Some sooner than others. Jazz died last night.
It all happened very suddenly. The previous night he had been walking around, sitting on the couch and eating and drinking as usual. Monday morning I saw him sitting in his basket and apart from patting him on the head, I didn't disturb him. When I came back to the apartment after college he was sitting in the hall. I picked him up and when I put him down again he went straight to a sitting position without putting his back feet on the floor. I didn't think too much of it at the time, guessing he was just being lazy.
Cass took me out for a birthday dinner last night and it wasn't til we got back around 9pm and found him lying down in the bathroom that we figured something was wrong. We tried to stand him up several times but he wouldn't move his back legs at all. The legs didn't appear broken or damaged but he was clearly paralysed in his hindquarters. He had been dragging himself from room to room. 10 minutes on Google suggested that he might have a condition called HCM aka Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. It's a heart disorder in which the left wall of the heart grows and thickens. A serious symptom of this condition is paralysis in the lower back and rear limbs. The reason for this being a blood clot lodged in the lower part of the back. Paralysis can be a sign of a clinical emergency and is usually extremely painful.
The prognosis for this advanced condition was not promising. Cats were predicted to live for less than 6 months. Truly alarmed at this point, we put him in a carrier, jumped in a taxi and headed across town to a 24-hour Animal Emergency Hospital. They took him for examination and 40 minutes later came to tell us what we'd been dreading. It was pretty much exactly what we'd gleaned from the Internet. They clipped the nails on his hind legs right down to the blood vessels, but nothing bled. No blood had been getting to his lower back. Apparently the condition is hereditary and there is no way the shelter could have known. It was a case of just really bad luck. The doctor said that it was unusual for such a young cat to have gotten it but not unheard of. HCM can be treated to an extent if detected very early on with blood thinners but it is unlikely to be detected unless the vet is specifically looking for heart irregularities. Once a clot forms there is little one can do. Her advise was to put him down as the surgery involved had a very low success rate, was very painful and even if the clot could be removed, the condition would persist for the rest of his life. Jazz had started mewing also which he never did before so it seemed as though he was in a lot of pain.
She gave us a few minutes to think about it, but there really was no choice at all. We were able to say goodbye before they took him away. It was really hard to let him go when he still seemed so full of life. His eyes were as bright as ever and he was able to move his front legs. It was hard to believe he could be dying. If he had been older or had we had him for longer it wouldn't have seemed so unfair.
The whole thing has been very upsetting. We only had him for six weeks, but had already grown very fond of him. He was the perfect cat for us in every regard and I don't really feel like getting another one for sometime. It's definitely been the low-light of our time here so far.
Poor Jazz. We will miss him.
It all happened very suddenly. The previous night he had been walking around, sitting on the couch and eating and drinking as usual. Monday morning I saw him sitting in his basket and apart from patting him on the head, I didn't disturb him. When I came back to the apartment after college he was sitting in the hall. I picked him up and when I put him down again he went straight to a sitting position without putting his back feet on the floor. I didn't think too much of it at the time, guessing he was just being lazy.
Cass took me out for a birthday dinner last night and it wasn't til we got back around 9pm and found him lying down in the bathroom that we figured something was wrong. We tried to stand him up several times but he wouldn't move his back legs at all. The legs didn't appear broken or damaged but he was clearly paralysed in his hindquarters. He had been dragging himself from room to room. 10 minutes on Google suggested that he might have a condition called HCM aka Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. It's a heart disorder in which the left wall of the heart grows and thickens. A serious symptom of this condition is paralysis in the lower back and rear limbs. The reason for this being a blood clot lodged in the lower part of the back. Paralysis can be a sign of a clinical emergency and is usually extremely painful.
The prognosis for this advanced condition was not promising. Cats were predicted to live for less than 6 months. Truly alarmed at this point, we put him in a carrier, jumped in a taxi and headed across town to a 24-hour Animal Emergency Hospital. They took him for examination and 40 minutes later came to tell us what we'd been dreading. It was pretty much exactly what we'd gleaned from the Internet. They clipped the nails on his hind legs right down to the blood vessels, but nothing bled. No blood had been getting to his lower back. Apparently the condition is hereditary and there is no way the shelter could have known. It was a case of just really bad luck. The doctor said that it was unusual for such a young cat to have gotten it but not unheard of. HCM can be treated to an extent if detected very early on with blood thinners but it is unlikely to be detected unless the vet is specifically looking for heart irregularities. Once a clot forms there is little one can do. Her advise was to put him down as the surgery involved had a very low success rate, was very painful and even if the clot could be removed, the condition would persist for the rest of his life. Jazz had started mewing also which he never did before so it seemed as though he was in a lot of pain.
She gave us a few minutes to think about it, but there really was no choice at all. We were able to say goodbye before they took him away. It was really hard to let him go when he still seemed so full of life. His eyes were as bright as ever and he was able to move his front legs. It was hard to believe he could be dying. If he had been older or had we had him for longer it wouldn't have seemed so unfair.
The whole thing has been very upsetting. We only had him for six weeks, but had already grown very fond of him. He was the perfect cat for us in every regard and I don't really feel like getting another one for sometime. It's definitely been the low-light of our time here so far.
Poor Jazz. We will miss him.
3 comments:
Very Sorry to hear your news. A terrible birthday present. You have, however, written a very fine obituary. Hope you heal as well as maybe.
Am so sorry to read of the death of Jazz. No way anyone could have known but he gave you joy for 6 weeks and presumably he enjoyed his short time with you. Sudden death is awful but we pay a price for being human. Love to you both, Anne-Marie
I could not stay another day
To purr, to love, to nap, or play
Events uncompleted must stay that way
I'm found at peace at the close of the day.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief
Don't lengthen it now with undue grief
If my parting left a void
Then fill it with remembered joy.
Post a Comment