death of cat

Question
hi jessica, my cat recently died but i dont understand the what really happened? The cat was infested with tiny yellow maggots round his anus area, when the vet tried to wash them off and apparently there were too many off them to treat and the cat was in pain.... i dont understand how there was absolutely nothing else anybody could do ... surely something could have been done... was it the right thing to do to put the cat asleep and were did he get the maggots from?  

Answer
Hi Michael.  I'm so sorry to hear this.  What an awful thing.

Maggot infestations only occur when there is an open wound in the flesh.  Maybe he was bitten or licked himself raw in that area.  A fly may then lay eggs in the wound.  Once the eggs hatch, maggots eat away at the flesh and burrow deep into the body.  Though sometimes they can be removed surgically, sometimes the infestation has gone too deep to do anything about it.  It's just impossible to get at them all.

Yes, if the vet said the maggots had burrowed too deeply to possible remove, you did the right thing putting the kitty to sleep.  The maggots would've eaten him alive from the inside out, and it's an extremely painful death.

If you decide to get another kitty, I would keep him indoors only.  This way, if the kitty does get a wound somehow, maggots won't become an issue as long as there aren't flies in the house.