Sudden death- have I missed something?

[Heartbroken1982]

I woke up this morning to a phone call from a vet (miles away from my house) to say my cat had been brought to them and had passed away. I was absolutely devastated and so confused, he's only one.

I went to see him to say good bye and I asked the vet what happened, there wasn't a mark on him, he wasn't hurt or injured he just died. The nurse said that maybe he ate something and I was so upset at the time I didn't really question it. Now I can't stop thinking has he been ill and I've missed it? He has seemed absolutely fine, his normal happy self and he's with me every minute, he was my fluffy shadow. At three - four months he was monitored for a heart murmur, but he grew out of it.

I just don't understand, has anyone had any experience of a cat suddenly dieing like this?

Not exactly but my friends cat went missing for a day and when she found him he was struggling to breathe. Took him to vet who said it was like a cat asthma attack with no diagnosed cause and if she hadn't found him he would have died.

Perhaps that could explain it though, or similar.

I'm sorry for your loss. My cat ate rat poison on an allotment and was found dead under a shed. Another died suddenly in the house - her heart gave out. Unless you want an autopsy, you may never know. Animals can be good at masking illness - it's an evolutionary thing. I hope you feel better soon

Thank you for sharing. I've been so lucky that I've only ever lost cats to old age before, I never really thought about these things. @Beachsidesunset I'm so sorry for your losses.

My friend had a 7 year old cat in perfect health - had MoTs at the vets regularly etc. 6 weeks after a clear MoT, he died in his sleep in the house. Friend was upset enough to have a pm done, and turns out the cat had a congenital heart defect.

We had a lovely young girl that often dozed under the hedge of a neighbour in the sunshine. One day she wandered across our green, curled up as usual, and never woke up. The vet suggested it was probably a congenital heart defect that didn’t show up as a kitten or at her yearly vax appointments & check ups.

I’m sorry for your losses, the only consolation is the vet said she wouldn’t have felt anything.