cat death

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cat death

Hi,

My cat was about a year old, and he was ok last playing a burring, and when my parents woke up in the morning they found him dead by his food dish. My cat had a booster shot on Saturday and apaired to be fine. My girlfriend believes that it could have been stress related due to coming into a new place also being declawed, please if you a had this problem from other people please let me know so i can bring closure to this thak you.

Hi,

I am so, so sorry. That is so sad and you have my deepest sympathies. I can probably give you some insight as to the cause but I would have to have more information. I need a timeline more than anything else. I need to know when you got him, where he came from, how old was he when you got him, how many times did he see a vet, how many times was he vaccinated or was this the first. Was he tested for Felv/FIV and did he have a stool sample analyzed? When was he neutered? When was he declawed? What do you mean about coming into a new place? Did he have any prior history of illness? Did he live with other animals at any time? Did he go outdoors? Had he been thoroughly examined by a vet in your presence and did they ever tell you there was anything abnormal at all in his physical exam?

If you get back to me with the answers to these questions, I will try to help you.

Thank you,
Dr. Neely

Comments for
cat death

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Dec 11, 2011

RIP Kitty
by: Anonymous

Dear Dr. Neely:
My Bengal cat passed away just before his 5th birthday. He was an indoor cat who escaped outside whenever he could. He was allergic to bees, had a weepy eye (maybe herpes but never tested), and tartar. He had soft stools for most of his life- but the vet could never find anything wrong.
One day he saw a squirrel, knocked over a locked door, caught the squirrel and took off. After that he was a maniac about going outside.
I would do my best to keep him inside-and he would just meow all night long. I didn't sleep for a week because of this. When he would come back home my other cat would smell him and hiss at him (he would always want to cuddle with him before).I am not sure if it was him smelling like something outside or if he was sick.He had never kept me up at night meowing nonstop and I assumed he just wanted to go out- but maybe he had something wrong.
Anyway, after 1 week of being inside/outside. I thought he had it figured out and would be fine. He was always back for breakfast and dinner. Until one morning I woke up and he was nowhere to be found. I saw some cat vomit in the backyard. I got a call from a neighbor that he was dead in their yard. The worst news ever;(
I went to get him and he had crossed a major road and continued to walk a few more minutes past the road into a yard (maybe 100 yards or so). His collar was on the ground about 3 feet from his body. His body did not have any noticeable injuries... no vomit or foam (the only other time he got stung by a bee inside the house he started vomiting and foaming.The sprinklers had already gone on so it could have been washed away but I don't think there was anything. He had two marks on his fur by his neck- like something on his fur. I couldn't bring myself to look at him very closely but he looked pretty normal. His appetite had been normal- if anything he seemed like he was hungry all the time (which was pretty normal for him). The only thing I noticed was that he had a cut on his tongue like he had bitten himself maybe...
I know nothing will bring him back. But it has been two months since his passing and I still wonder what happened. Do you think it was a bee? Did he get hit by a car but not have any external injuries? His collar being on the ground makes me think he couldn't breath. Was it a heart problem?I know you can't tell me conclusively but do you have a guess. The vet thought a car hit him. I kind of think it was the bee allergy... What do you think?

First, let me express my deepest sympathies for your loss.
Of course, I cannot know what happened to your cat, but based on experience and personal cat ownership and loss, I could narrow it down to his heart, a poison, or a car. I would probably lean toward the car.
I'm so sorry. It is shocking, I know. This happened to me more than once and is exactly the reason I have kept all my cats indoors for many years now and always will.

My deepest sympathies,
Dr. Neely

Oct 31, 2011

Thanks
by: adam

Thank you for your words. Yes, it is definitely worth it. Love always is, no matter how it happens, but it also opens a person or animal up to the possibility of an incredible amount of pain. I wouldn't trade my cats for anything in the world, and I would gladly have given everything I owned to have my cat Rogue back.

I can't have my cat autopsied. I buried her that day, plus, aside from the cost, I don't think I could have handled that. I sincerely hope it wasn't a heart condition, but I also hope it wasn't poison.

I haven't had the money to have them at the vet as much as they should go, but the last time she was there (a few years ago),everything was fine.

