Thursday, May 27, 2010

Sad News on Bengal Diesel...



I have sad news indeed this morning. Bengal Diesel, who we saved a few weeks ago, thru the efforts of Great Lakes Bengal Rescue, a Vet in Michigan, the quick thinking of the owner and everyone here and on Twitter, has died.

His illness was simply too advanced, tho EVERYTHING possible was done by each person involved, from the Vet, to everyone who sent gas money...SO many of you helped, for one Bengal you had never met. We were able to give him the best, the only, chance possible, but, he died.

This is why the indiscriminate sale of cats and dogs in pet shops needs to be stopped, except in conjunction with the Humane Society. They are sick, they are not from reputable breeders. They are going to die.

I have a letter from the Vet, Dr Karen in Michigan that I debated printing, and decided, yes, it's sad but I am going to post it here.

If it inspires ONE person to help stop the sale of cats, dogs, Bengals in Pet Shops anywhere in this country, it has done what it needs to.

Thank you, all of you, for helping and caring. What matters is that for Diesel, we tired. He didn't die because no one cared enough to help.

We got together and made a difference.

We'll do it again. As long as it takes.

Diesel was doing good last nite. He was eating & drinking & actually sounded pretty good. This morning he ate & drank too. However, I received a call while on my way to the hospital, that he had fluid coming out of his nose & mouth when he moved from one side to the other. I re-started him on some Lasix to pull the fluid out. When I came in & saw him, I was very upset. He was struggling to breathe & he was in the oxygen cage. I suctioned some of the fluid out of his mouth & then a few minutes later, he stopped breathing.

We did CPR on him, but his heart stopped. I knew we weren't going to get him back with all the fluid he developed on his lungs.

So I let him go...

This is where Email is so impersonal....

I only received back some preliminary culture results. They showed he had at least 2 types of bacteria, although they hadn't been identified yet.I did not receive the FIP test back, but FIP is the only conclusion for why he developed such severe fluid in his lungs. He didn't sound bad yesterday, in fact, his lungs & the rest of his airway sounded good. He was not on a high dose of fluids,so the only conclusion I have is that it must have been FIP.

I know this sounds very medical, but I want to assure you that I did everything I could for Diesel. No cost was spared (probably $1500-2000 worth of veterinary care -I haven't added it up yet). I treated Diesel as I would any of my own critters. He was a very handsome & very special kitty, as everyone knows. I was so hopeful that even
with his problems, that he might find a good, loving home for whatever time he had left.

(Note from Lorraine: He had a home waiting, someone spoke up for him)

Diesel touched a lot of souls in his short life.

I wish there was more that I could have done for him.

I'm sorry to all of us for the loss of this special cat....

Dr. Karen


Love and Thanks,
Lorraine

52 Comments:

At 10:16 Blogger Marjorie said...

RIP Diesel.

At 10:17 Blogger spacedlaw said...

So sad. Poor Kitty.

At 10:17 Blogger vampi said...

:(

the only true fail is to never even make the attempt.

there was no fail for diesel. he was loved and in the hearts of many.

At 10:17 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Group hug.

At 10:18 Blogger LincolnBlog said...

Very sad. Will be glad to help in my own small way again.

At 10:18 Blogger DataGoddess said...

Aw, poor guy. Bless the vet for giving him the best chance he could have. And bless everyone who opened their hearts to him.

At 10:23 Anonymous Lisana said...

Very sad, poor Diesel. Everyone here and at the vet's pulled together to give him a chance, and that's a beautiful thing.

At 10:42 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Vampi said it best. Bless everyone who did their utmost for Diesel.

At 10:49 Blogger dabbler said...

So sorry...at least he had a chance.
We gave him that.

At 10:56 Blogger Kate said...

Oh no. Poor Diesel. If it is FIP, that's fatal, so at least he went cared for and with a home waiting for him. I suppose many shelter and pet store animals don't.

At 11:09 Blogger Jill said...

Dammit. Dammit, dammit, dammit. :>(

This breaks my heart, it really does. My only comfort is that Diesel didn't die alone, and he didn't die unloved. May that be the way we all meet our end, when it's time.

Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again, Diesel. Enjoy your new life, sleeping in sunbeams, chasing catnip mice, having as many skritches as your brave heart can stand. No more pain - you've earned that much.

Lorraine, please thank Dr. Karen for caring and pass along my sympathies. I'm sure she's grieving too.

At 12:02 Blogger Na said...

Determination may come later. For now I have only tears.

