Do cats go away to die?

[huggles]

oh Susan how incredibly sad

 

[momof3rugratz]

I m so sorry...

 

[lovemybabies]

We found my old guy, Wuzzy, lying in the garden waiting for his time to come. We took him to the vet right away, and tests came back that he had cancer. If my dad hadn't gone out to pull weeds, he probably would have passed there.

I think cats that are more independent (like Wuzzy) tend to go away to pass on, whereas more dependent ones won't. Our orange fellow, Zeebo, passed 6 weeks before Wuzzy did, and he was always very dependent on us (showed up at our door years ago and never left). He stayed close to the house in the days leading up to his time, and the day we had to put him down, he wouldn't leave my room.

 

[furryferals]

I will say a prayer tonight that she is found safe and well

{{{{be found safe vibes}}}}

 

[nath 1]

This is very much possible that this is what happened to your colleague's cat. A fried of mine's cat, aged 19, got out one day, to be found dead the day after under a bush next to her house. This cat had not been out by herself in years, and insisted to go outside. Probably left to die alone.

 

[xocats]

Susan...you have such a loving heart.

That poor kitty.

 

[chingchang2000]

My cat was born in 2000 and she went missing this november 21st, 2008. we looked everywhere for her all around town, posted many signs and shelters, neighbors were on watch. after 2 weeks of sleepless nights and searching, we were just hoping and waiting for her to come home or someone to call saying they found her. today, on december 11th we were downstairs in the basement which is used frequently, and where we had searched many times after she went missing because she liked going down there. we found her atop a box curled up, it looked like she was sleeping. after researching i guess cats really do go somewhere to die, but im so confused because nothing seemed to be wrong with her, she hadnt seemed sick at all prior to that friday the 21st.

i read in an earlier post that someones cat kept wanting to go outside, and Ching Chang kept jumping at the door and meowing at it the week before she went missing, which was unusual for her. normally she would like to roam out on the deck with me every once in a while but not like this. well today we found her and i just wish i knew what had happened. i hope she went peacefully

 

[jscole]

I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty

... judging by how you found her and that she looked like she was sleeping, it sounds like she did go peacefully... cats have a way of hiding pain very well, it's very likely that there were no signs at all that she was sick... again, I'm sorry for your loss

 

[chingchang2000]

I hope so.. and thank you for the condolences.

I see everyone else on here has pictures, here was a picture of Ching Chang


Ching last Christmas, Dec. 2007


i love you

 

[denice]

I grew up on a farm and I believe that given the chance both dogs and cats will go away to die.

 

[babywukong]

Yes I think animals do go away to die. When Noodle (a little stray with diaphragmatic hernia) came back from his major surgery, my friends tried to keep him warm and spend time with him. But this normally cuddly kitten refused to stay with them and kept trying to get away. Not too long after, he passed on.

 

[littleraven7726]

Originally Posted by xocats

My guess is that when cats are ill or injured...instead of going away to die, their instinct tells them to hide, in an attempt to avoid becoming the prey of a stronger predator.
I would exhaust all attempts to find this kitty before I gave up.

When Raven

was closer to the end (he had untreatable Fibrosarcoma) he would hide more often than he ever did. I had actually purchased a couple cave type forts/beds specifically because I knew he liked them. I think he wasn't feeling well and wanted to hide (from predators and the other cats). He didn't try to go outside though.

I hope your co-worker finds her kitty.

 

[marting]

Dear All

I've never really been a cat lover, until 2 years ago when my girlfriend moved in with her 2 8 year olds. Having bonded with the male 'Bud(weiser)' I have learned to appreciate how much cats can bring to our lives.

Today we heard that Bud most likely has FeLV and it is truly heartbreaking to think that he may not be around much longer. We are selfishly keeping him indoors for fear that his efforts to leave the house are to find a place to settle for the final time. I decided to search for information on this as I didn't know if it is true, and I came upon your forum.

