RIP Spooky. My devil cat passed away

[greenbriar]

My daughter gave me this cat for my birthday about 3 years ago. I had always wanted one, but my step M-I-L is allergic so we never thought about getting a cat. One year for my birthday, my daughter called them and discussed this issue and then found this little black kitty and gave him to me for my birthday. He was funny and very independent. Mostly he didn't want any human contact. He was a bit wild.

In November, he peed on my bed, we thought he was just being mean. Someone on here suggested he might have a kidney infection so we bought him some yogurt. That seemed to do the trick and we let him back in the house. We noticed a couple of times this last week he was peeing in the tub and not the litter box right beside the tub in the basement but oh well, it was the tub and no one used the on in the basement so we were not that worried.

Last night he puked all over the kitchen so I made him a really nice bed of old towels and had him in the basement. This morning I was going to take him to our saturday vet and went to get him and he was asleep on the bed of towels. Asleep for good.

[EndersDame]

1. RIP spooky I am so sorry

:cry:

[blogslut]

2. Poor little guy

I'm sorry you lost him so soon. :hug:

[47of74]

3. Sorry for your loss.

[Ohio Joe]

4. RIP Spooky

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. Safe passage to your sweet Spooky...

What a cute boy...

I know your heart is breaking...

Remember the good times; that will help you survive your loss now...

I'm so sorry, my dear greenbriar...

:hug:

[Call Me Wesley]

6. Safe passage to Spooky.

May he be free from suffering. Peace and comfort to you and yours.

[Rob H.]

7. I'm so sorry, greenbriar

Spooky was a beautiful boy.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. I am so sorry. I lost one really young to a kidney issue too. *hugs*

[S n o w b a l l]

9. Oh no...

:cry: I'm so sorry.

:hug:

[ThatsMyBarack]

41. I once lost one to FIP.

RIP, Dixie. :cry:

[greenbriar]

45. I am sorry.

It hurts.

The last time I lost a pet was when I was a young teen and we had a family cat that had 8 litters of kittens. All of the sudden she started peeing everywhere and my mom threw her outside. She was hit by a car not long after.

[greenbriar]

10. in memory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zcupg43Axw

[BrklynLiberal]

17. Great video...Thanks for sharing.

Did you win the million dollars? :D

[greenbriar]

18. no

but I think it was awesome

[BrklynLiberal]

20. It was awesome. Spooky was a great performer....

[KittyWampus]

33. that was funny toward the end Spooky ended up with something right over him

:D

[greenbriar]

35. Every time I sorted laundry he was right there

man that cat could jump

[Gormy Cuss]

11. What a shame. Spooky looks like he was a sweet kitty.

What did the vet say after the peeing incident in November?

My cat was peeing in strange places and later was trying to pee everywhere -- trip to the vet revealed that he had crystals in his bladder and eventually it caused a plugged urethra, which is what happens to some young males with FLUTD. Vet said it can progress quickly to kidney failure and death. We were lucky because our cat made a PITA of himself when he couldn't pee. Most cats, especially those who are indoor/outdoor cats, aren't that obvious about it. After the vet cleared his system all it took to treat the problem was a change in diet.

[greenbriar]

12. we didn't take him to the vet in Nov.. The yogurt seemed to do the trick

maybe if I had taken him, he would still be his mean spitfire self today :cry:

[Gormy Cuss]

14. It's hard to know when to call the vet sometimes.

Cats are really good at hiding their discomfort too. It's not always obvious that they're in distress.

When it happened to my kitty I learned that cats generally don't urinate in forbidden places out of spite, and with the exception of unneutered males (who may be spraying rather than simply peeing) there's usually a medical issue. In young male cats FLUTD is the chief culprit.

[greenbriar]

22. hubby said he thought Spooky had been peeing in the tub for a while

he noticed it a couple different times, but since it wasn't a bed or couch he really didn't think anything of it.


I am just sad. He wasn't a real people cat, but he was still lovable at times. Just last week early in the morning, he laid across my tummy on the couch for over an hour and purred. That was rare, most times he was just Mr. Independent I hate all people leave me alone.


I will take my time before getting another kitty.

Gridley our huge orange tabby is wondering around the house like he lost his best friend and spooky tormented him all the time.

[UrbScotty]

13. Oh. She is so adorable.

:hug:

I am so sorry, greenbriar.

[BrklynLiberal]

15. awwww. So sorry to hear you have lost such a sweet little thing.

I know it must be heartbreaking. You gave him three good years and he repaid you with lots of love....and he left without your having to make difficult decisions about him.

Sweet boy.

