RIP Beloved Drippy

[ace3001g]

Had to see goodbye to our beloved Drippy last Thursday. He just turned 4. He was a wonderful little mischievous bengal. Smart, loving, full of character, he left us way too soon, out of the blue.

I was away on work travel when it happened. My girlfriend found him curled up in an unusual place. When she fed him or tried to play with him, he'd just sit there. He usually comes running (he loved food and play).

So she took him to the vet where they found a big pocket of fluid & puss next to his lungs, crushing them. So they took him to the emergency vet, where he crashed even further... unable to breathe, so they had a vet keep on oxygen tube in his mouth. At some point they had to give him some kind of CPR to restart his breathing.

Normally, they could have drained the fluids but the clumps of other materials (puss I think) interfered with the needle. So, they proposed keeping him in emergency supervised care for 24 hours (3k) and surgery (15k) if/when they could stabilize him. The surgery would have been, according to them, 50/50 at best.

Since my girlfriend didn't have the credit and I was unreachable in a business meeting, they had to put him down. My girlfriend was holding his paw and petting him on the head while the drugs took his life away. I wasn't there but I can't describe the feeling of imagining my little guy suffering like this, and my girlfriend having to watch him die like that. This must have been **** for her, she's very tough, albeit heartbroken to say the least.

It was way too soon for him. We miss him greatly. I also feel so sorry for Molly, our other cat (seen in the picture). They were such a great couple and she misses him greatly as well. Its unfair that they can't play and cuddle together any longer.

When I came back on Friday, I went to see him to get closure and say goodbye. Seeing him dead curled up in a blanket on that table is something I will never forget. It stings unbelievably.

The fact we didn't detect symptoms, that I wasn't there, that he suffered and that the vets couldn't fix him are all causing pain, anger and grief.

I'm not a religious man but its times like these that I really wish I had faith that I'll see him again. For now, I have to try and accept that he's gone, not an easy task to say the least. I'm typically not a very emotional person, so I'm not very comfortable with all this. I try to pay tribute to him by doing various things such as write this post in hope that it will help.

You can see him here. As you can tell, he was named drippy because of that cute white drip above his nose.

Picasa Web Albums - 10364240597136868... - Drippy And Molly

Feel free to check out the library. I have many pictures of him by himself and with molly.

On a side note, I think its quite cruel for pet healthcare to say "shell up all this money now or we need to let your cat go". I would have been more than willing to take the debt, I didn't care about money when it came to my little guy.

RIP

[mistapurr]

Poor Drippy! 4 yrs old is so young to have to endure such a loss. My heart goes out to you. It's never easy to lose a pet, let alone suddenly.

$15k is a lot of $, can't understand myself how these places can cost so much money. I have a very sick kitten we rescued that so far has cost us $9k (which we put on credit), he's at home w/a 50/50 prognosis, so I very much sympathize with your plight. I hope with time it gets easier.

[swimkris]

I'm sorry for your loss. Both of your cats are very beautiful!

[FancysMom]

i'm so sorry for your loss! your're in my thoughts.

[Ted]

Ace, my eyes are watering... I'm so very sorry for your loss.

I'm praying that the memories you and your girlfriend (and Molly) shared with Drippy get you through any rough times ahead.

[ace3001g]

Thank you folks for your replies and support. It helps.

mistapurr, I really hope your kitty pulls through. Its a steep price but I'd do it in a heartbeat.

All the best

[razzle]

What beautiful cats. So sorry for your loss. I agree it's a sad event if you don't have the money to buy vet care and it causes people to put down their cats. I'm in that position and I hate it.

Kathy

[konstargirl]

Aww! so sorry to hear.

[Two Siamese]

So sorry for your loss. The photos show beautiful, well-loved cats.

[ace3001g]

Thanks all for the support. After 1 week the pain is a bit less intense, but still stings very much.

It helped to understand the disease that killed him.

Unfortunately our other cat is depressed. We got her a full checkup (blood work, radio, xrays, the works) and am happy to see she got a clean bill of health, aside from some gingivitis.

However she's eating very little. Hopefully this will come back after a week or so if not we'll try some solutions.

Any advice?