Dieing of pain

Question
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Hello Hilary

Thankyou for replying so quickly to my letter , i have shown the letter u wrote to my family and it has lifted us all a little.  You asked if he was sick the day before he threw up and was not eating properly, also he must have been a little older then 10 because he was mistreated by his last owners and when we got him he was a full grown cat so we were unsure of his age .

thankyou again

regards
Sarah

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Followup To
Question -
Dear Hilary

    My cat of 10 years died 2 days ago and he died in pain ,  he was screaming loudly and went into my moms and dads bedroom and he never usually goes in there, he got sick the day before and had a problem with his ears and was a bit sluggish but i put that down to old age, i feel terrible the way he died i keep seeing images of him screaming and lieing in my dads arms.  He was screaming for about 10 minutes,  i feel so bad and wished i had done more its come as such a great shock he was such a lovely cat.  Can u tell me what these signs for him to have died so suddenly and painfully could have been. I buried him with a toy mouse and have planted a tree on his grave im absolutly shocked and cannot sleep , please give me some clues as to what could have happened his legs shook as he died also.

Regards
Sarah
Answer -
Sarah.  I am so very sorry you had to go through this.  I can tell you something that may help you.  Alot of the time, when animals howl, meow, scream, or are vocal in anyway upon dying, is often not due to pain, but due to the fact that all muscle control is lost and these noises just come out. The shaking of his legs was also due to the loss of muscle control. When you said that he got sick the day before, are you talking about vomiting or just lethargy?  10 years of age is actually not that old for a cat.  I have seen cats in their 20's, so this must have been caused by some underlying illness that had not shown enough symptoms to have been recognized.  This could have been cancer, or it may have been an infectious disease or something terminal.  My one cat, Bailee died in a similar way a few months ago.  I had just found out that she had cancer.  She had shown no signs whatsoever of this and passed just as quickly as your cat did, and in the same way.  I woke up that morning to her screaming, lying on the kitchen floor, unable to move her hind end.  I picked her up, woke up my husband and by that time she was gone.  There are so many things that can be wrong with an animal that do not show up until it's too late. Kidney disease, Liver disease, congestive or congenital heart failure...these are all deadly diseases that sometimes don't show symptoms.
It is so hard to say what may have happened but I can tell you this.  You mentioned that you wish you could have done more.  Since his death was brought on so quickly, there probably was not much that could have been done for him anyway.  Be happy that he did go in peace, and not in a cage at the veterinarian's office being poked and prodded during his last hours.  He was with you and your family.  He died in your father's arms, which is the best way for a loved family pet to go.  
I don't know if you believe in the afterlife, but a lot of veterinarians also believe that the vocalization before death is the animal trying to communicate with us to say goodbye before going onto their last journey to their afterlife.  I tend to believe this too.
I am sure he is grateful to have such a wonderful grave in his honor.  Please don't second guess anything that you didn't or did do for him.  He had 10 wonderful years with wonderful owners who obviously love him so much.
It doesn't matter how long our animals are with us, as they seem to etch their little paw prints in our hearts forever.
Wipe the image of his death from your mind.  He surely wouldn't want you to remember him like that!  Remember him in his stronger years, when he was in his prime.  I know that watching the death of a living being is very tramatic, but replaying it in your mind will only cause more heartache.
Like I had said, you have given him a wonderful life with many wonderful years of memories. Don't haunt yourself with his death.
Keep your chin up and hang in there.
I will be thinking of you and your family,
Hilary


Answer
Hi Sarah!  I am so happy my letter uplifted you all a bit.  The reason I asked about the vomiting, is because of the way you explained the death, reminded me of a death from cancer.  Because of the vomiting, this could be decifered as an intestinal blockage, which may have been caused by a tumor.  When cancer strikes an animal, there are often times no signs, and then suddenly the animal is a bit ill, and then quickly dies. It sounds as though this is a definate possibility for what happened to your kitty.
I told you before that you have given him a wonderful life....now that I see his previous owner has mistreated him, you saved his life!  You and your family are so wonderful for doing that. Feel good about the life you gave him.
Take care,
Hilary