Can cats since when there about to die?

A few days ago we found out that our wonderful kitty of 13 years had FIV, or feline AIDS. This is the first cat I have ever had and my aunt told my mom to be careful because cats often run away when they think they are about to die. Tonight we looked far and wide for Smokie and we couln't find him anywhere which is unlike him because he always comes when we call him. I think this might be the end. I am soooo sad. How true is it that cats do run away to die? Is this a pretty common thing?

I don't know if they necessarily run off to be alone to die but it is true that a sick or injured cat will often hide. This is a natural reaction for them.

I'm so sorry to hear that Smokie has FIV. If you find him please try and spend every moment that you can with him. I lost one of my cats to CRF back in June. When her time with me was nearing the end she wouldn't respond when called and spent most of her time perched in the window or on the dresser. Later on the would hide beneath the covers of the bed. She would never do that when she was healthy and hated to be under them. Her last few days she also suffered from dementia and rarely would recognize me or respond to my voice.

Bryan

Years ago right before my little peanut died she must have known the end was near. She was so sick and weak she could hardly walk and would not eat or drink. One day we could not find her in our bedroom where she had been laying for a couple days , so we searched the whole house and somehow even as weak as she was she crawled up a bunch of stairs and was way under a big bed upstairs waiting to die, we found her and rushed her to a animal hospital and she was there for about 3 days in a incubator [sp?] while they did tests to figure what was wrong, but she was getting fluid in her chest cavity and her kidneys were shutting down so there was nothing they could do for her.

I should say that she was given back to me from a vets office in that shape after a surgery because she had some vaginal discharge. She was not her normal self when she went in but still doing ok, the day I got her from that vet she was just limp in my arms all covered in her own waste, the vet told me it was no big deal and she would be fine after the surgery but she only lived about 5 days after she had the "simple" surgery. Even after all these years I still get very upset still talking about that whole mess.

I am sorry to go on about this on your tread, but I would say yes that they know when its time.

Except for my little Tuffy who died a little over 2 weeks ago from FIP, He had a 105.4 temp, his liver and kidneys were shutting down, he had lots of blood in his rectum, and yet that same morning the vet ended his suffering he was still trying to eat and drink and still trying his hardest to be Tuffy, he never gave up on living life right to the very end. He sure lived up to his name.

Animals know when they are dying. It's sad but true.

The reason animals hide in that condition is because they know they can't protect themselves when they're sick or weak. They're not specifically going away to die; they're trying to protect themselves.

When Teddy was at his worst a few weeks ago, he did nothing but sleep in a dark corner in my closet for most of the day. He went from being a happy, running around, greeting at the door, constantly talking cat to being a tiny pile of fluff on the closet floor.

Thankfully, medication has made him much better, but he did that knowing how sick he was and that he was in a lot of trouble. Sad, but telling.

My daughter's 14 year old cat ran away 2 weeks ago, and there has been no trace of him. He had started losing weight suddenly and rapidly, and took off before they could get him to the vet. An outside kitty that just moved in and never left got hit by a car, and crawled up on her porch for help.