My beloved cat died suddenly, and I’m in shock. What happened?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:
I had the shock of my life today.
My cat, Zoe, was only 5 years old and she was the most beautiful cat I ever laid eyes on. She was a large cat, not fat at all, but large and quite heavy. Yesterday, I picked her up and noticed that she looked the same but felt lighter in weight. She was fine, ate with no problems at all. Slept a lot. This morning I saw her sitting in the laundry room where her littler box is. She did not act right, I picked her up and she was making a type of gagging noise. Not like choking noises, but just noises. Her pupils were dilated and her gums were white. I rushed her to my vet where he said her lungs were badly filled with fluid. She was going downhill quickly. He said she might have severe pneumonia, cancer or congestive heart failure. He did not feel that cancer treatment would help; if it did she would not last long at all. He also said if they hospital thought it was severe pneumonia, she would be in an oxygen tent, perhaps for days. Zoe was in a lot of trouble and her breathing was extremely labored. I noticed there were droplets on blood/phlegm on the exam table where her mouth had been. I decided it would be more humane to put her out of agony and she was was put down right away.
When she died, a lot blood and fluid expelled from her mouth. My vet said then he thought she had heart failure or heart congestion when he saw that. I am still in shock. Zoe was fine until this morning. I can’t figure out what could have happened. She was an indoor cat. She never had any problems and was never sick. I do recall once hearing her vomit last week, or the week before. It is killing me that I might have done the wrong thing by not trying some kind of treatment — but she was failing so quickly, right before my eyes. She was my baby and I love her so much.
I can’t believe that something like this happened so quickly. I had no time to prepare. Can a cat get so sick without any notice? She was fine! Could cancer do this? Zoe was here one day and gone so fast. And why???
Thank you.
~Barbara
Siouxsie: Barbara, we’re so sorry for your loss. Mama cried when she read your letter, because she knows the pain of suddenly losing a beloved cat friend.
Thomas: There’s no way you could have known what was about to happen to Zoe. You’d been taking her to the vet regularly, she was an indoor-only cat, and you clearly were very aware of and cared deeply about her health and happiness.
Dahlia: From your description of her white gums, it sounds like Zoe had lost a lot of blood. But because she was bleeding internally, you couldn’t have known that until she became really sick.
Siouxsie: Although it’s possible that Zoe had cancer, we think it’s pretty unlikely, considering that she was so young. Cancer is a disease that usually occurs in senior cats (age 7 and older). That’s not to say that young cats never get cancer, but it is very rare.
Thomas: If Zoe had had severe pneumonia, you would have known it. She would have been coughing and uncomfortable for several days. She probably would have had wheezy breathing, too. If your cat had a respiratory infection that bad, you would have known it days before. And because you’re a good and vigilant caretaker, you would have taken her to the vet long before it reached the fatal stage.
Dahlia: Zoe could have had congestive heart failure. But again, this condition is pretty rare in cats as young as Zoe was. The only cat with acute congestive heart failure we’ve ever known was our kitty grammie Shaughnessy, who was 17 when she was afflicted.
Siouxsie: Typically, congestive heart failure (CHF) occurs as a result of some other disease — a severe bacterial infection such as a dental abscess, that affects the heart, or chronic heart disease. Since you said Zoe was healthy and didn’t suffer from any other diseases, and because an abscessed tooth would cause symptoms such as lethargy, pain on chewing or avoidance of hard food, and fever, we think you would have noticed that too.
Thomas: Zoe’s death could have been caused by a ruptured aneurysm. An aneurysm is a weak spot in the wall of an artery or vein that can rip open and cause an animal (or human) to bleed to death very quickly. There’s no way you or your vet could have known that Zoe had such a condition. Aneurysms are pretty rare, but they’re not unheard of in animals.
Dahlia: There are a lot of reasons that Zoe could have gotten so sick so quickly, none of which are your or your vet’s fault. Sometimes awful things just happen for no reason we mortal beings can know.
Siouxsie: Please try not to beat yourself up with guilt over the circumstances of Zoe’s death. You made the right decision when you chose to end her suffering. If you had pursued more treatments, it sounds to us like she probably would have died anyway — and she would have had to endure a lot more pain and terror in the process.
