtoms it can be far advance. The more you read about cats, participate on forums, etc you will become a very knowledgable cat owner. You will see things early and know what to do.

Im sorry your vet was so cold and unsupportive in helping you in this dire situation. Thats shameful. Might be time to find a new vet. Veterinary medicine is not cheap but a lot of vet offices do have angel funds to help people like you in your situation. I would put aside an emergency fund for Eggrolls brother.

Run free sweet Eggroll. You are no longer in pain and now its happiness and comfort for you. You were loved!


PS I wanted to add this for your information to help. Try going to the Health and Nutrician part of this forum. They discuss wet food. The better the quality the wet food the healthier your cat will be. There is a saying "you either pay for good food now or vet bills" which Ive found to be true. I know your a student so try to buy the best wet food you can manage to afford. Eggrolls brother was sent to you to journey with you in this life. What a gift from God or the universe or who ever you beleive in. He depends on you to love and nurish him. He will give you so much more in return.