"Pennyaline" wrote in message
...
We lost our 11-year-old little black cat this afternoon, two and a half
years after we started treating her hyperthyroidism and unable to see the
increasing amount of heart damage and CHF she was developing until it was
far too late to do anything about it. The vet said he's never seen heart
failure come on so silently, and the kitty was a master at disguising her
symptoms. We suspected nothing until she could no longer self-adjust her
activity level to prevent shortness of breath, and for the last week we've
watched her go steadily downhill. She was already considered an
older-elderly cat, and her condition had become so compromised and the
prognosis so poor that we decided with great sadness to attend to her
comfort only for whatever time she had left. We made her final week as
pleasant for her as possible, with tuna, treats, catnip, her favorite
blanket and soft cushions, lots of petting, lots of naps, and quiet
surroundings. She did not seem to have any pain. She fooled us all this
morning, up on her feet and yowling for me to get the canned food opened
and dished up right at that moment, like chop-chop lady! She scarfed it
down mightily with no shortness of breath whatsoever, then she ate some of
our other cat's dry food with a little more difficulty. She took a
breather, got a long drink of water, then settled onto the couch with me
to play with my sleeve and purr her brains out. Then she took a nap, and
woke up around noon, got down from the couch and went to the kitchen to
get another drink. Before she could drink, however, she was hit with a
coughing spasm that actually had her moving backward across the room. When
that ended she collapsed dazed and winded, but knew us and purred as we
picked her up and took her to her cushion. We had no sooner put her onto
her cushion when she, purring and trilling, stood up, took three steps and
fell on her face. She was gone.

She's buried behind the shed next to the horse pasture, wrapped in the
blanket she loved to burrow herself into for long naps. Good night, Inque.


HT will almost always result in cardiomyopathy. My beloved Buddy was on
meds for years and despite normal T levels he was taken down by CM. My
Buddy spent his final hours sleeping on my printer and bossing his roommate
around. CM is very hard to detect with a physical exam and even with a
sonogram it is tough. And really there is no effective treatment for it.
It's a ticking time bomb and can go off at any time. I can assure you she
did not suffer as the clots did not cause her to linger in pain with
paralysis as often is the case. She was happy and content to the very last
moment. And that is what we are there for. I am sorry for your loss.

Paul

In article ,
"Paul M. Cook" wrote:

"Pennyaline" wrote in message
...
We lost our 11-year-old little black cat this afternoon, two and a half
years after we started treating her hyperthyroidism and unable to see the
increasing amount of heart damage and CHF she was developing until it was
far too late to do anything about it. The vet said he's never seen heart
failure come on so silently, and the kitty was a master at disguising her
symptoms. We suspected nothing until she could no longer self-adjust her
activity level to prevent shortness of breath, and for the last week we've
watched her go steadily downhill. She was already considered an
older-elderly cat, and her condition had become so compromised and the
prognosis so poor that we decided with great sadness to attend to her
comfort only for whatever time she had left. We made her final week as
pleasant for her as possible, with tuna, treats, catnip, her favorite
blanket and soft cushions, lots of petting, lots of naps, and quiet
surroundings. She did not seem to have any pain. She fooled us all this
morning, up on her feet and yowling for me to get the canned food opened
and dished up right at that moment, like chop-chop lady! She scarfed it
down mightily with no shortness of breath whatsoever, then she ate some of
our other cat's dry food with a little more difficulty. She took a
breather, got a long drink of water, then settled onto the couch with me
to play with my sleeve and purr her brains out. Then she took a nap, and
woke up around noon, got down from the couch and went to the kitchen to
get another drink. Before she could drink, however, she was hit with a
coughing spasm that actually had her moving backward across the room. When
that ended she collapsed dazed and winded, but knew us and purred as we
picked her up and took her to her cushion. We had no sooner put her onto
her cushion when she, purring and trilling, stood up, took three steps and
fell on her face. She was gone.

She's buried behind the shed next to the horse pasture, wrapped in the
blanket she loved to burrow herself into for long naps. Good night, Inque.


HT will almost always result in cardiomyopathy. My beloved Buddy was on
meds for years and despite normal T levels he was taken down by CM. My
Buddy spent his final hours sleeping on my printer and bossing his roommate
around. CM is very hard to detect with a physical exam and even with a
sonogram it is tough. And really there is no effective treatment for it.
It's a ticking time bomb and can go off at any time. I can assure you she
did not suffer as the clots did not cause her to linger in pain with
paralysis as often is the case. She was happy and content to the very last
moment. And that is what we are there for. I am sorry for your loss.

Paul

Sorry to hear about Inque. Our beloved Phoebe had hyperthyroidism for 6
years. I'm sure she probably had cardiomyopathy, because she had
phenomenal fluid buildup in her chest cavity. We are grateful that she
died on her own without our needing to make the decision to euthanize
her.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

Sorry for both of your losses. Though I'm not acat person, I can certainly understand your love and attachment. I'm sure both felines lived good lives under your care.