Thomas: You mentioned that you’d heard Zoe vomit recently. Trust us, vomiting is generally not a sign of impending death or severe illness. Why, just last week I horked up the biggest hairball Mama had ever seen! I’m quite impressed with myself. (I didn’t care too much for the Laxatone she fed me afterwards, though.)
Dahlia: One of the greatest gifts you humans can give us is the gift of a humane death. We cats view it as the ultimate act of love and courage when you choose to let us go rather than allowing us to linger in suffering and pain. We have it on good authority that dogs and horses feel the same way.
Siouxsie: We wish we could answer the question of why your beloved Zoe was taken away from you so suddenly. But unfortunately, we don’t know any more than you do why the Creator chooses to give each animal a different lifespan.
Thomas: We do know that grief is a process, and the best thing you can do for yourself is to allow yourself to grieve. We hope you have people around you who will understand that Zoe’s death is a major loss for you and who will have compassion for just how heartbreaking it is to lose an animal companion so suddenly.
Dahlia: Humans seem to be getting better at understanding that pet loss is a valid reason to grieve. There are resources on the Internet that can help you get through your grief process. The Animal Love and Loss Network offers free online chat rooms and support groups. They also have extensive directories of resources, including counselors who will help people grieving the loss of a pet; animal tribute pages; and much more. Petloss.com provides a venue to write a memorial to your pet, and it has message boards where you can get support from other animal caretakers. Many other animal-related websites such as Catster and the about.com cats forum also have information and support for grieving pet caretakers.
Siouxsie: A number of veterinary schools in the US offer grief hotlines for bereaved pet caretakers. These include Tufts University in Massachusetts, Cornell University in New York, University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), University of Californa-Davis, University of Florida (Gainesville), Colorado State, Iowa State, and University of Illinois (Urbana). You should be able to find information about these resources at the universities’ websites, but if you can’t, Mama said she’ll give you the information she has if you want to e-mail us.
Thomas: Over time, you’ll find that the sharp pain of your grief and broken heart dulls and you’ll be able to remember the happy times you shared with Zoe. Rest assured that she’s looking down at you and purring as she recalls all the love, care and kindness you gave her over the five short years she shared with you.
Dahlia: You never forget about a cat you love, but eventually your memories will bring smile and a tear instead of a deep aching in your soul. Our condolences and purrs are with you, Barbara.
My cat, Lucy died over the weekend. We went out of town for a few days but always leave food and water for her and her companion. When we came home, Lucy didn’t come to the door and greet us like she usually did. I went immediately to the laundry room to check out the food situation and found it odd that there was still some food left in the bowls and not much feces in the litter box. I had a sick feeling when I went upstairs and noticed the same thing. My dad hollered up to me that he found Lucy in his bathroom. She was laying on her right side and there was so much blood coming from her mouth. It was obvious she had been dead for a while as her body was very stiff and she had a foul odor. I feel so guilty because I keep thinking that I put out too much food for her and she overate and it killed her. She was only 8 years old and was my “baby” because she was my first pet that I actually paid the bills for. I just keep thinking that she was all alone when she died. I also wonder why there was so much blood. I miss her so much, she was my best friend.
I’m so sorry for your loss, Jill. My cat Bobbin is really sick right now. He’s only 6 years old and had a bladder disorder. We had just come back from a few days away as well but he’s never been the same since we went on holiday for a week and we got my brother to check on him. My brother only came once in 8 days. My poor bubby. I’ll never leave him again.
I am so sorry for the loss of cats of all of you. I can understand your pain because I just lost my cat yesterdat and it broke my heart. We moved to that neighborhood 3 years ago and very next day we found Franky on our door step. She was the most beautiful cat I had ever seen. I asked the neighbors about her and they told me she belonged to some one on the same street who moved and left Franky all alone on the road. Any how we adopted franky and with in few days me, my husband and my two kids so attached to her that we couldn’t think being without her. She was such a lovely cat that every one who saw her loved her in firsr sight. Two months ago we moved to our new house and off course we brought Franky with us to our new house. I t took her few days to adjest here but she seemed happy after few days. About one month back I noticed that she is losig weight and not eating properly. I took her to vet and he changed his diet. She liked her new food and was playful again. Last week she completely stoped eating and within three she lost so much weight and became so weak that we could not recognize her. Saturday night was a tough night for all of us, she was in pain all night and my kids were awake with her all night. Next morning I took her to pets emergency hospital and vet told us she had cancer and going to die any time. We were shocked to know that. She was in severe pain and vet advised that best thing for her right now is to put her down. It was the most difficult decision for me evar. My kids wrer screaming when they told us to meet her for the last time. It was so painful to say good bye to our beloved Franky.
