Expert: Dr. Christina Chambreau - 12/2/2010

Question
My baby Tigger was 9 yrs. When I adopted him as a kitten he had been very ill, the vet said he only had a 30% chance of survival...He of course made it and was the best baby in the world. (If not for his love and affection I wouldn't have survived my own serious health issues) He wasn't sick again until about 1.5 yrs ago, when we noticed his teeth were going bad. We haven't had the funds to take him to the vet so we did what we could. Tigger began to lose weight a yr ago and vomiting white foam periodically, he never ate very much but we started feeding him soft food. He loved drinking water and his litter box habits were regular and healthy looking. Then, on my wedding anniversary (10/31) he was acting fine all day. That evening he puked several times then had diarrhea 3 times. I sat with him all nite. On 11/1, I came home from work and he was loving and purring but very weak. We gave him water and he drank a 3 tablespoons. He was waking oddly, like his hind legs were stiff. He peed, then went under the end table. Early the next morning, we found him under the couch, under where I had fallen asleep. We knew he had gone in his sleep the nite before...He never screamed, never whimpered, never showed obvious signs of pain. I am confused as to how this happened so suddenly. I'm still grieving and trying to come to terms with his passing. Any thoughts or ideas from you would be greatly appreciated to help me find some closure. Thank you for your time, Dana  

Answer
When I was only conventionally trained I did not understand how some animals would get ill at early ages and die. With my holistic training, I now realize that we each come with a certain length of life. There are things we can sometimes do to help our animals live a very long life, but there are no magic answers. Your cat lived much longer than expected - many years more, for which I know you are very grateful. Often early diseases create weaknesses in their energy field that do not show up until later in life.

There are so many different possible causes of death that I would advise you to focus on the 9 years of joy you had with him. Be so very grateful that he died quickly - he was not in pain, you did not have to agonize about euthanizing him, you did not have to see him slowly wither away and he saved you a lot of money.

While it is a shock when our animals die quickly, it really is the best way for both them and us, so please be grateful for that. Remember that he lives forever, for you are a different person for living with him, and in your memories and how you now act, he lives on.

When you are ready for another cat, please read my other posts of the 7 keys to healthy animals.

Please do not try to figure out why he died - just be in the moment of your feelings each day.