Kudos to Dr Karen and all who helped in the effort! Rest in peace and love, Diesel.

At 12:28 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

Fiends give me hope.

At 12:31 Blogger bengalgirl said...

I again want to thank everyone who donated or gave good wishes to Diesel. I am pretty sad about it, I know everything possible was done for him but FIP is such a horrendous disease and this is the first time it has affected me personally and our rescue. Dr. Karen was a saint to take on his care and she suspected the problem but did every test she could to prove it wasn't FIP. Thanks to Eugenia, his very short time owner for finding us and to Norm and Mike for doing the transport. Mike and his wife had decided to adopt Diesel even knowing he was sick. There are a few legitimate sites out there to donate to FIP research, I think I will do that as a Christmas present to Diesel.

At 13:09 Blogger Uisge said...

Rest in peace, little man.

At 13:10 Blogger Cecily said...

meh

At 13:30 Blogger Laura B said...

:( This makes me so sad.

At 13:57 Blogger Maura Anderson said...

Dammit. I had hoped for better but FIP is vicious and ugly.

Sigh.

At 14:43 Blogger AletaMay said...

very sad news.

At 15:47 Blogger Fluffy said...

Poor guy. He should have had a better life. He did at least have a shot at it through the efforts of you guys.

I'm looking at my two healthy sister kitties and thanking heaven they are well and happy. They started out not-so-good in someone's garage. I wouldn't have found them if our vet wasn't so softhearted that he treated the black one for free when she injured a foot. The woman who owns the house where they were born let feral cats breed and breed in her yard and thought she was doing them a favor! My vet was beside himself, trying to get her to spay the mothers, but this idiot likes kittens so she lets cats use her yard for a nursery. I often wonder what happens to the majority of the poor things.

Sorry. /rant

At 16:35 Blogger Jane said...

They get in and grab our hearts even if we never meet them.

I agree, Vampi, the only fail is not to try.

At 16:54 Blogger Phiala said...

What Vampi said.

At 17:08 Blogger Dragonsally said...

yes, what Vampi said.

So very sad, for beautiful Diesel and everyone who held him in their heart.

At 17:15 Blogger Kate T said...

Heartbreaking, really. Rest well, little friend.

I want to know which pet store here in Evanston sold this little kitty.

At 17:38 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Yes, let's find that out...Selling FIP positive kitties is BAD and selling FIP positive Bengals for $900 a crime.

At 18:31 Blogger turtlesong said...

i'm so sorry. i'm just glad that diesel didn't die alone or unwanted and that he knew that he was loved.

At 19:59 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

I'm glad Diesel had strong persons to fight for him.

At 21:21 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Hour long leash walk with Venus and Mim. Hoping it helped Mim. She is throwing up grass, which she seems to like.

I also talked more about her outdoor cat house, it's going to be REALLY cool, we're going to build it off the Little House in the back, so she can climb on the roof too!

The cat house will have a roof too, of course. And trees for her to climb on. I think it will help a LOT.

At 21:26 Blogger One Sock Short said...

I want to be one of your cats, Lorraine.

At 21:34 Blogger ariandalen said...

FIP is a horrible way for a cat to die. I've lost two cats due to FIP, Crystal and Maeve. Neither of them came from a pet store. Crystal fell out of the "nest" her mother had made in the semi-open attic of a candy store. I bottle fed her for a week until she was old enough to transition to solid food. She was 8 when she died of dry form FIP, after being treated for three months for seizures.

I got Maeve as a kitten from the local Humane Society shelter. She tested positive, more than once, for feline leukemia; however, she never showed any symptoms, which happens in about 1/3 of those who test positive. She was 3 when I found a lump near her breastbone. Our vet used a syringe to drain the fluid, and the fluid was full of yellow "ribbons" that clearly indicated wet form FIP. Maeve fought it for two weeks, but FIP on top of feline leukemia is fast. At the end, she was not interested in food.

Hecate survived both of them, and died at 15.

There is an annual vaccine for FIP. It is delivered nasally, 1/2 dose per nostril. FIP is more often found in multi-cat homes. Crystal died before there was a vaccine, and Maeve wasn't given the vaccine due to her feline leukemia.

I'm sorry that such a sweet, beautiful cat died from such a horrible disease.

At 22:24 Blogger Jane said...

Our cats were always vaccinated for this - we were lucky that none of them were exposed before that - of course we've never gotten a kitten from a pet store...

Sorry for your losses, Ari...

At 23:03 Blogger Kitty Cat said...