RIP

[greenbriar]

16. hubby took his body to the humane society just down the street

came back and said when I was ready, there were a lot of cute baby kitties that needed a good home. I think I will wait for a while

[BrklynLiberal]

19. You will know when the time is right.

It would be a tribute to Spooky to save the life of another little baby kitty....or two.....

I have six...never went looking even for one. They all found me.

[Catshrink]

21. RIP Spooky

and :grouphug: to you, greenbriar

[greenbriar]

24. He really took to hubby. The picture of him on Hubbys Glock was so cool

Hubby and I had just gotten back from target practice and hubby had just finished cleaning his gun, was getting ready to put it away and Spooky found his perch. Hubby just had to take the photo.

[ThomCat]

23. I'm sorry.

So young. :(

He was a beautiful cat. I'm sorry you didn't have many more years with him. :hug:

[greenbriar]

25. what causes kidney problems in cats? He was fixed

He never seemed to have any issues before?

[Call Me Wesley]

28. Here:

http://www.felinecrf.com/what0.htm

Next time, a Vet, not yogurt. I'm not trying to be mean here, so don't get me wrong. I had a cat dying of it, and it wasn't nice.

[greenbriar]

32. Oh goodness, I really feel bad and sad

Maybe his hissing and growling all the time wasn't because he was being mean, maybe he was in pain.


I miss him.

[sakabatou]

26. Here's to you, Spooky

[greenbriar]

31. Thank you SO much I love it

could you do one of he and I?

[sakabatou]

36. OK

[greenbriar]

39. that is cool

thank you so much!

[old mark]

27. Those EYES!!!!! Very sorry for your loss. nt

[latebloomer]

29. Sorry you lost your kitty

I lost a 4-year-old cat last year due to a bladder infection. He went outdoors all the time so I didn't notice any telltale signs until it was too late.

Learned the hard way not to ignore any such signs, and not to let any more cats outdoors.

[bigwillq]

30. I am so sorry for your loss.

RIP Spooky. :hug:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

34. That's so sad. RIP, Spooky.

[greenbriar]

37. HEre is is baby picture. This was the picture that my daughter had when she got him

[greenbriar]

38. He loved the empty candy cauldron after all the trick or treaters were gone

[Dystopian]

40. Heartfelt condolences...

Our pets are family...
So sorry for your loss...such a beautiful cat.

RIP, Spooky

peace~

[A-Long-Little-Doggie]

42. So sorry, greenbriar.

Poor little guy really looks like a cutie.

[stuntcat]

43. Lucky Spooky

I've seen his picture in the dryer before!!


Spooky was lucky to have people who cared about him {{Spooky}}

[applegrove]

44. RIP Spooky.

[Odin2005]

46. I'm so sorry!

:hug:

What a beautiful kitty! :(

[haele]

47. So sorry - he looked just lime my Moggy.

:hug: love the black kitties, they all are good boys and girls.

Haele

[greenbriar]

48. wow, you lost two pretty close together

I am sorry

[haele]

52. They were littermates -

Different mothers (ferals), but raised by the same queen in a foster home. I got them when they were 8 weeks old; I was definatly their "mommy".
And even though their personalities were different, they were both sweet, smart boys. They loved to go out to the store on a leash. Willy would actually "walk" on a leash, visiting with other customers (he loved to get scritched) and pulling the cart around; Moggy would tend to like to sit down on a blanket in the cart and just watch the world go by. As a youngling (about a year old), Moggy had actually trained himself to use the toilet when I had the litter box in the bathroom - until he fell in one day. He used to suffer from Cystitis off and on over the years, he also had a thyroid problem.
Talk about pissing - Moggy would use "elimination" as a way of expressing displeasure. Suitcases were a particular target, he hated when I had to go on travel for work. He'd also target people who he didn't particularly like; the kidlet would have to keep her door closed to keep him from choosing and soiling the item of clothing she was particularly smitten with, or from ensuring that she wouldn't have a place to sleep. She started off their relationship when she moved in by tormenting him, even when I told her it wasn't a wise thing to do...
When he'd get cystitis, his peeing out of the litter box habits would be quite different. We'd put him on his urinary tract meds, and he'd clear up soon enough.

Cancer - different forms of Sarcoma - took them both; quickly as far as we could tell. They both went within a month or two of our noticing the symptoms. But it's difficult, because cats don't feel pain the same way we do. They don't seem to react to the dull aches that the cancer would have caused as it was developing.

They're buried under a brick area in the back yard behind the orange tree; where they used to like to sit outside in the sun on their leashes as they got older. Our cockatiel and the ratties we used to have, who they used to tolerate as members of the family are buried there too.

