Our Beloved 4 Year Old Kitty Died Out of the Blue!!

[MOSFET]

Hello to all.

We have had a terrible family tragedy. Our most beloved cat, Austin, died
suddenly yesterday for no apparent reason. He had been acting perfectly
normal and loving like he always does. I went to take a nap (as I often do
on Sunday's) and Austin always lays next to me when I do. When I woke up he
was lying next to me, per usual, curled up and head on a pillow. I started
to pet him and my first thought was, boy, you sure are sleeping deeply
(usually all cats will flinch or wake when they are sleeping and you go to
pet them). I then realized his eyes were half open and he wasn't breathing.

I have NEVER seen anything like this. He must have died in his sleep.
There was no vomit, no urine, no signs of distress. He appears to have
instantly died in his sleep. He was only four years old and was our
favorite of our six cats. Needless to say, my family is in a state of
morning today. My wife is worried that whatever killed Ausin could kill the
other cats, but we had just wormed all our cats so we can pretty much rule
out heart-worms.

My sister-in-law suggested a brain-aneurysm. I thought perhaps massive
heart failure.

Does anybody have any thoughts on this? Should I be concerned for my other
cats? Any advice or information would be welcome. Thank you very much.

Nick

[[email protected]]

MOSFET wrote:
> Hello to all.
>
> We have had a terrible family tragedy. Our most beloved cat, Austin,
died
> suddenly yesterday for no apparent reason. He had been acting
perfectly
> normal and loving like he always does. I went to take a nap (as I
often do
> on Sunday's) and Austin always lays next to me when I do. When I
woke up he
> was lying next to me, per usual, curled up and head on a pillow. I
started
> to pet him and my first thought was, boy, you sure are sleeping
deeply
> (usually all cats will flinch or wake when they are sleeping and you
go to
> pet them). I then realized his eyes were half open and he wasn't
breathing.


I am so sorry you lost Austin.
It really sounds like cardiomyopathy to me, although the cats I've
known who died from it died younger than age 4.
I know it's too late now, but taking him for necropsy is about the only
definitive way to be sure. It certainly doesn't sound like anything
contagious, or heartworm either, if I understand correctly that he had
no visible symptoms of illness before.
I know you and your family will miss him dreadfully.

Sherry

[Mary]

"MOSFET" > wrote in message
...
> Hello to all.
>
> We have had a terrible family tragedy. Our most beloved cat, Austin, died
> suddenly yesterday for no apparent reason. He had been acting perfectly
> normal and loving like he always does. I went to take a nap (as I often
do
> on Sunday's) and Austin always lays next to me when I do. When I woke up
he
> was lying next to me, per usual, curled up and head on a pillow. I
started
> to pet him and my first thought was, boy, you sure are sleeping deeply
> (usually all cats will flinch or wake when they are sleeping and you go to
> pet them). I then realized his eyes were half open and he wasn't
breathing.
>
> I have NEVER seen anything like this. He must have died in his sleep.
> There was no vomit, no urine, no signs of distress. He appears to have
> instantly died in his sleep. He was only four years old and was our
> favorite of our six cats. Needless to say, my family is in a state of
> morning today. My wife is worried that whatever killed Ausin could kill
the
> other cats, but we had just wormed all our cats so we can pretty much rule
> out heart-worms.
>
> My sister-in-law suggested a brain-aneurysm. I thought perhaps massive
> heart failure.
>
> Does anybody have any thoughts on this? Should I be concerned for my
other
> cats? Any advice or information would be welcome. Thank you very much.
>
> Nick
>

Oh, God, Nick, this has got to be everyone's worst nightmare.
I am so sorry. No, I have never heard of it.

[Monique Y. Mudama]

On 2005-04-04, MOSFET penned:
>
> My sister-in-law suggested a brain-aneurysm. I thought perhaps
> massive heart failure.
>
> Does anybody have any thoughts on this? Should I be concerned for
> my other cats? Any advice or information would be welcome. Thank
> you very much.
>
> Nick
>

My condolences on your loss of Austin. If you're really concerned,
you could have your vet autopsy him to try to find out what happened.

A friend of mine's perfectly healthy, young adult Rottweiler died in a
similarly sudden way. She had him autopsied, but unfortunately they
didn't find anything obvious. The suspicion was that he'd somehow
developed a blood clot that got to his brain.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

[ceb]

"MOSFET" > wrote in
:

> Does anybody have any thoughts on this? Should I be concerned for my
> other cats? Any advice or information would be welcome. Thank you
> very much.
>
>

When one of my cats died suddenly, I called the vet to see what she
thought. It was similar to yours, except Meem had been awake and walking,
and was clearly suddenly felled right where she was. I wasn't home at the
time but it looked like it must have happened quickly. It was quite a
shock. The vet said it was probably a stroke.

