sudden cat death

12 years ago

Can someone please help? Yesterday, my beloved cat, Tom, who was 15, died very suddenly without any warning. He got up as usual, had his breakfast and went outside as he did everyday. After coming back in and having had a snooze, he went into the kitchen. The next thing I knew, he shot like a bullet across the room, crashed into some tables and just lay there. When I got to him, he was just limp and had stopped breathing. He had just died. He had no symptoms, he didnt meow, no paralysis, no warning signs at all. He was drinking and eating well. How can he just die? Everyone is telling me he had a heart attack but having looked this on the Internet , he had none of the symptoms. Please, i need to know what has happened to him. I am heartbroken and cannot accept be has gone until I have an explanation. I cannot put him through an autopsy.

Featured Answer

calliope

12 years ago

According to Cornell University, a fifteen year old cat would be the equivalent to a human in their seventies. Not exactly Methusala, but old enough that acute and chronic diseases are not unusual. Why would a cat die suddenly with no warning? For the same reasons it happens to other apparently healthy animals and humans.

No, without a necropsy you probably won't know but cardiac arrests happen for various reasons and aren't always a 'heart attack' and even those don't always present themselves in such a common pattern you can tell for sure. It could have had a stroke, an aneurysm, an unknown cardiac arrythmia causing a fatal rythm.

I have lost some animals where even the vets guessed at the reason and gave the option of necropsy. That won't bring them back and will only satisfy your need for closure or any nagging thoughts in the back of your mind you may have been able to prevent it. (We all second guess after the fact).

Have some comfort in the fact that he lived healthy up to the moment of death and did not suffer. Know that he was taken when it was time and you did not have the agony of deciding the proper time for euthanasia. Take some time to discuss it with your vet so that he/she can assure you that this occasionally does happen and some of the reasons why.

Loosing a beloved companion so suddenly is hard for you to wrap your mind around. There is no building up to it for you to prepare yourself. I'm sorry for your loss. It's tough.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (14)

beegood_gw
12 years ago
It could have been cardiac arrest but if you really NEED to know a necropsy is the only way to go. Sorry about your loss. No one can tell you why .
homebodymom
12 years ago
I have no possible explanation for what happened to your boy Tom. Just wanted to say I am so sorry.
Related Discussions
Sudden zuchini death
Q
Comments (5)
Hi- I thought somebody else would have responded by now, but I suspect you have squash vine borer. The second year I gardened, I had two zucchini plants, and they were both doing fine, and then one weekend I went away, and when I came back to my garden on Monday, one of my zucchini plants was dead. The next weekend I went away again, and when I came back the same thing happened to the second zucchini plant. The only sure fire solution to the problem is to stagger your plantings. Plant one plant, and then a month later plant a second one. In the Chicago area anyway, usually vine borers are much more prevalent in June, and so if you time your second planting so it matures in July, you usually won't have vine borer problems.
...See More
Sudden Oak Death/ infected lilacs in Maine!
Q
Comments (3)
The cultivar name is 'Andenken an Ludwig Spath', actually. An authority on phytophthora told me awhile ago it was too late for sudden oak death quarantines to be effective, so local officials are probably wasting their time and budgets, in Maine and elsewhere. Believe it is thought to even blow around on the wind, in water droplets. Here a nursery had to put some rhododendrons in plastic bags and bury them in a deep trench because state agents found some sudden oak death on them. So it's not just the time and resources of states that are being spent on trying to put the cat back in the bag. Worse things are being noticed these days in Europe, trying to keep those out of North America would certainly be worthwhile.
...See More
Sudden betta death
Q
Comments (19)
LIVED ONLY FIVE DAYS.. i got a betta fish from my brother for my birthday. It feed it morning & @ night for 2 days, although it didn't seem interested to eat. The unbeaten food remained in the bottom. It was so spirited the 1st 2days. I didn't leave him alone, I use the fish bowl on my lap & play with him, sleep with him. He use to jump when I stick my finger near surface to eat the food. He seem so happy when I'm around. He use to sit at the bottom when I'm not around & swim up when I come taping the bowl. 3rd day night I cleaned the bowl & added aged water as suggested in web sights. The same night he seem fine but I noticed a hole in his tail after few hours. I didn't handled him roughly.. I didn't even used fishnet to remove him. I let him swim into a glass with his will. Next 4 th day I noticed his was sitting still in bottom n looked little gray n his tail was rotten n shredded. From morning I didn't came to say hello to him. I came at 11:30am to see him like that. May be he missed me so he was sitting in bottom ( he sit like that when he is alone n sad) I put food to him but he wouldn't eat. Then I panicked n cried so much. I didn't leave him alone the whole day.. May be that's y he lived 2 more day. I searched every website " how to treat fine rot." every one told he need med n heater. But it's a fish bowl I can't get heater to that. I can't afford. I got an idea of my own " putting the bowl into a mild hot water container" I use to check the heat before keeping the bowl in it. And it worked. He liked it ( caution " only mild water") may be it bought him 2 more days to live. Every time I keep him in the mild hot container his skin color come to normal n when he get cold he use to turn gray. I did it every 2 hours or 1 1/2 hour ( until his fin rot get cured n grow new one). Another thing I noticed that he got fin clamp but on 5th day I saw the wings to got rot. He got infection I guess. I used to water.. May be it has too much clorine even though I aged the water. Afternoon till evening he lost his tail n down fin. I didn't changed the water but I removed all the shred from water using net. He turned gray till stomach N under his jaw. His gills looked unusual. He still didn't eat any thing. My brother told let try bore water at least anyway he looks like dieing. So I prayed to God for one more day. That night I kept him close to my bed so that he won't feel alone. On 6th day 3:45am suddenly I woke up n thank God he was near surface ( on 5 th day he stayed on top) I frequintly checked n I saw he lost his left wing n swimming side ways.. It hurt to see him like that. At 4:30 I treated him with mild water then I removed the container before it get cold. I checked every 5 mins but I only closed my eyes for 8 or more mins.. in middle I heard swift movements n water splash then went silent so I checked. @ 4:45 he was floating vertical facing bottom & tail up. I cried continusly for 2hrs.I buried him @ 5am in my front yard crying.
...See More
Sudden death in cat
Q
Comments (20)
may 27th at about 1230am i lost a really good friend. and ive been searching for answers everywhere as to why. i found this forum and wanted to share my story. his name was oreo and he was only 5 yrs old. i came home that evening,to him sitting near his food bowl empty. got him the food. went back into the kitchen to find him do a little scurry across the floor. i wasnt really worried at first until i bent down to pet him to see what the problem was and ran into my living room then laid down on his side stretch out all his legs and let out a loud moan meow then it looked like he had trouble breathing and that he was having a siezure. i though he may have been choking i didnt know how to react so i stuck my fingers in his mouth and there was nothing. then his tongue was out of his mouth and i looked at his chest and saw he wasnt breathing anymore. my other cat nudged him with her head then walked away. for some reason i thought more could be done i took him to the emergency vet. but i knew he was already gone. i didnt know that autopsy could be done on animals they didnt offer it to me. does any one have a similar story and know what might have caused this to happen? i can't get this out of my head i relive it everyday and just wonder.
...See More
cynthia_gw
12 years ago
I am so very sorry that you lost your kitty so suddenly. I know how heartbreaking that is.

