Illness in cat

Question
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Followup To
Question -
My cat woke us up the other morning wailing and going around in circles on her side on the floor. She finally stopped and tried to get up. She had little control of her back legs. She died later that day. What could possibly been the cause of this?

Thanks.
Answer -
Ann, I am so horribly sorry for you loss.  I know how heartbreaking the death of a "furbaby" is, especially when it's out of the blue. My heart goes out to you.
I have a few questions before I can give you an answer.  If you would be so kind as to reply with the answers, I will have some possibilites as to what caused your cat's death. I'll number the questions, so you can just copy and paste to answer.
1. How old was your cat? 15 years
2. Was she spayed? yes
3. Have you used any over the counter flea/tick products on her within the past month? no
4. Were there any other symptoms prior like loss of appetite, increased drinking, abnormal litter box habits...anything that was out of the ordinary? no
5. Is there any access to any cleaners, poisons, plants, wires, ect. in your home that she may have gotten into? no
6. Did she have access to the outdoors? no
Thank you so much for bearing with me.  Once I have this information, I will be able to pinpoint what has caused her death better.
Thank you and I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
Again, I am so very sorry for your loss.  No matter how long those little furry angels are with us, they manage to etch their little paw prints in our hearts forever.
Hilary

Thanks for your concern.

Ann

Answer
Hi Ann!  Thanks so much for answering my questions.  Now that I know that this was not a form of a toxicity, a deadly uteran infection, and that your cat was elderly, I would have to say the cause of death was probably due to cancer.
The reason I say this:
Cats and dogs alike will hide from their owners when they are gravely ill.  It is highly common for elderly cats to develop tumors or masses in their abdominal area.  There are usually no symptoms unless the mass is surfaced and can be felt through the skin.  What happens is, this mass continues to grow and swell within the abdominal crevice.  The more it swells, the more difficult digestion becomes.  Then, one day it becomes large enough to completely block the intestinal track, and it acts as an intestinal blockage.
Because of the constant pressure of this mass, it pushes the intestines and other organs until they are being "choked" so to speak, against the spinal cord.  This causes a thromboembolism, which is a blood clot that lodges itself into the spinal cord.  This blood clot very quickly blocks all the blood passage into the hind limbs, causing slight to complete paralysis of the hind quarters, lack of balance, ect.  The blood clot then travels into the brain, causing a very untimely, unexpected death.  Without seeing your cat, it is hard to be positive, but I have seen this happen with many cats, displaying the same symptoms your cat has.  I hope that this gives you a peace of mind, knowing that your kitty passed away pain free, and knowing that there really was nothing you could do for her but love her as you did.
If you have anymore questions, please feel free to ask.  Take care and my thoughts are with you,
Hilary