sensitive subject

Question

First let me say that I loved my cat and would never intentionally have done anything to hurt him. Here is my story. I need your opinion as to what might have happened. Our cat was found dead by me just a few days ago. I am heartbroken. He was laying just off the curb in the street about one block from my home. He was an inside - outside cat. He knew his way around, never had an incident. Around 5 years old. From a quick examination of his body, it appeared that he had bled from the mouth while laying where he was found as a maybe three inch diameter blood stain was evident under his mouth on the street. My immediate thought was that he had been hit by a car and killed that way, and that may be exactly what happened however his body seemed untouched, certainly not disfigured at all. What struck me as odd is that he was just a few inches from the curb. My cat was a curb walker. When we would see him like when I would be driving up my street, typically he would see my truck and he was almost always walking on top of the curb. If he was hit by a car, how often is  there no evident trauma to the body? And how would he end up at the curb? The part about this story that is crushing my heart is that a day and a half before, the cat was in the kitchen nagging badly for food as he always is. I was angry that he was so under my feet so I picked him up and "tossed" him into the living room which is carpeted. He landed awkwardly and rolled. He got up and appeared just as normal as before I tossed him, and of course he came right back into the kitchen. I then picked him up and put him outside that night, without tossing. He looked fine as ever as my eyes left him for the last time I would see him alive. I found him the next day in the morning where I said. There were garbage pails a few feet away from where I found him so I wondered also if it possible that he had been shot, perhaps by someone thinking he was a raccoon going near the garbage. If he were shot, that would account for the body laying next to the curb, especially him being a curb walker. What do you think? Could I have hurt him when I tossed him into the living room and could some injury have brought about his death?

Answer
Hi Kevin,

First of all let me say that I don't think anything you did contributed to his death.  At 5 years old a little awkward tumble would not have caused any significant injury so please put that out of your mind right now.  Its more likely that he was hit by a car, and no you might not see any other outward signs of trauma, his injuries may have all been internal.  He may have just walked into the street when it happened and was flung back to the curb, its hard to say.  I can say, though, that I'm quite certain nothing you did caused his death.  I'm so sorry for your loss but please don't blame yourself, we all get frustrated with our cats (just like with kids) and say and do things we regret later, especially when something like this happens.  Just remember the good times and when you're ready give a new kitty a wonderful home like you gave this one.