Please help me understand this - kitten PTS

[QuestionableMouse]

My friend surrendered two 6 month old kittens yesterday to a very reputable shelter. They were both fine and healthy.

She has really been struggling with her mental health (partly because she had ten cats that she wasn't coping well with) so I was the one dealing with the forms and stuff.

I've just had a phone call from them saying one kitten was found severely unwell this morning and the vets decided the kindest thing would be to put her to sleep. I'm not sure I took the details in right but she was in heart failure I think.

I've known these kittens since they were born - they've always been happy and healthy so I'm really struggling to understand how it happened so quickly. It was a longer trip in the car (about 40 mins) - could that have caused it?

Also not sure if I should tell my friend - I feel like I shouldn't because she was struggling so much and I know it'll send her spiralling again.

Why would you tell her?

Do not tell her.

I wouldn't tell her, the car journey was not the cause, the kitten may have been born with a heart defect. I hope your friend feels better soon and the kittens find nice new homes.

Heart failure can come on really quickly . One of my adult cats was chasing and catching mice one day and dead the next. The vet said it was very common and that he'd probably had a shock and his heart just gave out.

You did everything you could to help a difficult situation.

Thanks - I'm just in shock I think.

Possibly inbred if 10 were hers and maybe related?

The kittens were from a pregnant stray she'd taken in so who knows ☹️

Our cat died of suspected heart failure when she was seven - she was fine one day and dead the next.

Please don't tell your friend.

Don't tell her. From experience with a young cat (2 yrs) heart failure can come on suddenly in an apparently healthy cat. It's very sad.

I feel like I killed the poor thing by taking her. ☹️☹️☹️

She was such a lovely little cat too. I bet her brother is missing her terribly and part of me wants to go back and get him. ☹️☹️

There's no way a car ride can kill a kitten next day. Put that out of your head entirely. The poor little thing would have come down with whatever it was at home and distressed itself and your friend even more, so being at the vets was by far the best place for her.
Do not tell your friend. She does not need to know and it'll only be terrible for her.

Please don't blame yourself - you absolutely did not cause this

My friend's cat was 100% fit and healthy at 8:30pm, dead on the upstairs hall floor from heart failure at 10pm. Just lying there like he was asleep, no signs of distress. Earlier that day he'd been terrorising the birds in the garden (never caught any). He'd been vet checked about 3 months earlier & pronounced perfect, was only 7 years old.

So I don't think there's any chance it could be your fault.

Please don't say anything to your friend. She doesn't need to know the girl was PTS, all she does need to know is that you handed both kittens over to experts at the rescue.

I'm going to have to tell her unless I can get the rescue not to say anything. She wants to take the kitten's mum to the same place.

I genuinely don't know what to do ☹️

Oh OP you sound so lovely, I’m sorry this has happened.

Surely the shelter would be kind enough to say he’d been adopted there and then by ‘one of the shelter staff’ if you asked them to, they would gain nothing by telling her the truth. A little white lie would be kinder all round

Or could you offer to take the mum to the shelter, too? They may be able to have mum and kitten adopted as a pair.

I'm sure the shelter can tell her a white lie if you give them a heads up. Or you can drive the mum over yourself like you did with the kittens, and then she doesn't have to be involved?

She went with me to drop them off and will want to go to drop the mama cat off. I think I'm going to have to ask them to not say anything and hope they don't.

They were possibly neutered or vaccinated yesterday. Animals can react badly to either.