Cat's breathing odd

[MollsDolls]

I will ring vets tomorrow but am hoping someone can enlighten me. He's breathing quite fast but he's not in distress or any pain from what I can see. Eating normally and in and out like a fiddlers elbow.
I took a little video but not sure if I can post videos or just pics.

Thanks for all your kind words ladies. I'm finding it so hard. I keep bursting into tears. Keep wondering was there more I could have done or would have happened regardless. I just feel so guilty.

I understand your feeling guilty
It's a normal reaction
Try to remember that cats are very good at hiding pain and distress.

I'm sure you did the very best for your cat. It's so much better to put a cat to sleep a week early than a day late.

You didn't let your beloved cat suffer. Some people let their pets drag on and on because they can't cope with the idea of them dead. That's cruel.

I didn't put him to sleep though. I had to watch him have a heartattack in front of me. 😭😭😭
Vet rang me today to say she spoke with cardiologist who we were due to see today and he said that it looked like he had a tumour on his heart and he decided to go his way. I have to take some comfort from that.

Ah okay. Are you feeling guilty because you didn't have him put to sleep?

@MollsDolls it’s perfectly understandable to be so upset, they are a massive part of the family and it’s so hard when they’re not here with us any more.

“What if” is the worst thing. I’ve been doing it about my cat too. I should have noticed etc. but hind sight is a wonderful thing and we second guess our decisions because we love them and want to try and make it all ok (when we just can’t).

Be kind to yourself and if you need to cry, do it. There is no harm in that at all. Sending you a big hug x

A wee bit and then feeling guilty that I didn't pick up on his breathing before I did. Lots of what if's

My cat, Emerald, was sitting next to me on July 2nd last year and I thought "her breathing is very fast" (it was 40).

On July 3rd I took her to the vet's where they discovered a pleural effusion.

On July 4th she had not improved and I took her back, for them to discover that she had lung cancer. We asked the vet to put her to sleep (or not to wake her up from the anaesthetic she had had for the X-Ray).

The vet did put her to sleep - she advised us to anyway, because Emerald was not going to get better and she had already had two anaesthetics in two days, plus drainage of the effusion. (The drainage was 300 ml, unbelievably)

So basically, I noticed her breathing was fast on July 2nd and she was dead on July 4th.

Sometimes you just cannot tell what is going to be round the corner with cats.

I think you did all you could for your cat and your love for him shines through your posts. Don't beat yourself up about it - I've read awful threads where people cannot accept that their cats are very sick, and they keep them alive at all costs. I do not think you did that. I think your cat was very loved and also very sick. You did your best for him and you were with him when he died. That's a precious gift to a much-loved friend.

And I was also bothered that I had not noticed anything wrong with Emerald prior to July 2nd - but she had been eating and drinking, playing, going out, happy as Larry.

Cats are so good at hiding when they are ill. My cat had a brain tumour. From the first symptoms I saw to when he was PTS was 1 month, and it's almost a year now, I still feel guilty that I just have missed something, that I could have done more etc. But in all honesty I couldn't.

I chose to have mine pts and regret it as maybe it was too soon. Maybe I should have sold my house or car or whatever to get the 12k I was quoted for surgery. (I'd already maxed out his insurance with ct scans etc).

One of my very wise and very kind friends told me that the reason we feel regret and sadness is because we care so much, for me if I'd had the surgery etc for him and then he didn't make it I'd feel awful for putting him through it. If you'd had him PTS before you'd had chance to do the specialists etc you'd have felt guilty and missed out on time with him. You can't win either way and you need to be kind to yourself. The most important thing was he was loved and he knew it

The most important thing was he was loved and he knew it

This, OP. This is the important thing.

Hello,

I've just spotted this thread and as soon as I read your first post, it brought back memories of my cat. She, too, passed with a heart tumour, after we made the decision to put her to sleep. I just wanted to reassure you that these things are so difficult to spot. Our girl lost a little weight in the couple of weeks beforehand (but not a huge amount), then there was a sudden drop one day - I called the vets for a check-up the next day. Only that night did her breathing become affected. We rushed her in in the morning (before her checkup time), but once they drained the fluid, they could see the tumour, so we PTS as we didn't want her to suffer.

In her last photos, she looks bright and was chattering at the birds that morning, cats are so good at hiding things - they only let us know when they're ready. I hope you are keeping OK. I think I cried all my tears when we lost our cat, but it does get easier. x

This was him day before out and about watching something in neighbours garden.

I’m so sorry for your loss

What a handsome fella, very photogenic. I'm so sorry he's gone, they leave a big gap.

He's a beautiful cat. What was his name?

Lando Norris 🤣

Not the best pic I have but he was handsome 😢