Hi All,
On December 4th of 2004 I went to our local humane society and adopted a
kitten. The next day I noticed that he (about 3-4 months old I was told)
was sneezing a lot. I took the kitten back to the humane society where I
was told that it was nothing to worry about if he was eating and drinking
normally which he was.
As the days went on his eyes became liquidly with a bit of discharge but
about a week later it all cleared up.
Today, Jan. 26, 2005 - approx. 6-7 weeks after adoption I noticed he was
breathing funny - almost as though he was panting without his tongue
sticking out. He would sway forward with each breath. On thinking that he
was having problems getting a hairball up I went to the petstore for
something to help it. On my return home he had passed away.
On looking in the litter box there was a recent dropping (diarrhoea) with a
bit of blood in it.
This morning he was fine - showed his normal energy and still had an
appetite. I'm looking, obviously, for answers but at the moment I will take
ideas. Has anyone had something like this happen, for what seemed so
quickly, and experienced any of the above symptoms with their cat or heard
of something similar happening?
I called the humane society I got him from because I thought that they may
be interested in case he was carrying something but the women said that in
"20 years [she] has never heard of a cat carrying something for that long
(6-7 weeks) without showing symptoms".
Thanks,
Dave
KellyH - 27 Jan 2005 02:12 GMT
> Hi All,
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> was told that it was nothing to worry about if he was eating and drinking
> normally which he was
I'm so sorry about your kitten. That's very sad :(
I have no idea what it could be. You could take him to the vet and have a
necropsy performed. Initially, with the sneezing and eye discharge, it
sounded like an upper respiratory infection, but that should not have killed
him. Enlarged heart, maybe?

Signature
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
"Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG
Karen Chuplis - 27 Jan 2005 02:14 GMT
> Hi All,
>
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
> Thanks,
> Dave
Boy, I really don't know but I am sure sorry to hear about this. That is
really terribly unusual but kittens can crash fast. The shelter *should* be
interested. What a tragedy and my heart goes out to you.
Cheryl - 27 Jan 2005 02:15 GMT
> This morning he was fine - showed his normal energy and still
> had an appetite. I'm looking, obviously, for answers but at the
> moment I will take ideas. Has anyone had something like this
> happen, for what seemed so quickly, and experienced any of the
> above symptoms with their cat or heard of something similar
> happening?
I'm very sorry your kitty passed away so young. Sometimes they are
just not strong, and they can go downhill so quickly. If you still
have the body, or if the HS or the vet does, they can do a necropsy
to determine cause of death. I had one done on one of my previous
cats and it was about $150 to do it. I needed to do that for closure.

Signature
Cheryl
Phil P. - 27 Jan 2005 04:16 GMT
> Hi All,
>
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
> Thanks,
> Dave
I'm very sorry for your loss. It breaks my heart badly when one so young
passes. Please find comfort in the knowledge that he was loved and will be
missed. For many cats, their only human contact is their executioner and
they die without even a name.
My best guess is he may have been born with a congenital heart defect
(.e.g., Patent Ductus Arteriosus).
Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.
Phil
M.C. Mullen - 27 Jan 2005 04:48 GMT
| I called the humane society I got him from because I thought that they may
| be interested in case he was carrying something but the women said that in
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
| Thanks,
| Dave
Dave,
I'm very sorry to hear about your loss.
I would not let the HS get away that easily.
Insist on speaking to the person in charge.
Is there a related vet they have, insist that you want to talk to him.
Remain friendly but firm.
They are trying to get away easily and put the blame on you.
They are afraid that you will cause problems for them; make sure that this
is not your intention, but that you want to find answers.
If you want, then make them give you another cat.
These things *do* happen even if the lady above has not heard about it.
How about posting to the .vets group?
Carola