Yesterday, Dec 7, 2008, my best friend passed away. He was only 10 years old and still acted like he did when he was a Kitten. I fed Mitty at the same time I have fed him all his life, but I noticed he didn't run ahead of me like he usually did, and then stop at the top of the stairs to see if I was really coming. He just walked beside me all the way up the stairs and then on to the bathroom where he was fed.
I didn't think much about it, until later, and now I see he was not feeling well yesterday morning. He had a good breakfast and went to his litter box later, so he didn't act very sick, just slower than usual. He went to sleep on my bed, while I took a shower, which was unusual too. He always warned me that taking a shower was very dangerous by mowing loudly every time I entered it. Yesterday he just slept.
Later on I left my office to go to the bathroom, and saw Mitty's body laying strangely in front of the bathroom door. I called to him, no response. I tried to gently shake him, to wake him up, but then I saw his eyes and I knew he was gone. I have no idea what took his life yesterday. He was so full of fun and joy the day before. My guess is a heart attack or stroke. I would sure appreciate anyone's ideas.
Heartbroken beyond words.
Dan
PS: Mitty was a mitted ragdoll, male, with the most wonderful personality of any cat I've ever known
I am so very sorry to hear about your loss
I am not a vet and the only sure way to determine cause of death would be an autopsy. I found the following excerpt doing a web search on cause of death of a cat:
Sudden death in cats occurs for several reasons. The most common ones are probably cardiomyopathy and heartworm disease. Both of these disorders can cause death with almost no warning at all. We have had a client whose cat went to jump from the couch to a chair near it and landed in the chair, dead. This cat had about four heartworms in the pulmonary arteries when we did a post mortem examination. As far as our client could tell, her cat was normal right up to the time that it died. Other clients have had similar experiences with cats who have had cardiomyopathy, although none quite
this dramatic. It seems odd that these disorders can be serious enough to cause death while not causing any warning symptoms but it really seems to be the case at times. Cardiomyopathy is probably the leading cause of anesthetic deaths in cats and most of the time the affected cats have no signs that are detected prior to the anesthetic crisis.
There are many other possible problems, though. Cats probably
occasionally are born with defects that can lead to sudden death, such as aneurysms that may suddenly rupture. Toxin exposure sometimes occurs without the cat owner being aware of it. Application of a dog flea control product containing permethrin sometimes results in accidental poisoning, although most cats do show clinical signs prior to the time that they die with
this particular toxic exposure.
Sometimes, there are signs of a serious illness that are subtle enough
that veterinary clients, or even veterinarians, miss them. Toxoplasmosis, feline infectious peritonitis, feline leukemia virus, hemobartonellosis, liver failure, chronic kidney failure and other diseases usually cause recognizable symptoms but in rare instances there are not clear-cut clinical signs and death appears to occur suddenly.
The only really good way to try to figure out the cause of a sudden
death is a post-mortem examination. For people who are really bothered by not knowing what happened, making plans to have a post-mortem examination in advance of the time when their pets die can provide answers, which is comforting in the long run for many people.
Mike Richards, DVM
10/1/2001
I dont have any answers but I am sorry for your loss.
Vicky
Mitty had regular checkups from a very good vet all his life. On the last visit the Dr. told us to only feed him twice a day, and to remove the food after 15 min. Mitty was a little over weight, at 19 lbs. the vet said. He had been on this died for about a year, up until yesterday. He looked fine and healthy and to just die like he did, is quite a shock.
I buried him yesterday, so an autopsy is not an option. I may never know what took his life, but my guess is his heart just gave out. This morning I put ten rocks on his grave, he was 10 years old, and made an M with them.
I can see the little memorial now, out my window. I miss him so much.
Dan
I am very sorry for your loss. Losing a beloved companion is a very hard thing. Talking about it helps, and it will get easier to remember the good times. I just recently lost my best friend as well, so I know what you must be going through. If you ever need to talk, feel free to PM me.
You have my deepest condolences.
Chris
I'm so terribly sorry for your loss of Mitty.
AWWW HOW SAD. I am sorry I don't have any answers for you as to why. I know it is very hard when you lose a family member.I lost my little magoo a few months age and I was just heart broken .The best advice that was given to me was to go and get a new kitty not to replace magoo but to help heal my broken heart.I now have Magoo's brother Cello and I am so glad that I do he has help mend my heart.My deepest sympathy.
I am so sorry for your loss.
I am so sorry for your loss. I know it feels right now that a piece of your heart is gone, but given time, it really will begin to mend and the good memories will be easier to recall without the sadness. It's very sad that he went so suddenly, but then again, it's better than one being so ill and watching them die. I have come to realize that there is never a good way to die, because regardless, those that love them hurt either way.
I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved ragdoll.