Cat Death

Question
My cat died last night. She was an outdoor/indoor cat, 5 years old, fixed with all vaccinations current. Before I let her out for the night she seemed in perfect health, a very active cat.

She was found in my neighbor's yard with no visible wounds. There was a very small amount of discharge from her nose and her mouth was slightly bloody but not on the outside. The fur on her chest was matted as if she had salivated/vomited on it or licked it severely.

The theories are 1) Snake/Scorpion Bite, 2) Poison Ingestion, 3) Fall from a great height.

What do you think? Thanks for your time.

Answer
Mike,
I am so sorry to hear about your cat. I lost a cat in a similar fashion at the same age many years ago. He went out on my deck after eating breakfast and just fell over dead.

But a cat that is out at night is subject to many dangerous things. Cats are attacked by dogs, hit by cars, etc. If you had looked closely there may have been puncture wounds from a dog grabbing her in the middle and just biting down hard. The dog doesn't have to shake them or do anything else. Their jaws are strong enough to squeeze the cat and while their fangs are in the cat the expansion of her chest drives the teeth in deeper. I don't mean to be graphic here but it is hard to understand unless I explain it.

If a car hit her all it has to do is clip her in the head or the side to make her rupture a blood vessel and bleed out internally. Since you did find some wetness and matting on her chest I am guessing a dog did this.

Cats do not eat poison food the way dogs do. They are too picky and just don't do that. Snakes usually strike at the head and rarely do they kill a cat that fast- unless we are talking about very poisonous snakes. I don't know where you live here in the US so it could be anything.

Falls certainly can kill a cat but you would see more damage. Are there skyscrapers where you live?

Scorpions rarely bother with a cat. They save their venom for their intended dinner.

You could always have the vet take a look inside and determine what happened. Not that they are always conclusive, but a necropsy does give you some peace of mind knowing what may have been or not.

I am sorry for your loss. I bring my cat in every night because I live where there are coyotes, foxes and even raccoons that will attack cats.

That is about all I can offer you. Again, I am sorry for your loss.