Missing my cat very much today after his death :(

[floridachickhatcher]

My almost 7-year-old Flame-Point Siamese died this morning... I don't know what happened He was fine the day before and then last night he started panting and I thought he was hot since I'm in Florida and I tried to help cool him down. But this morning he was still panting when I woke up after a restless sleep and hearing him crying.

I hate that it had to happen on the weekend because all the stupid vets out here don't come in till 10 AM even after we told them it was an emergency.

I was rushing to get dressed and gather up everything but he came staggering out of the bathroom and kind of collapsed in the hallway where he loved to take naps and let out awful mournful meows before he tried looking back at me I guess one last time and I think he finally had a heart attack or seizure or even both and died in front of me.

I wanted to hold him so much but I couldn't bare to hold him in my arms as he died, I wanted to look away when he was dying but I didn't want him to be alone and I wanted him to see me since I raised him from a kitten and he was very attached to me his whole life.

I got online and found out that between the ages of 5-7 Siameses are at the highest risk for heart issues,

I don't think I'm going to be getting any more cats because maybe if I had taken him on yearly Vet visits they would have found if something was wrong with him. But we are on a fixed income and can't afford vet visits. And it's not fair to the cat not to be able to have check-ups and I don't think I can go through with this anymore because I get very attached to the cats in my life and when they pass away it's awful for me because I know in some way I could have prevented them from dying and that it's my fault

 

[chickenmama109]

im so sorry

 

[Peaches Lee]

So sorry for your loss.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

My almost 7-year-old Flame-Point Siamese died this morning... I don't know what happened He was fine the day before and then last night he started panting and I thought he was hot since I'm in Florida and I tried to help cool him down. But this morning he was still panting when I woke up after a restless sleep and hearing him crying.

I hate that it had to happen on the weekend because all the stupid vets out here don't come in till 10 AM even after we told them it was an emergency.

I was rushing to get dressed and gather up everything but he came staggering out of the bathroom and kind of collapsed in the hallway where he loved to take naps and let out awful mournful meows before he tried looking back at me I guess one last time and I think he finally had a heart attack or seizure or even both and died in front of me.

I wanted to hold him so much but I couldn't bare to hold him in my arms as he died, I wanted to look away when he was dying but I didn't want him to be alone and I wanted him to see me since I raised him from a kitten and he was very attached to me his whole life.




I got online and found out that between the ages of 5-7 Siameses are at the highest risk for heart issues,

I don't think I'm going to be getting any more cats because maybe if I had taken him on yearly Vet visits they would have found if something was wrong with him. But we are on a fixed income and can't afford vet visits. And it's not fair to the cat not to be able to have check-ups and I don't think I can go through with this anymore because I get very attached to the cats in my life and when they pass away it's awful for me because I know in some way I could have prevented them from dying and that it's my fault

My condolences on the loss of your beautiful boy. He sounds like had a good life and knew happiness with you, which is, IMO, a better life than many cats have.

I've had cats die for various reasons, and I've spent a lot of money on vet visits during their lives - some of the vets were great, some not so great. One vet failed to disclose that when my cat's kidney problems were diagnosed, he had very little kidney function left; in the hopes of extending his life, on my vet's recommendation, I administered subcutaneous fluids for years, until it got to the point that my beloved cat was alive but no longer enjoying his life - thin, sick, and weak - and I had to make the decision to help him leave this plane. Other cats have been diagnosed (at significant expense) with cancer, with the option of "Hail Mary" treatments with high expense and low likelihood of positive outcome. I opted not to grasp at those straws.

While I have been characterized as a responsible pet owner by vets, I'm not a proponent of "routine" vet visits. I don't like vets pushing the latest flea/tick/whatever medication and I don't like having what I think is questionable quality prescription pet food pushed as the cure for most problems (and having tried those with limited success, I'm very skeptical about the value of that counsel). When I have an animal with a health issue, more frequent visits, even "maintenance" visits, may make sense, but my indoor cats don't see the vet yearly...to the vet's chagrin. As a realist, I understand that veterinary practice is a business, and that businesses must make profits to remain in business.

That said, I want to clarify that the point of my response isn't to bash vets - I've had some very fine and talented vets to whom I have paid thousands of deserved dollars for their expertise (like an excellent orthopedic veterinary surgeon), but not all vets are of that quality. Some have missed things that, caught earlier, may have made a difference in the lifespan of some of my pets. No one is perfect, and that includes pet owners. We do the best we can with the resources we have available.

I hope that your grief over the loss of your boy won't stop you from considering giving a needy cat a home - there are more of them needing good homes than people willing to offer it. I also think, after the loss of a cat, that I won't get another...but I still do. Why? Because they enrich my life and are endlessly entertaining. In the end, when I weigh the terrible loss against the joy I experienced during the cat's life, I realize that it was all worthwhile. And I know that, someday, I'll experience that loss again...and it will still all have been worth it.

May you see your boy again one day, perhaps at the Rainbow Bridge. I'll be looking for my friends there, too.