It is second day since we lost Franky and all of us are still in tears. My kids and husband now seem little bit calm but I don’t know what to do. Will I ever come out of this grief? Will I ever be able to forget her. Please some one give me some advice what to do?
Thank you
Nabila
Something like this happened to me. My wife and I just lost our almost-3 year old female, very suddenly.
Looking back, there were many small clues, but we just missed them. Small but noticeable changes in interacting with us less, in not staying in her favorite locations (near window, on top of the dryer), and staying more still/moving less.
We took her into the vet one morning when she was having noticeable difficulty breathing. Shortly after, we moved her from the vet’s office to a local teaching hospital with better facilities. The hospital was successful in draining her chest area, but she died several hours later when they put her under anesthesia (for chest tube insertion).
Just try to watch for the small signs. It is very difficult. Cats will try to hide their weakened condition from you, but there may be enough clues for you to take your cat into the vet in time.
My cat Thunder has died she was only 11 and a half months old. Her story is shocking she was inside the motor to try to keep warm and as we were driving she fell out I don’t no if I am old enough to be on this web site I am only 10 years old and Thunder was my first cat I took her everywere I even took her on road trips. We were looking around and two days later my mom thought of the posibilities and she was right Thunder was laying on the freeway dead. The story brock my little heart and it is 2 weeks later with many more days left of crying I still wate and wate for her but she never comes home.
My cat smokey a short haired blue exotic died suddenly 12/04/11
We are devastated! It doesn’t make sense!
She used to sit on the drive or on the pathways
Opposite our house, we live on a quiet estate.
On the evening of the 12th my partner was working
Outside as well ad other neighbours when a car
Stopped and asked if smokey was ok! My Partner looked
To see smokey lying in the road, she was dead
We thought she had been run over but she was 7 yrs
Old and sensible! She must have died instantly
But her tongue was White instead of pink!
She had no broken bones! No marks at all on
Her body, what happened ? I feel do bad and
Sick that I couldn’t help her, she was our baby
My life will never be the same!!
On a positive note she was taken to a private
Pet cemetery where she was put in the chapel
Of rest, we visited and said our goodbyes!
She was cremated on the 14/04/11 privately
And we now have her home!
I really wish I knew what happened!
wow..im sorry to hear this Barbara but this happen to me today. She was very young kitten. She was a siamese cat like 4 months old and suddenly she started to make gaging noise as well but i was too late when I saw her she just laying there with her eyes open and bleeding from the mouth…Im very sad and I might not adopt anymore pets because this was very shocking and sad.. But now our cats our in a better place. R.I.P BICHA (MY CATS NAME) 04.15.11
n
My cat Mimoon died on Sunday evening. It was a very sad day for us. he was a beautiful cat, passionate and smart. He was just 4 years old and could not make it with his sudden disease.
Today is second day since we lost Mimoon and my wife and I are still in tears. Will we ever come out of this grief? We are sure that we will never forget him.
Thank you so much for sharing your story. My 6 year old cat left me in an instant tonight. I attempted CPR and she was just… Gone…. She left and I had to say goodbye. I was lucky to be with her when it happened…so she didn’t leave alone, but the pain is unbearable.
