Our 2 year old baby suddenly died

Hi everyone,

 Our family cat, who was just a little over 2 years old died suddenly yesterday.

He was an orange tabby that was so full of life & personality. Needless to say, our family is heartbroken. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas about what possibly could've happened to him? He LOVED to spend time outdoors, so although we were nervous about him getting injured, he was a persistent little guy and would yeowl constantly and very loud until we let him out.

He developed a pattern. He would go out at night & greet us on the porch in the morning, waiting to be fed. He would stay inside the house 'til we got home from work, eat, then go outside again.

My husband found him in our backyard. His eyes were open. We had saliva on the side of his mouth. We do not think he had been gone very long because he was not too stiff or cold. We have NO idea what happened! He was playing and acting completely normal the evening before. We last saw him around 11:30 p.m. We are so upset. We called the vet and she said it could've been a number of things. Heart disease, hit by a car, etc. We thought maybe he was poisoned but the vet thinks he would have been showing signs of illness before he died.

Can anyone please help? I know I will never know exactly what happened, but the thoughts of him suffering are driving me crazy. I'm sorry to go on and on but we have cried buckets the last 2 days & we just can't imagine life without him. I feel so guilty for not keeping him safe. He was only 2 years old. I know we couldn't have loved him more, but it's agony knowing his lifetime was so short.

~Missing our baby

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss.  Our kitties really are part of the family

Without a necropsy there is no way of knowing for sure, but I would think that poisoning is a possibility.

Praying for you and your families hearts during this difficult time
 

Poor baby, and poor you. I'm very sorry for your loss. As Tracy posted, only a necropsy would give you certainty as to the cause of death. RIP, little one.

 <3((((((((^^))))))))<3 sweet boy, forever Loved 



I am so very sorry for your loss of your precious boy.  Poison (or something that is toxic, such as some plants, antifreeze, or some other substance) sounds like a possibility.  But the fact is that cats are not safe outdoors, no matter where one lives; and it is strongly suggested by experts and caregivers that cats be kept indoors only, for their safety and your peace of mind.  

Outdoor cats get into so much trouble. I'm sorry. Sounds like poison to me

I cannot express how much I appreciate the kinds words. It's so hard to articulate how difficult this is. I do blame myself for letting him outside; I wish I could go back in time.

Thank you for the thoughtful responses.

~Kitty's Mama

Sorry about your loss.
Sounds just like what happened to my sister's husky. She was perfectly fine, went out, did her bussiness, came back in, and watched my sister make breakfast.
I then woke up to the sound of my sister screaming and came in to find Sierra dead on the floor. She was poisoned.

kittykennys said:

I cannot express how much I appreciate the kinds words. It's so hard to articulate how difficult this is. I do blame myself for letting him outside; I wish I could go back in time.

Thank you for the thoughtful responses.

~Kitty's Mama

Click to expand...

Please don't beat yourself up about this.  You didn't intend any harm to come to him   We are here to listen

I talked to Kitty's regular vet this a.m. He seems to think it was some kind of trauma (hit by a car) or natural causes (a heart condition, blot clot, etc.). The vet said it is too late to perform an necropsy since we found him Saturday a.m. Also, they often do not find the cause

I know this sounds so cliche, but PLEASE give your kitties a big hug. You never know what could happen.

Thanks again for the responses. I can't tell you how comforting it is.

~Kitty's Mama

I am very sorry to hear of your loss of Kitty.... so heartbreaking for you and your family. My deepest sympathies to you.

Fly Freely Kitty

Thanks again for the replies.

Of course I second guess my decision to let our little guy go outside.  I just always believed his quality of life it the most important thing. (And I still do)

Still, though it's heartbreaking to our family.

I actually talked to Kitty's vet about letting him outside. He had a urinary blockage last Fall & the vet thinks it may have been caused by stress. I wanted to do

everything I could to keep him healthy & asked the vet if he thought I should keep in inside. He said this could actually cause more stress to our sweet boy. He

suggested we not disrupt his usual patterns. Ultimately though, it was my decision to let him out & I take full responsibility for my decision.

Still, my heart aches for our precious Kitty.

I sincerely thank everyone who has replied to this thread. Words cannot describe the comfort after reading them.

Blessings to each one of you.

Your posts just break my heart.

I have lost 2 kitties in the last 6 months to heart disease.  One very suddenly was my 2 year old girl, Beeshee Marie.  One day she was fine.  The next she was gone.  After she passed, white fluid was released from her lungs and came out her mouth.  I wonder if this is what you saw.

Being so young, the vet said it was hereditary and nothing could have been done.

I am so sorry you have no answers.  My heart goes out to you.

God bless you and your sweet kitty.

farleyv said:

Your posts just break my heart.

I have lost 2 kitties in the last 6 months to heart disease.  One very suddenly was my 2 year old girl, Beeshee Marie.  One day she was fine.  The next she was gone.  After she passed, white fluid was released from her lungs and came out her mouth.  I wonder if this is what you saw.

Being so young, the vet said it was hereditary and nothing could have been done.

I am so sorry you have no answers.  My heart goes out to you.

God bless you and your sweet kitty.

Click to expand...

I'm so sorry. I could not imagine losing 2 kitties in 6 months. You are a very caring & loving person to be able to console others while you have dealt with major losses. I'm very, very sorry.

I appreciate your input on what could have happened to our kitty. It's been a non-stop thought process trying to figure out what possibly could've happened to him. It really comforted me when I

read your post because it sounds so much like what happened to our little guy. Hopefully,  with God's grace, none of our kitties had to sufffer.

Again, thank you for your considerate response.

God bless you and your kitties as well