And I didn't notice anything wrong. She was playing, eating, cuddling normally the night before. I can't imagine what kind of poison she could have gotten into either. I checked and there were none of the things you mentioned.

One of my cats, Fluffer, her son, is the least bright of the three cats (two cats now). He loves to lick paint, anything for that matter. If any of them were to get poisoned, I would expect it to be him. Plus, he's the one who's 20 pounds, and I keep trying to get him to lose weight and he doesn't cooperate. I would have thought his ticker would be worse off than hers was. She weighed in at just over 10 pounds.

At the end of the day, though, it's so worth having these guys. I watched the movie "Marley and Me" after she died to kind of make me feel better about the whole thing. That's a sad movie at the end, but it's also very comforting.

I just have to hope that wherever Rogue is now that she can see me and that some day I will see her. Wishful thinking, I know, but the energy we have has to go somewhere. If we're all made of matter from the stars, maybe.

Oct 31, 2011

My baby pickle at 5 months
by: Lisa

Hi I lost my kitten today and I'm heartbroken. I thought she was healthy I watched her be born and decided to keep her, as she was so cute. But this morning, we found her curled up dead and I just don't know why. My other cats, including her mum, are healthy. She ate well and played all the time. It's just strange how a what seems like a healthy kitten can just curl up and die. I can't stop crying. I just wish I knew what it was. xx

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. It is always difficult to lose a beloved pet, but especially one so young. There are some kittens that die and we never know why, and I know how devastating and upsetting it can be to lose a kitten so suddenly, and especially without knowing why. Please know that you are not alone and the love you have for your precious kitten will always be with you.

With deepest sympathy,
Dr. Neely

Oct 18, 2011

One of my best (feline) friends died this morning
by: adam

I woke up this morning, said hello to one cat, said hello to the other cat, and went in the living room to say hello to my third cat sleeping in the sun. But she wasn't sleeping. It looks like at some point in the morning she came out to lay in the sunbeam and died. Her eyes were open, and she still felt warm. There was a little clear liquid near her mouth, but no foam or anything like that. She's been to the vet and aside from ear mites (which I gave her drops for a few weeks ago), had no other issues.

Just last night she was chasing the laser dot around like a kitten. She was 8. She's actually the mother of one of my other two cats. He's the one I thought would wind up going first since getting him to diet is nearly impossible. He's 22 pounds.

But back to his mother: how could she be playing and cuddling one day, and just die like that the next day? There were no signs. No bathroom issues, no throwing up, nothing. I just don't get it. It's like losing a family member, for me anyway, and I would really like to know if I missed something so I can watch out for it with the other two.

Dear Adam,

I am SO sorry. I have lost more than one cat like that as I'm sure many of our readers have. At that age and with a sudden death like that, it's almost definitely heart related. Feline Cardiomyopathy occurs in young to middle aged cats and you often don't know they have it unless they die suddenly. There is nothing you could have done if your veterinarian didn't hear a heart murmur or arrhythmia and recommend a cardiac ultrasound.

The only other possibility is some type of poison. Double check your home for pesticides, antifreeze, human medications including simple things like Advil, Tylenol, Aspirin, etc. because those things are very toxic to cats.

If it's not too late, you might want to consider having your veterinarian conduct an autopsy. That way, you would know for certain what the cause of death of your kitty was so you can protect your other cats.

Otherwise, just make sure your other two have regular check-up's and that the veterinarian listen to their hearts carefully, especially the cat that is related.

Again, I'm so sorry. We have all been there and unfortunately will go through heartache again. That's the price we pay for letting these precious felines into our hearts ...but it's worth it, I'm sure you'll agree.

Perhaps you would like to post a picture(s) of your kitty that passed away on our Memorial Page with some fond memories added. We welcome you to do that if you would like to.

My deepest sympathies,
Dr. Neely

Aug 21, 2011

sad
by: Anonymous

All these are so sad, i was reading them and just starting to cry. I have the deepest sympathies for everyones loss. I have a one year old cat of my own that i love so much and have a deep bond and if anything happened to him i would be devastated. Even if your cat is sick make sure you give him the most amount of love for his little heart.

