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I knew for about 4 years that Tigger had a heart problem. I also knew that blood clots that paralyzed the legs were one of the things that could happen. His heart beat too fast and had an irregular rhythm--but it didn't always show up, and it didn't seem to get worse. I was warned not to chase him when playing, because he might get too scared. He was unable to exercise, but otherwise acted normal. I actually thought he was getting stronger his last couple of months.

At 4:30 in the morning on October 9, 2001 I heard Tigger crying behind my bed. I suspect that Tasha scared him (I had already been up at 4:15 when she was misbehaving). When I tried to get Tigger out, he came out by himself dragging his hind legs. I took him and set him on the floor while I thought about what to do. Around 5:00 I called the emergency vet to find out if I could wait until the regualr vet opened. When I was on the phone, Tigger suddenly stood up and went and jumped on a chair. At that point it seemed like he would be OK.

I took him to the regualr vet at 9:00, and at that time he seemed to be doing well. However, while I was waiting for the vet to examine him, I noticed that one of his front legs was limp and hanging at an angle. The vet had me leave him there for an electrocardiogram and an IV. She said I would probably have to take him to the University Animal Hospital for the night. Shortly after I got home, the vet called and asked me to take him to the University right away. She said he got too stressed out when she tried to give him the IV, and she was alone and unable to monitor him properly.

I took him to the University where he had another electrocardiagram, an X-ray, an ultrasound, and blood tests. The diagnosis was "restrictive cardiomyopathy and secondary thrombolic disease." All the blood tests were normal, and he did not have any fluid buildup. He seemed to be in relatively good shape, and I was told I could take him home after a day. He was at the hospital for 2 days and wouldn't eat or drink while he was there (he was hand fed and injected with fluid).

When I got him home he was in good spirits and was walking and eating normally. However, he was very weak and had to lie down every few minutes. The next morning I thought I would have to lift him up on the table to brush him. But, as soon as Tigger saw the brush, he came and got up on the table by himself just like he always did. I started brushing him, and then he had to lie down and rest after a minute or so. I sat at the table while he rested comfortably for about ten minutes. He seemed to have revived, but when he stood up he got another clot which paralyzed his back legs. He started crying and never stopped.

I took him back to the University. By the time I got there, I decided that the best thing to do was have him put to sleep. Even if he did recover partially, he would still have the heart disease which would get worse and cause further blood clots. Also, I didn't feel like I could just leave him in the hospital where he wouldn't eat, and I couldn't stay home everyday and take care of him.

In retrospect, I think Tigger probably could have lived longer if I had just let him rest after the first incident instead of casuing a lot of additional stress by putting him in his carrier and taking to the vet. I think he may have had a similar incident more than three years earlier. That time he had a leg problem once when I was home for lunch; by the time I got home in the evening, he was walking normally.

Here are a couple of little poems I wrote the day Tigger died: