Our cat died today, why?

Question
Hello Jessica,

Thank you so much for taking my question.

We had the weirdest thing happen today. Our cat was up on the counter eating breakfast this morning, and she fell off the counter. My husband went to her and her eyes were glazed over and she took only a few more shallow breaths and just died!

She was a sweet Siamese cat, not pure bred or anything. We have had her since she was a tiny kitten, 7 years now. We also have her sister.

We are all shocked and so broken hearted. She was a great cat. Why did this happen, do you know?

One other thing. I know our neighbor hates cats. He trapped this same cat about a month ago, in a live trap. Since then we've kept a close eye on all our animals.

I'm wondering if this could be something caused by poison? We have 2 cats and 2 dogs still and I am so worried he might be trying to poison them!

Her name was Be, for "Blue Eyes". She was so beautiful. Our 11 year old daughter and our Dachsun are just broken hearted. We all are. We had literally been petting her in our bed this morning moments before this happened. She seemed fine! Each morning she would knead on a specific blanket and she slept beside me this morning. How did this happen right after she was acting totally fine?

As a side note, this cat would eat anything. She wasn't the brightest cat, but she sure was the sweetest.

I would be so grateful if you could help me.

Thank you,

Shelly

Answer
Hi Shelly,

I'm so sorry to hear this. I wouldn't really suspect poisoning in this case. Poisoning usually causes symptoms before death, such as salivation, seizures, bleeding from the mouth or rectum, jaundice, loss of appetite, dyscoordination, etc. Poisoning usually causes a comparatively slow death.

What typically causes a very sudden death like this is a heart problem - cardiac arrest, usually due to cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat). Your kitty was at a common age for this to happen. Heart problems often develop early in life and get progressively worse. Many cats die before reaching their senior years, and nearly all before 10.

Cardiac arrhythmias are difficult to detect because at times, the heartbeat can be normal. So during exams, they may not be present. They can wax and wane, and they can become so intense that the heart stops. Often, the heart skips beats, and we are unaware. The cat could appear a little "woozy". But most times, irregular heartbeats are completely unsuspected. When the heart finally skips too many beats, the cat dies very suddenly. It never shows signs of being ill.

If the irregular heartbeat is detected on an exam, there are sometimes medications that can be given to extend the cat's life. But heart problems are difficult to control.

Without a necropsy, it's impossible to say for sure what happened, but I really think this is a very likely explanation.

I wish you the best during this time of sadness.
Jessica