Question:
I'm new here. I'm so confused about what happened to my cat and it's really bothering me. She was about 12 (I adopted her when she was 5 or so) and has never has any problems besides bad teeth.

In the last 2 or so weeks she started this hairball like wheezing that would last a couple of minutes. Now that I think about it...it seems like she was bathing herself more often too. This wheezing would only occur once every couple of days.

I have a friend whose dog does it and has done it for 10 years so I didn't worry too much.

Yesterday morning I came upstairs and she was laying on the bathroom floor meowing very loud (not common). I picked her up and moved her to another room and she kept on doing it. So I picked her up and she just became lifeless. She was blinking and breathing weird so after a couple of minutes I freaked and took her to the cat hospital. She had already passed on when I got there. They said her body was reacting and would do so for another 10 minutes or so.

I also discovered that she had peed where she was laying in the bathroom (but it hit the mat so I didn't see it until later). She's never not gone in her litter box.

It's killing me that maybe there was something I could have done that I didn't do because of her breathing. I certainly hope not. Someone told me that it could have been an enlarged heart and there would have not been much I could have done about it.

It is so sad and I never want it to happen again. I will obviously pay way more timely attention to anything in the future but still really want to know what happened to my Tashy.

I'll check this but my email is ubieto@yahoo.com if you have ANY ideas or comfort (even if it's potentially not comforting).

Thank You!!

Kelly :(

Answer:
I am so so sorry to hear of your loss. You could have had a post mortem performed to pinpoint the cause of death more accurately but what you describe could be virtually ANYTHING. Cats are very clean animals and the problem with being so clean is that they create hairballs. Well, you must give your kitty hairball treatment as a general rule if they tend to dispurse of them frequently. I do it regardless because what can eventually happen is that, if they are unable to vomit up the hairball, they can obstruct and this can often cause death in cats. I've seen many cats die of hairball obstruction. We had to perform surgery once on this little kitty.....it was one huge mass inside her! We thought got to her in time but she passed that evening. So, that is one possibility. Could she have gotten into something? Something toxic? (cleansers,rat poison,etc,etc) It could have been something intestinal. May have been heart, kidneys,etc,etc. I am sorry but trying to figure it out is a lost battle, unless you had a post mortem done to narrow it down for you. Again, my sympathies.....
http://www.oznvoo.com/petloss10.html

Answer:
Such a sad story. I'm so sorry you lost your friend. Sorry I can't offer insight, but I just wanted to make sure you know that people care.

Answer:
I am soooo sorry to hear of your loss, that's a very sad story!!! I don't have an answer why your kitty passed away, but I'm sorry!!! :( :( (((HUGS)))

Oh, and the peeing on the mat; when an animal passes they release their bodily fluids. I don't think that your kitty intended to pee on the mat.

Answer:
I, too, want to say how sorry I feel for your loss. All pet-lovers here share and understand what you are feeling now. Hindsight is so easy and it's not always possible to know what is going on. It's so easy to overlook a problem when the signs are so subtle.

Answer:
Thank you to those you have responded to my posting. I really appreciate it. I think I'll have to come to terms that I won't ever know. And take any pet in asap if anything is even a little off next time.

But if anyone has more insightful advice...please keep posting or email me at ubieto@yahoo.com

Thank you again.

Answer:
I'm very sorry for your loss. Perhaps it would help for you to create a page on the virtual pet cemetery on this site. They give you room for a picture and enough space to write up on your little friend.

Go to the main page and click on pet cemetery.

My condolences to you for your loss, it's never easy.

Answer:
I'm so sorry to hear about Tashy. You gave her a great life. It's so sad when we lose a pet. You're being too hard on yourself. How could you have possibly known what was wrong? You took her to the hospital as soon as you thought something was wrong, you did the right thing. How are you doing today, and always remember you loved each other.
Laurie

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