I am so sorry for your loss.

--
Catherine
& Rosalie the calico

[Christine Geary]

"MOSFET" > wrote in message
...
> Hello to all.
>
> We have had a terrible family tragedy. Our most beloved cat, Austin, died
> suddenly yesterday for no apparent reason. He had been acting perfectly
> normal and loving like he always does. I went to take a nap (as I often
do
> on Sunday's) and Austin always lays next to me when I do. When I woke up
he
> was lying next to me, per usual, curled up and head on a pillow. I
started
> to pet him and my first thought was, boy, you sure are sleeping deeply
> (usually all cats will flinch or wake when they are sleeping and you go to
> pet them). I then realized his eyes were half open and he wasn't
breathing.
>
> I have NEVER seen anything like this. He must have died in his sleep.
> There was no vomit, no urine, no signs of distress. He appears to have
> instantly died in his sleep. He was only four years old and was our
> favorite of our six cats. Needless to say, my family is in a state of
> morning today. My wife is worried that whatever killed Ausin could kill
the
> other cats, but we had just wormed all our cats so we can pretty much rule
> out heart-worms.
>
> My sister-in-law suggested a brain-aneurysm. I thought perhaps massive
> heart failure.
>
> Does anybody have any thoughts on this? Should I be concerned for my
other
> cats? Any advice or information would be welcome. Thank you very much.
>
> Nick
>
>
>

Nick,

I'm sorry for your loss. I think that you should have the cat equivalent of
a human autopsy to see what the cat died of and to make sure that whatever
he had doesn't spread to your other cats.

Christine

[Karen]

I'm so sorry :( My first thought was heart failure. You should really have
a necropsy done to find out and make sure so you can at least feel confident
about your other kitties health in case it was something else. I really am
very very sorry :(


"MOSFET" > wrote in message
...
> Hello to all.
>
> We have had a terrible family tragedy. Our most beloved cat, Austin, died
> suddenly yesterday for no apparent reason. He had been acting perfectly
> normal and loving like he always does. I went to take a nap (as I often
do
> on Sunday's) and Austin always lays next to me when I do. When I woke up
he
> was lying next to me, per usual, curled up and head on a pillow. I
started
> to pet him and my first thought was, boy, you sure are sleeping deeply
> (usually all cats will flinch or wake when they are sleeping and you go to
> pet them). I then realized his eyes were half open and he wasn't
breathing.
>
> I have NEVER seen anything like this. He must have died in his sleep.
> There was no vomit, no urine, no signs of distress. He appears to have
> instantly died in his sleep. He was only four years old and was our
> favorite of our six cats. Needless to say, my family is in a state of
> morning today. My wife is worried that whatever killed Ausin could kill
the
> other cats, but we had just wormed all our cats so we can pretty much rule
> out heart-worms.
>
> My sister-in-law suggested a brain-aneurysm. I thought perhaps massive
> heart failure.
>
> Does anybody have any thoughts on this? Should I be concerned for my
other
> cats? Any advice or information would be welcome. Thank you very much.
>
> Nick
>
>
>

[kaeli]

In article >,
enlightened us with...
> Hello to all.
>
> We have had a terrible family tragedy. Our most beloved cat, Austin, died
> suddenly yesterday for no apparent reason.

Wow; I am so sorry for your loss. This has to be heartbreaking. I lost one of
my cats very young from a congential kidney problem, but at least I had some
warning, if only a couple days.

I'd have a necropsy done, myself, just to see what happened.
I really doubt it was something contagious, but better safe than sorry. It
sounds to me like congenital heart failure or a stroke of some kind, but
IANAV...

My condolences to you and your family.

--
--
~kaeli~
Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is
serious.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

[Suzanne D via CatKB.com]

I am so sorry about your loss...Don't know where Austin is now, I'm
assuming he is at the vet's..You also have to think of yourself, keep your
mind sane for the other cats and loved ones in your life, go to a place
where you can think about Austin, someplace out of the house.

If you live by a park or beach it might be a good idea to just go and sit
there for awhile. Maybe make it the same time each day so you have that
ritual to look forward to and comfort you.

take care..