I just wanted to say that right now I feel very sad for anyone who has seen a feline friend just go away without the chance to say goodbye. We are giving as much love as we are able in case the inevitible is closer than we fear. All your words of encouragement to each other are inspirational. Thank you.

 

[lostmary]

I also think they go away to die. I am an old time vet tech, and I remember the dr. I was working for tell me that cats want to be alone at the end. He also told me that sometimes when they know the time is up, that they will put them selves out of their misery. Ex. He knew of a cat that scratched out a small indent into the ground and put his face in it to die. It may just have been a story, I don't know, but I do think it is possible.

Mary

 

[merindah]

Martin,
Welcome to the site. I'm sorry to hear your sad news.

 

[kittybernard]

I also think it's an instinct more than anything.

Originally Posted by lostmary

I also think they go away to die. I am an old time vet tech, and I remember the dr. I was working for tell me that cats want to be alone at the end. He also told me that sometimes when they know the time is up, that they will put them selves out of their misery. Ex. He knew of a cat that scratched out a small indent into the ground and put his face in it to die. It may just have been a story, I don't know, but I do think it is possible.

Mary

Well, I know this isn't a cat, but my mother's childhood bulldog, Tuffy, supposedly committed suicide. When she and her mother were moving into another apartment, they left the dog at their old house at night until they got everything settled. They were there every day moving things and checked on him at night. (He was still young, totally healthy and had been left home during certain trips in years before with someone who would check on him, etc..) During one of these checkups my uncle let him out front to go potty when he got out the front gate and walked into the street, standing where the dump truck pulls in. Despite calling him, he just stared out at the dump truck that was a few houses up, so my uncle went out, picked him up and brought him back inside. My uncle must not have closed the door completely because minutes later, after he retrieved the last of the boxes, he saw Tuffy outside again through a window, standing in the exact same spot and staring at the dump truck (now at their house). He dropped everything and ran to get him, but halfway through the yard the truck ran him over. Tuffy didn't react in the slightest.

Very strange & very sad.. animals have intuition about all sorts of things. I can only wonder what might have caused him to do something like that.

Edit: Actually, my Mom's dad had died earlier that year.. maybe that had something to do with poor Tuffy.

 

[northernglow]

Originally Posted by xocats

My guess is that when cats are ill or injured...instead of going away to die, their instinct tells them to hide, in an attempt to avoid becoming the prey of a stronger predator.

I also think that this is what actually happens when they 'go away to die'.

I've seen it happen more than once.
My first cat, a blue persian called Herakles did that ten years ago. He was allowed to go outside because he never left the yard and usually just laid in the sun in front of the door. One day he disappeared and was nowhere to be found. He was 19 years old back then, so we kinda knew what happened.. He had lost his voice and hearing during his last year. My step-dad was his official owner, he told us kids that he had found the cat and taken it to the vet who had said that he died of old age. Now that I think of it, I don't think he ever found the cat because we didn't get to bury him or anything like that.
I miss him so much.

My grandfathers 18 year old cat had a cancer in his spine, he also went missing and when they found him, he had tried to chew his own tail off! Poor kitty was in so much pain.. They had to put him down at that very moment, it would have been just cruel to take him to the vet's office which was quite far.

 

[bettybooz]

I have a cat whos around 13 and she's been gone for almost a year now. She was gone for a few days then she came back but was acting weird and her tags was off. Then she left since that day and never came back.. We all wondered what happened to her, cause its a mystery.. Like we wonder how her tag was taken off and why she wasn't hungry.. But she's an old cat and she did have some problems where she kept being sick all the time. Im unsure about what happens to cats when they runaway. But if her cat was hanging around with some other people then it might have something to do with them..

 

[catspaw66]

The thread you have posted to has been dormant for 4 years.  Why don't you start a new thread and more people will see it.

 

[pikachu386]

your cat is was a very pretty cat. I know it is hard when a member of the family dies. sending prayers your way.