Well, we finally got the results from Othello's necropsy yesterday, but they didn't shed any light on what was making him sick. The vet's office is mailing us a copy of the report so I'll be able to look it over more thoroughly, but what she told me on the phone is the following:

-his lung was collapsed and he had a large amount of fluid in the pleural cavity
-he had lesions on his kidney that were consistent with previous hypoxic damage, and his kidneys were inflamed
-his liver was fatty and enlarged

As far as the kidneys, the "previous hypoxic damage" means that he experienced lack of oxygen to his kidneys at some point, and from what she said it seemed to be in the past. She said it could have happened at birth or when he was under anesthesia when he got neutered. This seemed to be unrelated to whatever was causing him problems in his last two days from what I could tell. She didn't say what might have caused his kidneys to be inflamed and I seem to have forgotten to ask because I have no notes written next to that on my little sheet of paper.

His liver was probably fatty and enlarged because he wasn't eating for a period of time. She said he probably had been eating less over a period of a month. When cats don't eat, apparently fat stores from other parts of their bodies go to their livers. He weighed 12 pounds when we weighed him around Christmas, and he weighed 9 when they did the necropsy, so he lost 3 pounds from not eating.

There is apparently nothing to suggest a reason why he would have collected so much fluid in his pleural cavity, or why he had a collapsed lung. I read online that a collapsed lung can be caused when fluid is drawn out with a needle, which is exactly what they did when we first brought him to the vet ER, so I don't know if it was collapsed previously and is related to the fluid, or is merely the result of the medical procedure performed on him.

I'm upset and confused because they weren't able to identify the cause of his sudden illness. They didn't say it was kidney failure, but kidney failure might explain the problems he had with his kidney (oh, they also mentioned that the central area of his kidney had an elevated level of different types of white blood cells, but they didn't seem to know why), and it can cause pleural effusion. I don't know why they didn't think it was kidney failure. I still have a lot of questions, and I'll probably call them back once I get the full report. They did say that it definitely wasn't heart disease or cancer, but they can't rule out the possibility that it was something infectious like FIP. Fortunately, we already had Desdemona tested for the coronavirus associated with FIP and she came back negative.

She did say that this most likely wasn't preventable or curable, so I feel a little better - this means we did the right thing in putting him to sleep. However, I don't know how they can make any statements like that when they don't even know what happened. However, the fact that they don't know what happened makes me feel better about not taking him in earlier if it is true that there was nothing we could do to save him. If they couldn't even determine what was wrong with him through a necropsy, I'm sure they wouldn't have been able to figure out what was wrong while he was still alive. His last month alive would have just been full of repeated trips to the vet and lots of poking, prodding, and sticking. He would have been miserable until he died, and I'm honestly not sure he would have lasted as long as he did under the stress of all the trips in the car, etc.

It's still difficult for me to take, though. He was so full of life. How could he have been that sick? And sometimes you just want a reason, someone to blame. Even if it's yourself.

Dear Friend,

I'm happy that you finally got Othello's Necropsy results back, even if they weren't able to resolve his sudden illness. But if you step back and look at the entire picture, you know in your heart that the best thing you did for Othello was allow him to rest. Your description of his liver, and kidney function couldn't of been easy for Othello to live with. I wish I could give you advise or give you some ideas as to what you need to do next. But sometimes when I completely relax, clear my mind all of a sudden I know what my next step needs to be. I'm also the type of person that wants answers and I won't rest until I do. If you feel that you need to do that then do it, but let your heart be your guide. Keep us updated, we're here for you.

Sincerely Yours,

Diane
P.S. Thank you for all your comments and advise you have geen me on my Pookee girl, you have really help me through my grief.

Sibilance7

I know the feeling--since we are a very multi-cat family the odds of things happening are great---I have had serveral cats who have had problems and they couldn't really tell what was going on or why--

I took care of them until it was time for them to go because the illness got the best of them--it is never easy to let them go--I can remember looking for positive things and yet I knew it had to be done---

I still think about all of them and the joy they gave our family---and we will be going thru this many more times---but I wouldn't change it---

Take care of yourself---I do feel your saddness--

Mary

Thanks for the replies. I didn't really expect anyone to read this because it was so long. This news does make me feel a little better because I feel like we did the right thing in putting him to sleep. I talked to the vet again today and she's going to have a vet who specializes in internal medicine look over the necropsy with her to see if he can suggest any possible causes for all the damage that was noted in the report. She had called me back because there was a mix up and he was given a common cremation even though we asked for his ashes back. So we won't be getting the ashes. That was difficult to hear, but I guess it's okay. His ashes are just his body, not his spirit, which was the most important thing to me. I'll always have my memories of him, and I'm almost done making his scrapbook, so I'll have that too. I just feel so bad for my poor baby. He was always so full of life. I feel awful that his body just didn't match up to his spirit.

Sibilance7, I keep asking myself that same question. He was so full of life how could he of been so sick? It kind of makes the whole situation of their passing seem so surreal doesn't it? I go back in time thinking of signs that maybe I had missed that my furry friend was sick. It's such a awful feeling, the guilt felt after their gone. Please try not to place the blame onto yourself. You were a wonderful loving guardian to Orthello. Take care k9pal