It means a lot having your story to read. The symptoms seem oddly similar. Thank you for your post…
Am so sorry for all of you who have lost beloved pets and I send you all a big hug. My beautiful male cat, Howell, was put to sleep two days ago, after a very short and unexpected illness. He was only 5 years old and I was lucky enough to have him in my life for 4 of those years, after he was abandoned by his previous owners. He was totally adorable, handsome, very mischievious and naughty, stubborn, loving and affectionate, smart and quite simply the most charismatic cat I have ever known. Everyone fell in love with him instantly and the gap he has left in my life, now he has gone, is almost too much to bear at the moment. Just two weeks ago he was his usual boisterous and gorgeous self, then he went off his food and lost weight rapidly over a few days – so I took him to the vets, where he had an examination and blood tests – but I was very pleased when the results came back that his kidneys and liver function were fine .. and that he just had a touch of anemia – so the diagnosis was an infection of some sort and a week of antibiotics. But across the week, he didn’t really improve, his appetite didn’t get much better and he became a lot weaker .. so I called the vet who said he probably needed more tests, but not to worry and book him in after the bank holiday. BUT just 10 days after that initial appt (and only 2 weeks since he was well) I took him as an emergency to the vets, as he wouldn’t eat even his favourite treat .. and was shocked and heartbroken during the examination to be told he had advanced kidney lymphoma and jaundice .. and given the fact he had now stopped eating and lost so much weight, there was really no option other than to put him to sleep, as his deterioration was so aggressive and rapid. I am still in shock at how he could crash so quickly and why the initial blood work results were so misleading. I know you never have long enough with a beloved pet, he was my “baby”, but I am lost without him. I am lucky to still have his partner with me, a timid but lovely female cat, but she is also missing him .. so we are trying to comfort each other. I was with Howell at the end and kissed his head for the last time as he passed. We have all been blessed with special relationships with our animals and am sure they loved us as much as we loved them. May they all rest in peace…..
I just want to thank everyone for their stories, and am sorry for each and everyone’s loss of their special friends. I have been looking for some words of comfort online, and this site really provided it for me.
I’m still not sure what happened. We had to put our beloved 11 year old Maine Coon, Puck down this morning due to liver failure.
He was fine, eating, drinking, playful and his ole self on Tuesday (3 days ago). On Wednesday, we noticed that he was being extremely lazy and teased him about it. He did get up to eat dinner and drink some water; but otherwise, was just being a big ole lazy loaf.
When I woke up early on Thursday morning, he was sleeping in the same spot on the couch as he was when we went to bed the night before. Very, very strange. He’s the biggest pillow hog in the entire world, and is my alarm clock in the morning~ extremely naughty when he wants his breakfast. But there he was, just sleeping on the couch.
I picked him up and brought him into the bed with us. I noticed that he felt lighter, and a little limp; like a noodle and that’s what I attributed to the lightness that I felt. He’s a big Maine Coon cat, and while his weight has always been around 15lbs during his adult life, it wasn’t because he was fat, just very big.
My fiance happened to have the day off and before I left for work, just asked him to keep an eye on the kitty.
I called home around 1:00 to check on things and learned that he hadn’t moved off the bed ALL DAY. G put a dish of food and water on the bed, and kitty just shuffled away from it.
By the time I got home, kitty had moved to the couch. He didn’t greet me at the door, he wouldn’t eat tuna fish or drink any water. When I brought a cup of water to the coffee table (which for some reason, he LOVED way more than his regular water dish), he sort of, hobbled away from it, like his back legs weren’t working. This really scared me. We called the vet and made an appointment for him first thing this morning.
He slept in the bed with us for most of the night, but I couldn’t find him when I woke up. I found him tucked away and hiding in the bedroom closet behind hanging clothes. He hadn’t eaten or drank anything the day before and I was afraid he was looking for a place to die… we couldn’t get to the vet fast enough.
By the time we got there, things had gone from bad to scary and awful. In a short 15 minute period, he didn’t even look like himself. His eyes weren’t focusing and he couldn’t walk. He laid limp in my arms and was breathing really heavy.
When the vet tech came in to get his vitals, I could tell HE, (the vet tech), was scared. When kitty didn’t flinch while getting his temp taken, I was scared. He went on to tell us that he needed to provide us with this detail of service and that detail of service… but kept repeating, “I’m just telling you these things because it’s part of my job. I don’t think the vet is going to care, I think he’s going to be more concerned when he sees your cat.” That REALLY scared me.
After the vet tech left the room, I was petting kitty, (who is PITCH BLACK… from nose to tail) and I noticed that he was YELLOW! Our black cat was YELLOW!! Any place you could see skin~ ears, gums, eyes, and he started doing this really weird thing with his neck, I don’t even know how to explain it, like a paralyzing, crane thing.