Dec 08, 2008

Unknown Reasons
by: Anonymous

I had a cat named Snickers for 5½ years and he died recently(dec. 1st). His first problem was having trouble having bowel movements. He would cry and make wierd noises when ever he tried to go. His butt started to get something kinda like diaper rash on it and it smelled terrible. We took him to the vet and they said they thought he had mega-colon. His colon was huge(about the size of my fist on the x-ray) and it was stuffed and packed so bad it was half way through his small intestent too. They removed alot of the bowel that wouldn't come out. He felt better but sore. A month or two later he started having the same problems so we took him back. It had gotten worse. They removed some bowel again. By now every few weeks we have to bring him back to the vet. He has had alot of emamas(mispelled)by now. He smelled terrible so they shaved him(i didn't want them to. he had the cutest hair). Soon we had to bring him every week. After we brought him home one time me and my mom were going somewhere and my siblings didn't know how to take care of him even though I told them how. A few days later I come home and he had a wierd pudding like diarrhea and lots of it. My mom was going to be home in a few days so I tried to help him. He wouldn't eat or drink so I had to use a suringe to give him water. I gave him his medicine, cleaned his butt, tried to feed him his special food, cleaned the carpets where he pooped some, I also put him in a room with a heater cause the house was cold. Most importantly I gave him love. My mom came home and nothing I had done had helped. He acually got even worse. She gave him a bath everyday. We gave him a mix of a little sugar and salt in some water so he would get some energy back. She took him to the vet the next day and he stayed there because he was dehydrated, anemic, had low potassium, lost some weight, and a lot of other things. They put him on a IV and watched him. In the middle of the night he died in his sleep. They said he pepped up a bit before he died. The next day as my mom and I were driving to my school/her job the vet called a told us the bad news. We went to my dads office since it was close by to tell him. The vet said that they couldnt find out what was wrong.

Nov 17, 2008

A very great loss
by: mikeEm

I feel destroyed, it's all my fault...my two kittens 3 months old, my male cat was very agressive/playing with the female cat...i came home and he had her in his arms and was either licking her neck or bitting it, and he usually did both, i've seen him fight with her to the point she had trouble walking on some mornings....but after a few days of controlling it, seperating the two and putting him in the other bedroom to give her a rest....but then he would cry nd cry and cry...so we started to let him out again, but he seemed to be on a mission with her....the fighting resumed, we just thought she would get strong while she was growing, but she remained thin and small and abused...the day before she died, i shook a bag of temptations and sure enough she came running when my friend Mark a delivery guy made the comment to me, said she looked real weak and thin. I said yes, but the same happened with Roz the Mother cat, she got sick and got over it like we all mostly do....so in my mind she would grow out of the torture by the male cat and she would pick up the pace and be strong enough to shake him off....but she died in his arms and i'm shaken by the experience....she died in his arms....and mine. Layed her down in the middle of the bed, picked up the phone and called a vet....in the meantime while trying to locate a vet, because of my Retardness and Lamitety....i failed. Found one after 10 minutes and my GF came back telling me she had gasped her last.

I feel like hanging myself because of the stupidity....because of my own weak perception, because of my inactions to save my tiny abused female cat.....there is just no words for it....i'm bummed out from living this hell.

I hate life, actually....i hate Death....but this reinforces me i suppose, because giving my life away because i'm a retard would automatically mean Death wins....but i can garantee it won the first battle......what an explosion...It was like H-bomb Mike test.I know winning against death is impossible, I just wish i could go back in time to save my cat a foolish demise....if that's dreamable it has to be possible. But i'm crazy,we have all this info, yet it still took a good 3-5 minutes before i found on Yellow Pages.ca a Vet in my Erea, wich reminds me, you should always keep that info handy.... i guess that's learning the hard way to keep important info handy.

I am so sorry for your loss and I understand your pain and guilt. However, what you describe is so very rare, I think you are blaming yourself far too much. Guilt and "what if's" do no good anyway. Better that we learn and move forward giving our love to others and apply any lessons we have learned to the other cats that grace our lives.

Thank you for sharing your story with us. You have made a very inportant point. Keeping important phone numbers right by the phone is really necessary.

You have my deepest sympathy. Dr. Neely

Sep 16, 2008

cat death
by: Anonymous

i am really sorry for your loss i just lost my cat this morning and iam in mourning. he was my buddie. he had pnuemonia we took him the vet but i think we where to late his name was diego he is in gods hands now and we miss him.

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