# Goodbye to the traveling cat



## Traveling Cats (Sep 10, 2014)

Hi all,

I haven't been on this forum in over a month as something truly terrible happened to our little adoptee, Suria.

She was our baby girl, and it's really hard just to type up the story of what happened to her, but I can't watch any kitten videos on youtube without thinking about her and tearing up so maybe this will help. 

As you may remember we were having trouble figuring out to feed her (being new kitten parents) but we finally sourced some kitten chow.

A few days later we noticed she had a swollen paw, so we took her to the vet. The vet said it was probably a sprain and not to worry. This was Saturday.

By Monday her whole leg was swollen and she was listless and refusing water and food, so we went back to the vet, who told us we needed to take her to a better vet facility on the other island (about 1 hour ferry away).

Hubby took us by motorbike to the ferry pier and kitty and I went to the Big Island. There they told us she was too dehydrated to run blood tests, but they did an X-ray and confirmed that nothing was broken. They gave her a subcutaneous fluid shot and sent us home with syringes, recovery formula, and antibiotics.

On Thursday she didn't seem any better - she was so weak she rarely got up and just laid on the bed or in our laps. I don't think she was dehydrated as we were giving her water and food every 2 hours around the clock like a baby bird. We were so worried. So hubby took her back to the vet on the big island. This time the vet asked to leave her overnight for observation, which we did. 

Turns out hubby had gotten confused about which vet to go to (easy to do, they were next each other and signs were in Thai) and this vet did not believe in subcutaneous fluids. He left her all night with no food or water, giving her only glucose syrup in between. When we returned to check on her in the morning she was so dehydrated she was like a bag of bones, covered in her own diarrhea (which she had not had before this vet). I have never been so angry.

We took her back to the first vet who immediately put her on IV. She said she was too dehydrated to run blood tests. We got a hotel room nearby. The next day she was still too dehydrated for tests. We stayed another night.

The next morning we decided that we were going to really push for the blood tests - plus it was getting very expensive. It was about 9 AM and Suria was mewing loudly and angrily. She was uncomfortable with the IV sticking out of her leg and didn't want to be fed, struggling. I was standing nearby and we were talking to the vet about blood tests while they fed her.

The vet was using normal soft canned cat food with no water in it. It was so thick they had to load the syringe from the back. They also hadn't offered her any plain water beforehand, so I suggested they water the food down or give her some water. The vet asked one of the attendees to get some water, and then gave Suria a squirt of food. She began choking. 

The vet thought she was having a stroke. I was like "No, she is choking!!" and then it was too late. She was looking right at me in panic, and then her eyes were blank. The vet tried to get the food out of her throat, but she was already dead. I started bawling. 

We were filming the vet feeding her too, in order to learn how to do it better. So it's all on my phone. 

I keep going over in my mind what could have happened. Why the swollen paw? She was doing so well before that - gaining weight every day, being rambunctious and generally adorable. What changed?

So anyway. If anyone wondered what had happened to the Traveling Cat - she's buried behind our house on the hill. And every time I see the blue of the tropical ocean - the same startling blue of her eyes the first time she opened them and looked at me - I feel sad.


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## Dumine (Jun 30, 2014)

OMG!!!! This is devastating. I don't know what to feel right now. I'm sad and angry at the same time. I am so sorry you had to loose your baby in such a horrific way.
Shocked... thats what it is, I am shoked. 
Who knows why her paw swelled up like that in the beginning, my guess is an internal infection of some kind. Maybe she got stung or bitten by something. The rest is just tragic, tragic, tragic. 
Your story makes me realise how often we take accsess to good vets for granted. I am so so sorry!! You will be in my thoughts and prayers.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

I'm so very, very sorry...I just don't have the words at this time...
Suria, you got to know some love and care...
(((HUGS)))


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

I am so sorry about your precious baby. I wished I could do something to ease your pain. Hugs.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

That is horrific! I feel so sorry for you.


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## cat owner again (Dec 14, 2012)

Well that was so hard to read so I can imagine how hard it was to live through. You did everything you could to great lengths to help your baby. It is shocking that these "professionals" call themselves vets. I am so sorry. I feel your pain. What a tragedy.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Oh no, I'm so sorry! What an awful series of events.  You gave Suria a loving home in the time you had her and did so much to try to get her better. I hope you'll hold on to the happy memories, although I cannot imagine how angry and sad you are all at once. 

I believe you said that vet care was pretty limited where you are. Is there some kind of organization that certifies vets that would care about your story, so that perhaps the mistakes the vets made with Suria would at least not be repeated with other kitties? 

Sendings lots of hugs and sympathy.


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## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

So sorry, so horribly sad.


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## Traveling Cats (Sep 10, 2014)

Thanks for the support. Hubby and I were both pretty emotional about it, we both kept having dreams about those last few moments, wondering what we could have done differently to keep her. 

I know losing a pet is hard, but her death just felt wrong. Like so unnecessary and confusing. 

I keep trying not to blame myself - for giving her the wrong food (canned fish) until we made the effort to find kitten food, for allowing the vet to give her her vaccination and worm medicine at the same time (apparently hard on kittens?), or making sure that she stayed inside the mosquito net at night. She often liked to go exploring around the room while we slept, and usually wanted a 2 or 3 AM snack. 

I do feel a pretty failed by the "experts." I also sincerely hope that we never have to experience a hospital in Thailand. After this experience, I'm pretty frightened of what the human medical personnel might be capable of. 

The last vet (the one who choked her) apologized and gave us half our money back. I'd have rather have the cat


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## Speechie (Dec 2, 2013)

I am so very sorry for your loss, I am so sad for you...giant hugs from afar, I can't imagine


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Traveling Cats, you are not responsible for what happened to Suria. You most definitely have nothing to feel guilty about; the fact that you fed her canned fish, or let her out, or fed her late, certainly did not bring about her death! I do know, from experience, however, that everyone here could tell you a thousand times that you should not feel guilty, and that you will continue to do so. Maybe it's inevitable that we do that as human beings. Virtually everyone who has lost a kitty has had misgivings and wondered what they could have done. 

What more could Suria have asked for than that you give her a home, a good life, and love, and that you did everything possible to get her the appropriate medical treatment? Many vets give vaccines and dewormers at the same time; it's pretty common, and the dewormers could have been extremely beneficial. Unless she was very young and/or extremely underweight, getting both at the same time should not have caused any issues. 

It's just so tragic, and I cannot imagine how awful it must be for you to have that image of the last few minutes in your mind.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

I am so very, very sorry that this happened to you. Sounds like a sick comedy of errors with that poor little baby caught in the middle. How can a vet not believe in giving life saving fluids? This is beyond me. I don't know if it would have helped - I have no idea what the problem could have been but it may not have helped no matter what you did at that point. I hope you can move past this soon and your heart and mind are at peace knowing YOU did all you could for this sweet baby. It's not your fault. Not at all.


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## Jenny bf (Jul 13, 2013)

Oh I am so so sorry for Suria and for both of you as well. I am so shocked by the treatment by so called professionals. They let you all down. But don't blame yourself about failing your baby. On the streets she would have had a terribly hard life and you rescued her from all that. Feeding her fish or not keeping her under a net at night did not cause her harm, after all it would have been a worse diet living out of bins had she not found you. Take comfort that in that short time Suria found love and shelter and safety and she reciprocated. Try and remember the little fun moments you had with her


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## olywhizz (Mar 25, 2014)

This is terrible my condolences.


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