At that moment, the vet walked in and started to introduce himself, but saw that I was startled and asked me what was going on. I said that kitty was looking really weird and it was starting to freak me out. He looked kitty over really quick and said, “This cat is jaundiced!” I explained that I had only noticed it seconds before. Kitty kept doing this creepy, paralyzing thing with his dead, unfocused eyes. It was the most heartbreaking thing I had ever seen.
The vet explained that kitty was in liver failure, but wasn’t sure why. Could be cancer, anemia, or he could have gotten into something toxic. He did not give us false hope, only our options.
#1) Would do a quick blood panel and get the results back to us in 30 mins to let us know EXACTLY how extreme the liver failure was. This would be something to let us know just how bad things were, and to not feel bad about making “a difficult decision”.
#2) Take kitty home and let him live out his days, not in pain; but feeling like crap.
#3) Put kitty in the hospital because he was completely dehydrated and needed an IV.
He explained to us that the IV would rehydrate kitty and make him feel better and maybe his energy would come back… BUT, once he came home, we would STILL have to hope for the best.
He explained that the blood panel would be done if we needed peace of mind for making the right, but difficult decision. I know that vets aren’t allowed to tell you what to do, but the more questions I asked, the more I felt like he was telling us he would do any and everything we wanted him to do… but poor kitties liver or life was no more.
We are getting married on Sunday, the day after tomorrow. We truly, truly thought that we were wasting our money taking kitty to the vet. We really believed that we would get there and the vet would say he was just a little depressed or anxious about all of the hustle and bustle going on around him… that is… until poor kitty’s appearance just changed right before our eyes.
I am not only heartbroken that I lost my best bud from the past 11 years, but it is very difficult for me to have that sad, sick last image of him in my brain… not that it would make it any better to put down a perfectly beautiful feline, but hopefully you all know what I mean.
I decided to write this LOOOOOOONNNNNGGG post for two reasons. I thought, (and was right), that it would be stress relieving for me to just get it all out, everything that I have gone through today and the guilt that I have been feeling; but also because of the post saying that there were “little signs”.
We FOR SURE had “little” signs that we completely ignored. I am hoping that when I post them, I will not be villanized, but hopefully someone, ANYONE who is going through this will just take their precious cat to the vet when they are sick.
I’ve had kitty since he was 6 weeks old; he grew up on the same wet and dry food since the day I had him. When he was about 7 years old, he started puking up ALL of his food, wet or dry. At that time, I was unemployed and “web diagnosed” him. Everything that I read was that he maybe had an allergy, or a sensitive stomach. So, I tried lots of other cat foods until I found something that didn’t make him vomit.
I found a great wet and a great dry food combo for him that seemed to relieve the puking… for 4 years. So, about 2 months ago, he started puking up his food again. I mean, he couldn’t keep anything down… I reverted to the same web diagnosis as before… that he had developed some allergy to something in his food. We went right back to trying this food and that food until we found a combo that wouldn’t make him throw up.
I learned all about unnecessary additives that were making many cats sick, and decided to go to an all natural wet/ dry food combo. It relieved his symptoms again… BUT… he wasn’t the LEAST bit interested in the expensive food I was bringing home.
I also noticed that he was losing weight, but selfishly thought, “when he’s hungry, he’ll eat something”, I want to die right now that THAT is the route I chose.
Oh, when he was at the vet this morning, he weighed 12.2lbs… he’d lost almost 3lbs in a matter of days.
I LOVED my baby, he was the best friend a girl could ask for, so please don’t ridicule me for not paying attention to the warning signs. I still feel like I am the one who killed my cat by not taking him to the vet the first time he started not being able to stomach his cat food.
Just to anyone who is out there, reading this… if you think that something is wrong… THEN SOMETHING IS WRONG!!!!! Your vet is your friend. They went into this profession because they LOVE animals. I can only imagine that if I spent the $50 to take kitty to the vet 4 years ago, then we may have learned about this… or… maybe I expidited things by feeding him the wrong food, I’ll never know.
I do know that it seemed to happen so fast, and I am so sad, and I really appreciate this board.
