cat suddenly dies

Question
My cat Bo was 3.5 years old.  From the time he was born he was huge.  He was approximately the size of a beagle dog and weighted about 34+lbs.  He was solid.  Once in a while he sounded like he was wheezing but only when he layed a certain way.  Yesterday morning when he was in his litte box I heard a squeaking sound.  I assumed gas.  He was acting normal. Eating lots and drinking and biting my toes.  Last night we found him dead by my bed.  It was as if he was laying in his favorite position on his back, paws out, eyes closed mouth closed.  It looked like he was sleeping.  I am so devistated.  Could I have done something?  He was fixed and ate a low ash diet.  Are my other cats in danger?  They are normal weight.  Please advise.  I cant seem to stop crying or blaming myself.

Answer
Hi
i am so sorry to hear of your loss. It sounds to me that maybe he was born with some sort of condition that might have weaken his heart or caused his metabolism to be slow which made him put on weight.
You can't blame yourself over this, if he had been showing signs of being ill or in some distress you would have taken him to the vets but it sounds as if he was not showing any ill health signs so how would you have known. If you are really concerned you can always ask your vet to perform an autopsy to find out what the cause was but this can be expensive.
For your piece of mind you may like to read my pages (at bottom) about cat food nutrition to make sure that the food you are feeding your other cats is suitable but I'm sure all is well with it.
Once again i am sorry for your loss
Best wishes
Kate
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