Miss Selina and Batty send their love.
so sorry to hear...xoxo

At 00:26 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Such sad news. At least he was loved at the end. Poor guy.

Our 19 yr old cat is showing signs of his age finally. He is starting to drink more water, etc. The vet said his kidneys were getting really small. He's such a curmudgeon though, he's not acting that different...he just has reason to act old and curmudgeonly now!!

I'm off to bed. Hugs to all affected by Diesel's passing :(

At 00:44 Blogger Jess said...

So sad. But so many good folks pulling together for the little guy, which is a happy thing.

Cat house? Chez Mim! Can't wait. :) (Still want to build a scream porch for mine, but that's some way off as yet, given there's currently no porch where I'm thinking of having one.)

I have a house full of British houseguests here. Outnumbered! The invasion has started and they mean to Take Back the Colonies, most likely. They have been plying me with items from Thorntons, so I am thinking of giving them Maine.

At 00:49 Blogger Bridget said...

Thank you Dr. Karen, and Quiche, and everyone who tried. *so much love*

At 02:35 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

I move that the fiends make a new bylaw. When any of us need a mental health day, we should be able to move into FabLo's Spooky House for the day and be one of her bengals.

At 02:48 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Sounds like a plan to me Wendy.

Has anyone else been watching Flash Forward? I'll be really disappointed if this is the end.

At 09:07 Blogger Martha W. said...

That's so sad. At least everything possible was done, and Diesel had more people who loved him than he ever knew. If people like baby kittens, maybe they can foster for a local shelter.

At 09:13 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I read that one wrong , Wendy! I thought "WHAT? COme to MY house???? Hang on...!!"

Not that I don't LOVE you all, but if you come over, I will put you to work!

At 10:13 Anonymous Sister Tracy said...

We saved our 13 yr old tabby Buster this week. He had stopped eating and was crying all the time, I was so scared he was going. It turned out to be his TEETH, and $400 in dental surgery and antibiotics later he is acting like a young cat again!
Yoda was WRONG with the 'there is no TRY' bit. Trying is the only thing we can do. I can't afford everything for my pets, but I will always try my best for them.

At 11:39 Blogger Na said...

Possibly we could say that trying is doing.

At 11:55 Blogger bengalgirl said...

The FIP vaccine is not recommended as a Core vaccine. It is normally not effective and risks outweigh the benefits. Here is a good link that explains; http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fip.html

Until a cause is found for the disease there is no method of detection, treatment, or prevention in cats exposed to corona virus.

At 12:46 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

We will get hard at work at eating STEAK!

I believe it is the end of Flash Forward. Now, I think the only shows I like watching are The Office, Modern Family, Glee, Sons of Anarchy, and Parenthood. And, I don't even like Glee all that much any more. I just think that Kurt's dad is awesome, and he keeps drawing me back.

At 15:02 Blogger Unknown said...

Poor little mite, but he was loved and knew human kindness in his short time.

At 16:25 Blogger Jane said...

Janet, thanks for the info on the FIP vaccine.

Sister T - good for dental surgery and caught in time.

Laser surgery on retinal tear today. Successful per Dr so am mostly calm about it. Eye is feeling a bit mauled, though :-)
Talk about being caught in time - this was definitely one of those, tears if not treated move on to detachments.

Going to feed friend's cats, get a cat fix from them :-)

At 18:13 Blogger dabbler said...

Jane,I missed the fact that the vitrial thing headed into a retinal thing. Sending gentle, soft eye healing your way.

At 18:54 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

I randomly decided to start drawing today. And, I randomly made an oil pastel of Serious Black. Then, I randomly decided to start my own Etsy account. I think I'm going to try to draw every day. ^.^

http://www.etsy.com/listing/48293317/serious-black-yoga

At 19:19 Blogger vampi said...

Very nice wendy.

At 19:38 Blogger Jess said...

Yes indeed!

This reminds me: the next round of Night Garden submissions begins Tuesday. You should join us. So should everyone else who hasn't, yet.

Soon we will have a shop, if Lys ever gives me an admin password. Lys. Hint, hint. ;)

(And only a gentle hint, because Lys is miserable with a bad back. :( )

At 19:48 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

I will see what I get done over the weekend for the Night Garden!

At 19:56 Blogger Jess said...

Yay!

June 1 is the start date, by the way. The actual deadline is August 31. So you have time. No need to scramble over the next two days. :)

At 23:04 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

New post is up and this is not a joke. I'm seriously going to do this.

TRY not to laugh...

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