I miss my friend. He left me, my fiance and a little sister behind, and I wish that I would have done something sooner for my friend. I am so sad and I feel so guilty… my little man. I am certain that I am the cause of his death because I chose to go to the internet to diagnose him instead of paying a minimal fee to find out that something was really wrong.
I wish, I wish, I wish… that’s all I can say. And the fact that it just happened SO FAST, I dunno, I am having a really hard time with that. Did it REALLY happen that fast?? Or has it been happening for years and I was just too cheap, selfish and self involved to care? I am so sad, I miss my cuddle buddy. His sister doesn’t realize he’s gone, yet… but what happens when SHE starts getting depressed?
UGH, now I’m just getting/ being rediculous!!!! Thanks to whoever created this website. I am so sorry that you suffered this horrible loss; and am so greatful that you created a place to go to chat about things.
TAKE YOUR CATS TO THE VET!!!!!!!!!!! VET IS YOUR FRIEND!!!!!
the SAME THING JUST HAPPENED TO US. the fluid, the coughing noise, all so suddenly. My cat was put down today, he was only four or five. I loved him, so fluffy </3 :'(
i just lost a kitty I was sitting. I have only a faint idea why, but it was an agonizing, painful death. He had a habit of getting into the garbage. I tried to get him to a vet but he bit me, so I had to take care of me. He wound up pooping all over the house, hacking up blood, and making the most terrible sounds I had ever heard. Telling my friend will be hard. I feel so horrible.
@Iris The same exact thing happened to me house sitting a kitty. We suspect it was poisoning from chocolate as he ate pieces of as brownie.
Some people I know have had cats that suddenly got sick and die out of nowhere within hours. Two died with their insides looking like a mess. A few cats I know have diabetes! I don’t want the same thing to happen to my kitty, so I did a lot of research.
I strongly suspect it is the diet we are feeding our cats. The companies that mass produce food are just out to make money, and they don’t care if the food they push out is healthy. Cats are “obligatory carnivores” which means they should be eating MEAT. Furthermore, cats are hunters and usually catch things like rodents and eat them RAW over a period of days, including the bones. Cats are not fishers and not supposed to eat fish, as it gives cats kidney problems. So why do companies feed cats things like FISH and dry foods? Because it is cheap to produce, and they make more sales from lower cost products.
If you want your kitties to live, please stop feeding them garbage! Please feed them raw meats like chicken, turkey and rabbit preferably with ground up bones. Please also research this for yourself as to take care to do it properly.
Just last friday I had to put my cat down after her kidneys gave out as a result of eating an easter lily. She was 14 years old but still in excellent condition. We had even taken her to the vet about a year prior and he said verbatim “there is absolutely nothing wrong with this cat”. I’m very much in shock and heartbroken. I just can’t get the images out of my head of her lying on the vet table, limbs sprawled out, with her eyes half shut. She literally looked like one of those animal carpets, only still holding on to the last teeny tiny ounce of life she had left in her. All because she had innocently nibbled on the end of the leaves of a stupid plant. Words can’t even describe how much I wish I had known about how lethal those cat-killers are. I feel like I lost a family member and it hurts so much more knowing that her death was caused not by old age but by a freak accident. RIP Chloe…
This is hard for me to do but I figure it will help the healing process. I found my little guy Asante outside of my building and took him in. We immediately bonded and became best pals. He was loving, affectionate, and pretty much acted like a human. My friends were baffled at how he seemed to want to be one of the “guys”. Unfortunately I had to move to a small town to live with my parent for awhile. So he became an indoor/outdoor cat. He was always indoors to sleep at night. I was presented with a chance to move back to toronto with some friends to get back on my feet. So I left Asante with my parents whom came to adore him also. Before I said goodbye I held him and promised him that I would be back in 2 months as soon as I got a new bachelor apt. My dad promised that he would make sure that he was in at night. As I walked to the bus stop Asante sat in the front window and watched me walk away. I had only been gone for 30 days when my sister messaged me informing me that Asante had passed unexpectedly. He was fine playing and eating properly then a half hour later he looked like he was sleeping on the front lawn but he was gone. My father buried him in the backyard. I have this horrible feeling of guilt and I’m still in shock. He was about 5 and I don’t understand why he passed at such a young age? I will never forget you Asante. Pops will always love you.