A Sad Day - 9/19/2006

I woke up at exactly 8am. Earlier than usual. The puppy had barked in his crate…which he never does. Then I heard it, a painful cry from my cat. Chai was in the back of my closet, lying flat out with his head cocked to the side. He was drooling and he yowled again. I got him out of the closet, his eyes were dilated and he was totally limp. I carried him to the living room and placed him in a sunny spot on the carpet. All the while saying “Chai, no, Chai, sweetie…” I went to grab his carrier and realized I didn’t need it. Grabbed a towel and wrapped him in it. His little body jerked a few times; his tongue stuck out; he went completely limp. I think I knew then.

It took four minutes to get to the vet. By the time we arrived I was pretty sure he was gone. After they rushed him into back and confirmed that there was nothing they could do, they brought him out to me. I got to say goodbye to my sweet boy as he lay curled up in his towel. His gorgeous face sticking out.

The vet thinks something went wrong with Chai’s heart since this came on so suddenly. I’m having them do a necropsy to check the diagnosis, I need to know if it was environmental.

Goodbye Chai-Chai, the dude of life. You were my heart. You were so loving and giving and solid and calm. You were beautiful. I will always miss you and love you.
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Necropsy results for Chai. The good news is that Chai didn’t have anything that would be a threat to me or Buzz or the neighborhood kitties (not that he was ever outside with them).

Chai had pyothorax, an infection in the space between his lungs and the chest wall. Basically, a build up of pus prevented him from being able to expand his lungs enough to pull in enough air. The vet says that Chai was probably breathing shallowly the day before, though it may not have been noticeable on account of his size and his double-coat. I didn’t notice anything when I said goodnight to Chai last night—which included giving his chin a scrub since he’s had a little kitty acne. He purred away at the chin scrub like always.
The info here is very similar to what my vet told me:
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/pyothorax.html

There was no obvious source of the infection for Chai—no trauma or visible foreign body. The vet said it can be caused by something as small as a splinter.

I am very upset about this whole thing. The puppy seems confused.