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

[John Ross Mc Master]

On Mon, 4 Apr 2005 10:36:31 -0700, "MOSFET" >
wrote:

>Hello to all.
>
>We have had a terrible family tragedy. Our most beloved cat, Austin, died
>suddenly yesterday for no apparent reason. He had been acting perfectly
>normal and loving like he always does. I went to take a nap (as I often do
>on Sunday's) and Austin always lays next to me when I do. When I woke up he
>was lying next to me, per usual, curled up and head on a pillow. I started
>to pet him and my first thought was, boy, you sure are sleeping deeply
>(usually all cats will flinch or wake when they are sleeping and you go to
>pet them). I then realized his eyes were half open and he wasn't breathing.
>
>I have NEVER seen anything like this. He must have died in his sleep.
>There was no vomit, no urine, no signs of distress. He appears to have
>instantly died in his sleep. He was only four years old and was our
>favorite of our six cats. Needless to say, my family is in a state of
>morning today. My wife is worried that whatever killed Ausin could kill the
>other cats, but we had just wormed all our cats so we can pretty much rule
>out heart-worms.
>
>My sister-in-law suggested a brain-aneurysm. I thought perhaps massive
>heart failure.
>
>Does anybody have any thoughts on this? Should I be concerned for my other
>cats? Any advice or information would be welcome. Thank you very much.
>
>Nick
>
>
My prayers are with you.

[Mathew Kagis]

Many condolences.... What a shock!!!! I agree with the other posts, if it
were something contagous, there most likely would have been symptoms. this
sounds like something pysical... ie. anurism, heart failure, stroke. I'm
willing to bet your other cats will be fine.

In Sorrow

--
Mathew
Butler to 2 kittens: Chablis & Muscat
En Vino Veritas
"MOSFET" > wrote in message
...
> Hello to all.
>
> We have had a terrible family tragedy. Our most beloved cat, Austin, died
> suddenly yesterday for no apparent reason. He had been acting perfectly
> normal and loving like he always does. I went to take a nap (as I often
do
> on Sunday's) and Austin always lays next to me when I do. When I woke up
he
> was lying next to me, per usual, curled up and head on a pillow. I
started
> to pet him and my first thought was, boy, you sure are sleeping deeply
> (usually all cats will flinch or wake when they are sleeping and you go to
> pet them). I then realized his eyes were half open and he wasn't
breathing.
>
> I have NEVER seen anything like this. He must have died in his sleep.
> There was no vomit, no urine, no signs of distress. He appears to have
> instantly died in his sleep. He was only four years old and was our
> favorite of our six cats. Needless to say, my family is in a state of
> morning today. My wife is worried that whatever killed Ausin could kill
the
> other cats, but we had just wormed all our cats so we can pretty much rule
> out heart-worms.
>
> My sister-in-law suggested a brain-aneurysm. I thought perhaps massive
> heart failure.
>
> Does anybody have any thoughts on this? Should I be concerned for my
other
> cats? Any advice or information would be welcome. Thank you very much.
>
> Nick
>
>
>

[ElvisRocks]

I am so very sorry. I would imagine it was some kind of heart issue.
My heart goes out to you....Carol

"MOSFET" > wrote in message
...
> Hello to all.
>
> We have had a terrible family tragedy. Our most beloved cat, Austin, died
> suddenly yesterday for no apparent reason. He had been acting perfectly
> normal and loving like he always does. I went to take a nap (as I often
> do
> on Sunday's) and Austin always lays next to me when I do. When I woke up
> he
> was lying next to me, per usual, curled up and head on a pillow. I
> started
> to pet him and my first thought was, boy, you sure are sleeping deeply
> (usually all cats will flinch or wake when they are sleeping and you go to
> pet them). I then realized his eyes were half open and he wasn't
> breathing.
>
> I have NEVER seen anything like this. He must have died in his sleep.
> There was no vomit, no urine, no signs of distress. He appears to have
> instantly died in his sleep. He was only four years old and was our
> favorite of our six cats. Needless to say, my family is in a state of
> morning today. My wife is worried that whatever killed Ausin could kill
> the
> other cats, but we had just wormed all our cats so we can pretty much rule
> out heart-worms.
>
> My sister-in-law suggested a brain-aneurysm. I thought perhaps massive
> heart failure.
>
> Does anybody have any thoughts on this? Should I be concerned for my
> other
> cats? Any advice or information would be welcome. Thank you very much.
>
> Nick
>
>
>
>