Goodbye sweet kitty

[evident]

Originally posted by: aigomorla

Originally posted by: 40Hands
I hurt so much right now. She was one of my best friends. One day shes pouncing around the house as usual then next she's barely walking, vomiting all over, and so lethargic she can barely do anything other then sleep.

There's no way to ever know what caused her kidneys to fail at such a young age. ~5 She was even an indoor cat.

I went to the vet on my lunch break where I sat with her while they put her to sleep.

There are not enough sad faces to express my emotions.



RIP Kahmea (Kah-may-ahh)

car antifreeze? ethylene glycol or some derivitive?

sounds like a condition when an animal eats antifreeze.

sorry to hear your loss tho, i was worried about the same thing with my dog so i stopped using antifreeze in my h2o systems.

op said it was an indoor cat though. hopefully he doesn't have AF somewherei nthe house

 

[40Hands]

Originally posted by: Juddog
When my cat died, after the sadness had left me, I felt enraged at the possibility of contaminated food. My cat was perfectly healthy, jumping around, playful, then just one day so sick she couldn't stand up straight. I couldn't believe it, I was in shock, and I ended up calling into work for 3 days. I wish I had saved the bag of cat food that we had fed her to test for contaminated levels of toxin.

If you look at the number of cases of contaminated pet food over the last 2 years, it seems to me that it has been on a dramatic increase.

I still have the bag with some food in it. I will find out how I can get it tested. Hopefully it's not too expensive. Her vet bills set me back ~1.5k

 

[Capt Caveman]

 

[Juddog]

Originally posted by: evident

Originally posted by: aigomorla

Originally posted by: 40Hands
I hurt so much right now. She was one of my best friends. One day shes pouncing around the house as usual then next she's barely walking, vomiting all over, and so lethargic she can barely do anything other then sleep.

There's no way to ever know what caused her kidneys to fail at such a young age. ~5 She was even an indoor cat.

I went to the vet on my lunch break where I sat with her while they put her to sleep.

There are not enough sad faces to express my emotions.



RIP Kahmea (Kah-may-ahh)

car antifreeze? ethylene glycol or some derivitive?

sounds like a condition when an animal eats antifreeze.

sorry to hear your loss tho, i was worried about the same thing with my dog so i stopped using antifreeze in my h2o systems.

op said it was an indoor cat though. hopefully he doesn't have AF somewherei nthe house

Iams cat food had an issue with food poisoning before though. The same exact symptoms happened to my cat and I spent $500, and the only reason I didn't spend more was that the vet was my aunt who gave me a discount. Each case was the same thing - rapid renal failure (kidneys), and it can take a perfectly healthy pet and destroy it's life very rapidly.

e.g. look at some of the comments on http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/iams.html

Linda of Clarksville TN (03/26/07)
I started feeding my dog, Freddie, Iams Select Bites (foil pouch) on 7 Mar 07. On 20 Mar 07, I had to put him to sleep because of severe kidney failure. The bar codes matched the recalled food. Why did it take so long to come forward with the recall and information?

Tammera of San Diego CA (03/26/07)
My cat has always been a bit on the small side and I usually only feed him Iams Dry Senior food.. I get him wet food only once in a while as a treat.. I had bought a couple of 12 packs of the Iams Wet food pouches (the orange containers) food in December or January and just fed him one a day for about 2 or 3 weeks... because he had been on the skinny side and I was trying to fatten him up.... I didn't notice him drinking any more water.. but I did start to notice him looking skinnier and he was starting to vomit ever few days..

I figured it was because he is not used to the wet food... so I stopped it. He started to lose more weight...and still periodically vomit. so I took him to the vet about a month ago and the Doc said Kidney Disease was the primary issue but he might have an underlying condition. We treated the kidney desease and he seems to be recovered (thank goodness) but that cost about 700 to 1000 dollars.

Julie of Hackensack NJ (04/01/07)
My beloved cat Winston was diagnosed with acute renal failure in December after we took him to the vet for thirst, weight loss and lethargy. he spent 5 days in the veterinary hospital on IVF. After we took him home, we administered sub-Q injections every night for 3 weeks until he could take no more and we put him to sleep. He suffered so much. I fed Winston Iams ocean fish in sauce, Stop and Shop companion and fancy feast turkey, beef and chicken in gravy. I thought I was feeding my sweet loving cat, nutritious foods that he liked; I was instead, poisoning my baby with products sold by manufacturers whom I trusted.

I spent over $3000 on vet bills and have medical records, billing statements, all receipts and records.

Judith of Hamilton MA (04/14/07)
My perfectly Helathy Cairn terrier died of acute renal failure due to poisoning. She was always by my side and ate only IAMS dry dog food. there are several complaints about this food.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I lost a cat to kidney failure. Driving to the vet to visit him one last time was heartbreaking.

It's never easy to put a pet down...

 

[Perknose]

Beautiful kitty. Sorry for your loss.

 

[alkemyst]

OP definitely have the food checked out...it's possible the cat got into something the plumber had or worse he did something...

