Two hours ago, we were wondering whether we needed to take Merlin, our 7 year old (and youngest) cat, to the vet. He was very quiet, and his breathing was rapid. He'd been a bit quiet all evening, but quietness seemed to turn to illness very suddenly.
After speaking to the vet, we took Merlin to the hospital, about 5 miles away. By the time we got there, he was much worse. The vet explained he had fluid on his lungs - cause unknown - and that he was seriously ill. They took him away to give him oxygen, etc, and to try and work out what was causing the problem. They warned us he might not survive.
About 20 minutes ago, the vet rang to say Merlin had passed away. I hope he didn't suffer too much. We have to decide whether to have a post mortem, to find out what had happened. One possible answer is that he had ingested something toxic.
Just a few days ago, he was playing with a live mouse on my bed in the middle of the night!
It just doesn't seem real that he's gone.
Feeling very sad, and wondering if the outcome could have been any different if I'd taken him earlier.
Rosemary

Merlin, 1st April 2001 to 27th May 2008