Wow, I had forgotten how much losing a pet hurts!! We got Napoleon when he was six weeks old. Even my "I hate cats" husband adored him (he says he was more like a dog than a cat -- the type who would play fetch and tug of war with toys and who was NEVER standoffish.)
He seemed sick for a couple of days about three weeks ago, because he stopped his hyper "running through the house" playing. I called the vet and they said to watch him. He seemed to improve, but never quite got back to 100%, often seeming tired and sleeping more than usual. This weekend it seemed that his abdomen was somewhat swollen. From my internet search it seemed the #1 ailment to worry about was feline infectitous peritonitis, but a major symptom was loss of appetite and he was eating plenty.
My husband took him by the vet this morning. They called me after a couple of hours. Feline Infectious Peritonitis, which is 100% fatal. Initially the vet hoped to drain some fluid from his stomach, give him antibiotics and maybe buy us a few days or couple of weeks. As long as he was not in pain and we could have a few days in which to say goodbye I thought we could get through it, although it would be excruciating to have to make that final decision. The matter was taken out of our hands, though, as when she tried to remove the fluid she found that his abdominal wall was very weak and she felt that if the fluid could not be removed that his high fever was only going to go higher and his quality of life was going downhill fast. We didn't get to say goodbye.
This is the kitten who has slept curled up against a member of our family every night for four months, the one who runs to greet us when we come home, the one who head butts your hand if you stop petting him. Right now all I can think of is that I never want another pet because I don't ever want to feel this sad again. The vet said that there was nothing that we could have done to prevent it, that he was born with a genetic predisposition and that nearly all cats are exposed to the virus which can lead to this disease. I am trying to make myself feel a little better by thinking that if he only had five months to be with a family that he could not have been loved any more, and hopefully could not have been any happier than he was with us. My husband is devasted and I don't know quite how to break this to my children. I am going to pick him up from the vet so we can have a proper burial this evening. . .
Little Napoleon, I miss you so much.
He seemed sick for a couple of days about three weeks ago, because he stopped his hyper "running through the house" playing. I called the vet and they said to watch him. He seemed to improve, but never quite got back to 100%, often seeming tired and sleeping more than usual. This weekend it seemed that his abdomen was somewhat swollen. From my internet search it seemed the #1 ailment to worry about was feline infectitous peritonitis, but a major symptom was loss of appetite and he was eating plenty.
My husband took him by the vet this morning. They called me after a couple of hours. Feline Infectious Peritonitis, which is 100% fatal. Initially the vet hoped to drain some fluid from his stomach, give him antibiotics and maybe buy us a few days or couple of weeks. As long as he was not in pain and we could have a few days in which to say goodbye I thought we could get through it, although it would be excruciating to have to make that final decision. The matter was taken out of our hands, though, as when she tried to remove the fluid she found that his abdominal wall was very weak and she felt that if the fluid could not be removed that his high fever was only going to go higher and his quality of life was going downhill fast. We didn't get to say goodbye.
This is the kitten who has slept curled up against a member of our family every night for four months, the one who runs to greet us when we come home, the one who head butts your hand if you stop petting him. Right now all I can think of is that I never want another pet because I don't ever want to feel this sad again. The vet said that there was nothing that we could have done to prevent it, that he was born with a genetic predisposition and that nearly all cats are exposed to the virus which can lead to this disease. I am trying to make myself feel a little better by thinking that if he only had five months to be with a family that he could not have been loved any more, and hopefully could not have been any happier than he was with us. My husband is devasted and I don't know quite how to break this to my children. I am going to pick him up from the vet so we can have a proper burial this evening. . .
Little Napoleon, I miss you so much.
I'm sorry for your loss.
and prayers your way to help you during this difficult time.
