JustAnswer > Cat
Ask A Question|Register|Login|Help
JustAnswer

Cat
Ask a Cat Question, Get an Answer ASAP!

Have your own Cat question?

13 Vets and Cat Experts are Online Now
characters left:
Not a Cat Question?

Related Cat Topics:

  • Age
    • ,
  • Cat
    • ,
  • Die
    • ,
  • Eat
    • ,
  • Top
    • ,
  • Vet
    • ,
  • Back
    • ,
  • Cats
    • ,
  • Come
    • ,
  • Eyes
Bookmark and Share

Question

She was only 3 and a half,she died in the early hours of Monday morning on my bed.Back inAugust shed suddley went off her food and quickly lost weight and became very week in about three days,she even found it hard to walk and started to loose her balance.I took her to the vets they said shed got bit of a temp sold me a weeks work of antibotics and worming tablets,after four days she was getting back to her normal weight her eyes were big again and shed got her strenth back,job done i thought,for the next six weeks she ate more than normal and ate very quickly as if it was her last meal.On friday she suddenly stopped eating and drinking again and became very withdrawn,she went out Friday and didnt come back until Sunday afternoon,she was very week could hardly walk and found it hard to stand up without falling over,i knew she was beyond help and only had hours left,i offered her food and drink she declined,i lay her on the bed she died several hours later on the bed,how did she die?

Submitted: 25 days and 17 hours ago.
Category: Cat
Value: $11
Status: CLOSED
+
Read More

Optional Information

Pet's Sex: Female
Pet's Age: 3

Accepted Answer

Hi XXXXXX,

My heartfelt condolences on the sad loss of your furry girl.

The only way to determine the exact cause of death would be to have a vet perform a necropsy (autopsy for animals). If this is not possible, I can offer you some possibilities that led to her demise.

If she spent time outdoors, she could have ingested a toxic substance which caused her symptoms and led to her death. Ingestion of antifreeze or rat poison could be associated with the symptoms you describe. Because she was not eating properly back in August, she may have developed a serious liver condition called hepatic lipidosis, which occurs when cats don't eat much, or at all. The vet's treatment at that time, with antibiotics, considering she had a slight fever, indicating infection in her system, and the worming treatment, seemed to have helped, but damage to her liver could have been still existing.

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/hep-lipidosis.html
http://www.petplace.com/cats/poisoning-in-cats-what-you-should-know/page1.aspx

Young cats in this age range could experience a heart condition called cardiomyopathy. Sometimes there are no visible symptoms, and it's like a ticking time bomb, just laying dormant, until another physical event sets it off.
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/hyp-cardio.html

This is truly a dilemma, unless you can have the necropsy done, because if your cat was outside and didn't come back for a day, you can't know what she may have gotten into or who she was in contact with. It's also possible that she was injured by a vehicle or other animal. I'm assuming she was fully vaccinated and up to date on her shots, but immune-mediated diseases cannot be ruled out, like feline leukemia and FIV.

Again, my sincerest condolences on your loss. I'm including this, below, hoping that it might help to ease your grief in some small way:

www.petloss.com/poems/maingrp/rainbowb.htm

Cher

Picture
Expert: Jessesmom
Pos. Feedback: 99.7 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 10/27/2009

Feline Specialist Health/Behavior

Feline Healthcare and Behavior Specialist 40+ years Experience

25 days and 16 hours ago.

Reply

Thankyou for your advice,we cant have an autopsy because we buried her yesterday morning in our garden,my only concern is we own her son ,shed had a litter at 13 months ,could the possible liver or heart condition be ginetic, thanks very much James Wilkins

Posted by Jessesmom 25 days and 15 hours ago.

Answer

Hello again, James, and you're most welcome. Thanks very much for your accept, reply and generous bonus.

The heart condition can be genetic, and since the cause of your girl's demise is unknown, it would be a good idea to have her son evaluated by the vet, to keep on top of things re: the condition of his heart, and other vital organs. This can be accomplished with yearly routine blood work, hands on exams, and watching for any unusual symptoms.

Cher

25 days and 14 hours ago.

Reply

thankyou very much,james wilkins

Posted by Jessesmom 25 days and 14 hours ago.

Answer

You're most welcome, James.

Cher

+
Read More

Related Cat Questions

  • I have a 9 year old male orange taby. He recently ate a ...
  • Heartworms medication
  • We have three cats. One is meowing a lot and vomiting.
  • Urinary infection
  • my golden ret. (3yrs) just threw up- not eating recalled ...
  • should I worry about my cat's wheezing?
  • Is it alright for my male dog to be peeing pure blood
  • Is Friskees shredded can food with gravy, safe to feed my .....



Disclaimer: Information in questions, answers, and other posts on this site ("Posts") comes from individual users, not JustAnswer; JustAnswer is not responsible for Posts. Posts are for general information, are not intended to substitute for informed professional advice (medical, legal, veterinary, financial, etc.), or to establish a professional-client relationship. The site and services are provided "as is" with no warranty or representations by JustAnswer regarding the qualifications of Experts. To see what credentials have been verified by a third-party service, please click on the "Verified" symbol in some Experts' profiles. JustAnswer is not intended or designed for EMERGENCY questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals.
Question List | Become an Expert | Terms of Service | Security & Privacy | About Us
© 2003-2009 JustAnswer Corp.