Less than a teaspoon of antifreeze can kill a cat, they are much more sensitive than dogs...being it was an indoor this shouldn't be an option.

I recommend wellness cat foods...if on is on a budget the Costco/Kirkland Feline Maintenace is an AWESOME food for the price (around $15 for $25 lbs).

Neither of these foods have been involved in any pet food scandals.

If anyone does choose wellness you can get $5 off coupons every month by calling (check out my hot deal/free stuff posts for details)....also you will get a $10 off coupon as a thank you for signing up.

Before you get another pet rule out any kinds of chemicals, poisons, plants in the home. Some floor cleaners are not pet friendly as well and can leave a harmful residue.

 

[Blieb]

First off, very sorry ... I know how you feel .. we had to let Mr Mogli go 12/31/2007. He was just a 5 days shy of his 7th birthday.

One night we came home and he was sick out both ends. That little shit held on for 2 weeks filled with stays at the vet, tons of poking and prodding, ups and downs.

They called it "acute onset of chronic kidney failure". They say that blood levels will appear normal until something like under 20% kidney function is left. Then, toxins build up and give symptoms ... but it's really too late in the process.

We have another dog, so we started freaking out thinking that she was having similar symptoms. So we had a necropsy (autopsy) done on Mogli and did tests on Sissy dog. Ends up it was a false alarm, but it felt real.

Do you have another cat? If you do, you should get it tested and keep a close eye on it. If it was food, it will affect the other one, otherwise, it was probably "acute onset of chronic kidney failure". I know that's a shitty diagnosis, but that's what we got in the end. Even after the necropsy, the Dr. said it confirmed that he was in chronic (not accute) renal failure.

It's tougher to lose one premature, like this, for no good reason. I still fight that Mogli was supposed to live forever (more realistically like 12-15) ... so we are robbed ...

 

[Atvar]

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. I had to put our oldest cat (22) down last year and it messed me up to this day. I really had a bond with her. Currently have three cats and I know I'll have to go through it again down the road.

Again, very sorry and it will get better as time goes on.

Take care

 

[RedRooster]

Saddest thread in a long time.

The unexpectedness probably makes it 10x worse. I'm sorry.

 

[Raduque]

I'm sorry for your loss, 40hands. It's always hard to lose a pet.

I have a 12 or so year old cat that I bonded with like no other pet I've had before. I'm going to be absolutely broken when I finally have to let her go. She's an old cat and I dread that day.

I'm staying far far away from Iams food, and will recommend that everybody I know with pets do the same.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

definitely the pet food should be examined

 

[FP]

 

[40Hands]

Thanks for all your well wishes. I like to picture her now somewhere feasting on mounds of fresh seafood. OM NOM NOM NOM

:heart:

 

[Juddog]

Originally posted by: 40Hands
Thanks for all your well wishes. I like to picture her now somewhere feasting on mounds of fresh seafood. OM NOM NOM NOM

:heart:

My eyes teared up when I pictured my cat that passed away after you said that, at the same time while I laughed.

 

[alkemyst]

If anyone is in the West Palm Beach area and has a major medical problem...Contact Dr. Salvatore Zeitlin at South Dixie Animal Hospital. The man has been practicing for a long time and stays on the cutting edge of both research and donated time (those that read the story of Chipper, the cat that went through the wood chipper...this was the vet that helped get him back to health, but a inoperable brain abscess did him in).

He is the head of our zoo as well. There have been several cats and dogs that I had heard were going to have to be 'put down', I told these people to have Dr. Z take a look first. There hasn't been one that either he didn't save or had proven malpractice/misdiagnosis. Most that he couldn't save it was a matter of getting the proper treatment too late.

My parents cat had what was diagnosed a kidney problem by their vet, during treatment he kept getting worse...it finally came down to their vet recommended they put the cat to sleep. They finally broke down and took the drive to my vet. He ordered the charts faxed to him and by the time my parent's arrived had two other vets that were experts in their fields consulted. Turns out the illness was really due to the pancreas and liver and the treatment was the exact opposite you'd want to do. After a couple weeks of the cat deteriorating, within DAYS he was practically back to normal...that was 4-5 years ago. They only go to Dr. Z now despite having to pass probably 30 other vets on the drive there.

 

[amdhunter]

That is a really nice pic of your cat.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

So sorry to read this - your cat was beautiful.

 

[TruePaige]

What a beautiful little cat. I'm sorry as well. I know how much I love my little dears...it's hard, it's really hard.

 

[Genx87]

Pretty cat, sorry for your loss. Did they say what happened?

 

[KarenMarie]

What a gorgeous kitty.

I am so sorry for you.

But you will see your sweet kitty again in Heaven. I believe that to be true, because it certainly would not be Heaven without them.

Hugs to you!

 

[CrimsonWolf]

 

[MotF Bane]

 

[Anubis]

Puma is saddened by your loss

 

[Red Squirrel]

Sad to hear. I'm not looking forward to when my cat is going to go. They are part of the family and are what make coming home from work great.