Dear Boo,

Our cat Muffs, who was the joy of our home for the past 7 years, ( since he was 8 weeks old ) was put to rest on 10/20/10 @ 4:20 PM. Two day’s ago I let Muffs outside, as well as my dogs,  as I do everyday,   Before I shut the door I heard Muff cry unusually loud, I looked to see what that was about and my dogs were standing around him so I assumed he just wanted the dogs to get away from him. I then called the dogs inside and went about my day, and about 30 minutes later I heard Muff cry again, this was unusual because I had never heard Muff cry like this before, like a loud help me cry.

I went outside and he was lying in the dog house, which he never goes into, and I reached to get him and again he cried out loudly and continuously this time, and I told him to "come on", trying to get him out and take him in the house, but he would not come out he just cried, so I petted his head for a minute and thought I would just go to the door and call him, he always come’s when I call him. So as I stood there calling him, he finally comes around the corner and he is pulling himself with his front legs. Oh my gosh, I went to pick him up and take him in, he cried and clawed at me like he was agitated, so I thought I sure didn’t want to hurt him, I kept telling him to come on, and he lifted onto the step and I noticed his back legs were lifeless as he struggled to get up. I was crying by this time, and trying to get him again, he seemed very frustrated and anxious, and as I put my hands on him again he cried, clawed and started wiggling away from me. I just sat on the step and cried as he pulled himself over to the fence and laid there.  I ran in and called the vet and she said to try to scoop him into a laundry basket and get him in as soon as possible. So when I proceeded to get him and put him in the basket, he was not moving much by this time, just crying, so I picked him up and put him in the basket and noticed his mouth was opened and his lips where a white-gray color and he was not moving as much at all, not good.

I finally got him in the vet Dr told me he is not doing good and it appears he had a clot that had broke apart and had lodged itself in an artery and there really wasn’t anything at this point they could do, it’s a heart condition, he is in so much pain, so she suggested putting him down. We had to put Muffs to sleep.  I am still crying and thinking that I could of helped him somehow?  Do you think I could I have saved him if I would of took more control and got him in sooner? I feel responsible.

Thank you for listening 

Crying for Muffs

Dear Crying for Muffs:

We are so sorry about your sweet Muffs. It is so hard to lose a special family member, especially when everything happened so suddenly. It is especially heartbreaking, too, knowing that hhe has been with you all of his life and had seemed perfectly healthy.

Yes, based on your description, it is very likely that Muffs had a blood clot in one of the chambers of his heart that ‘broke loose’, entered into his systemic circulation, and then lodged (got stuck) in the blood vessel that provides blood supply to the back legs (a common location for blood clots to lodge in kitties when this happens). When this occurs, the underlying cause, as you were told with Muffs, is most likely a heart condition called ‘cardiomyopathy’ which means that his heart muscle was not able to work normally. Cats with cardiomyopathy are much more prone to blood clots.

Cardiomyopathy is a fairly common condition in cats. Although many cats with heart muscle disease do not develop blood clots that travel and block major arteries, some cats do, and unfortunately it sounds as though this was the case with Muffs. Many of these kitties that develop blood clots that travel have never been diagnosed previously with any type of heart disease because they had no symptoms at home – and in many cases as well, these same cats had no heart murmurs or abnormal heart beats when examined by a veterinarian. In other words, owners and veterinarians alike, in many of these cases, have had no reason to suspect heart disease. Male cats between the ages of 8-10 (such as Muffs) are the ones most prone to being affected by heart disease associated with blood clots.

Please be assured that there is nothing that you could have done differently. When this type of a blood clotting problem occurs in cats, it most often occurs just as fast as it did with Muffs– just like a heart attack in people – these kitties seem normal one minute, then they are in tremendous pain with life-threatening serious illness a few seconds later. Had you acted immediately (i.e., taken Muffs to your veterinarian when you heard the first cry), it would not have changed the outcome for Muffs. It may have alleviated a few minutes of his pain (yes, these kitties are extremely painful) as you would have put him to sleep a few minutes sooner. In the majority of kitties when this happens, the cats also go into acute (sudden onset) congestive heart failure, and the likelihood of being able to effectively resolve the clot issue so the cat can walk again is not high. (Even in those few where the clot does dissolve, there is a greater risk that another clot will travel in the future). The prognosis (likelihood of a good outcome), both short and long-term, is poor for these kitties, unfortunately, for all of these reasons.

You did the right thing to get Muffs into your veterinarian right as soon as you did so that his suffering could be relieved. It is fortunate that you were at home so that you could hear his cries, which allowed you to respond as quickly as you did.

Again, we are so sorry about your Muffs.

Boo