Are there heartworms in your area? If so was he on preventives? I see you're in the UK. The other possibility is hyptertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Elly_NJ
12 years ago
I am so sorry for you. Not sure what happened, but I know it it tearing your heart.

I came home 3 years ago and found my sweet angel Sofie dead, and I still can't lose that. A necropsy showed no internal problems, (heart good, all organs, she ate so she felt good up until then or she wouldn't have eaten). My vet things it was a brain aneurysm.

So sorry for you. This is a loss not alleviated by tears, I know.
cat_mom
12 years ago
I am so, so sorry for your loss. Unexpected or not, it's never easy.

(((HUGS)))
Lily316
12 years ago
I'm very sorry about your loss. In all my animals over the years, a few have died like that. Perfectly fine, and suddenly dead. I'm not going to say the platitude..he lived a long life, because I hate when people have said that to me. However, I will say be glad he never suffered and if it was his time, he went well. I know you're grieving. Been there many times. You love them so much and then they're gone.
whimzikl
12 years ago
I'm so sorry. My daughters cat died just like this, they did an autopsy and it was Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, it's likely it was an abnormal rhythm, such as something similar to atrial fibrillation in humans. The vet told my daughter that the cat probably did not suffer, which was good! It always hurts so much to lose our pets, but at 15 years old, you gave him a great life...I have an old guy who will be 18 this year, so will be facing the same thing soon! :(
Rudebekia
12 years ago
KateL,
I,too, am so sorry for your loss. I lost a beloved cat years ago like that. She woke on my bed with a scream in the middle of the night, went into shock, and was dead a few minutes later as I was headed to the emergency vet. No autopsy was done but the vet assumed it was a stroke or aneurysm. It was so unexpected and upsetting that, in a sense, I have never gotten over it. Hugs to you at this difficult time!
jomuir
12 years ago
KL, sorry for your loss. 15 is a good age for a cat, and at least his passing was fast and he didn't suffer a long time. It's so hard to lose them isn't it?
lazy_gardens
12 years ago
The symptoms - adjusted for a cat - are similar to a massive stroke (CVA, ruptured aneurysm) in a human.

Walking around fine, feeling fine, no symptoms, and suddenly they stagger a bit, may have very brief convulsions, and drop dead.
caavonldy
12 years ago
Our beloved Tramp went to bed one night and never woke up. Out 14 yo granddaughter found him in the morning when he didn't come to us for breakfast. It was such a shock. My husband was his favorite person and it was so very hard on him, it was for all of us. I am so very sorry for your loss, we know how much it hurts.
oldkeycarol
6 years ago
Very sorry for your loss. We too lost our sweet girl Ginger. She was perfect on Sunday and gone by Tuesday. She was almost 20, but we miss her and wanted her for 20 more years. We hugged and loved her everyday, as I am sure you did. May our dear kits rest in peace.
notolover
6 years ago
How sad and scary that it happened so fast....I'm so sorry. At least is sounds like he was happy up to the end, you can take comfort in that. Poor baby and poor you nonetheless. My last two dogs died young, but there is never a good time.

sudden cat death

calliope

Comments (14)

beegood_gw

homebodymom

Related Discussions

cynthia_gw

Elly_NJ

cat_mom

Lily316

whimzikl

Rudebekia

jomuir

lazy_gardens

caavonldy

oldkeycarol

notolover

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US