I still talk to them sometimes when I'm out back alone. When the owners take the house back our of rental, I hope they keep that spot quiet for them.

Black Kitties are so special. I'm sorry about your Spooky, and hope you'll have good memeories that you can look back on without crying too much.

Haele

[greenbriar]

53. thank you

I am sad.

I had thought about putting Spooky out by the garden area, but hubby wasn't too keen on the idea so he took him to the humane society.

So do you think cats have a higher pain tolerance?

[haele]

54. From what I understand, a lot of "pain" is anticipation.

I asked that question myself when Willy started to grow a huge lump on his jaw but didn't seem to mind it; in fact, he seemed to enjoy my rubbing the area until it interfered in his eating.
Studies indicate that Animals don't anticipate the way humans do, which keeps them from much of the "depression" of having pain, which tends to increase pain in humans. The preditor/prey instincts also play a part in pain; what would be increased during times of "ease" in humans does not occur in animals that are closer to preditor or prey status, like cats are. Our vet, who's clinic includes a well-respected oncologist, told me that what would be a jaw-splitting pain in humans (I grind my teeth sometimes at night, so sometimes I wake up ready to scream in pain) is more of discomfort with occasional low-level throbbing - probably when he ate crunchy food it was worse for him, but most of the time, he would still be active, purr as he normally did, and play. He was an air kitty, and still jumped up to his favorite spots, played with the laser or beat up the dog when he felt like it. He didn't start hiding, excessivly purr (which cats do when they're in pain) or became anti-social until the last week, and we knew it was coming to the end by then; he couldn't use his mouth enough to eat.

Moggy just started snuggling a bit more, and wanted to sit in sunny places and sleep when he wasn't snuggling as he reached the end. When he would have his Cystitis bouts earlier in life, he would cry out when he was getting ready to pee, but he didn't do that the last few weeks.

Haele

[greenbriar]

55. wow, that is awesome information. Thank you

when we get a new kitty, I will be more observant of things I never thought of before.

[Skittles]

49. so sorry

:cry:
Grieve not,
nor speak of me with tears,
but laugh and talk of me
as if I were beside you.....
I loved you so --
'twas Heaven here with you.

--by Ilsa Paschal Richardson

[Pithlet]

50. I'm so sorry.

:hug:

[hyphenate]

51. Awww

RIP, little one. Send your momma some angel's whiskers!

:hug:













It's been almost a year since I lost my Jean-Luc. He was about 15.

[Withywindle]

56. Oh no! I am so, so sorry.

What a little sweetie, and far, far too soon.


:hug:

[Terra Alta]

57. I am so sorry!!

he was a cute kitty... :( May he RIP.

[greenbriar]

58. Thank you

I miss him today. My big orange tabby has not left my side. I think he misses him too even tho spooky tormented Gridley

[davsand]

59. Male cats can "block up" and die pretty quickly.

They have a more narrow ureter and it can block up very quickly in a case of FUS. Several years ago an old roommate of mine lost one of his kitties (Mort) in that exact way. Mort had no history of urinary issues, and then late one day starting acting sick. Jim made an appointment with the vet for that next morning and Mort died that night. Jim had a kitty autopsy doe and they decided that Mort's urinary system had clogged with stones.

I am told it is more common with neutered males. That is one reason why a lot of vets suggest cat fountains or even feeding canned food (for the higher water content.)

I am vry sorry to hear about your kitty.


Laura

[greenbriar]

60. so should male cats not be neutered?

I have had several male cats over the years and have always had them neutered with no issues.

This is a first for me.

[Gormy Cuss]

61. Absolutely do not use the fear of a plugged urethra as a reason not to neuter.

FLUTD occurs in about 1 in 100 young male cats. The worst case of it, what davsand described,is when the condition causes a complete blockage and the cat can't pee more than a drop or two at a time. This happens to only a subset of cats with FLUTD and FWIW it's what happened to mine. The chance that your cat would suffer from it is not so high that it's worth putting up with the spraying behavior and potential for fathering more kittens.

If you want to lower the risk the best advice is to feed your cats mostly wet food and remember that any time the cat starts urinating in inappropriate places it's time to see a vet.

[peekaloo]

62. Poor Spooky.

:hug:

[imperial jedi]

63. Heartfelt condolences...

Spooky looks just like my late cat Zombie. I still miss her.

[stray cat]

64. I am so sorry for your loss - it sounds like he had a good life with you and dying at home

sure beats the vet or animal hospital.

RIP Spooky.

[greenbriar]

65. I just wish I had realized that it was time

I would have held him longer before I put him on the blanket of towels.

I don't know how long he was alone before he died. :cry: