Why did my active cat die suddenly? Could fleas be responsible?

Hi there. There are many things that we cannot know without a full exam here. First I am very sorry to hear of the loss of your kitten. Secondly, yes-flea and tick medications can have adverse reactions in some of our patients, albeit somewhat rarely. If you have used a dog medication on your kitten or one too large, they can definitely cause seizures and death. Your kitten could also have had some underlying issues like congenital heart disease or congenital kidney disease that could have caused sudden, unexplained death. Sorry for the loss of your friend. I hope this helps.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I definitely understand how you feel and I am so sorry for your loss. It is very unlikely that this happened from applying too much flea medicine. This is more likely due to the other symptoms you mentioned including the diarrhea, difficulty urinating and fatigue. This could have been due to a disease that had not been identified. Again I am so sorry for your loss and I will keep you in my thoughts as you go through this difficult time.

I am very sorry for your loss. Fleas drink blood. It is possible if your cat had a lot of fleas that it made him anemic which can be fatal. However fleas carry diseases too which can make them sick. I do not think you using an all natural flea prevention caused snowy harm

Hello. With urinary failure & heart problems, poor Frost certainly had his share of medical issues. I doubt very much that the Comfortis hastened his death. I think you have to know that you may have given him the best year of his life. You hope that a beloved pet will be with you for many years, but sometimes unknown & underlying issues will shorten that time. This is especially true with heart problems. Cats generally do not do very well with this, & since I do not know the details of either of his medical problems, suffice to say every day was a blessing to him. Rejoice knowing that he did not suffer a terrible cold death a year ago & he hopefully felt great love & comfort for the short time he was with you. I am so sorry for your loss & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Oh no, I'm so sorry that both of your cats have died recently! You are correct that they could have gotten into something toxic causing their symptoms, but unfortunately without seeing them in person, I can't say what that toxin might be. You could take their bodies into a vet for a necropsy (an autopsy for cats) which may give you some answers. If it's too late to take them in because you've already buried them, then I recommend looking out for similar symptoms in any other cats you may have at home. Should you see those symptoms again, rush them into a vet immediately for treatment. Again, I'm so sorry for your loss :-(

First off, I'm so sorry that you lost Arlo recently! Please accept my condolences for your loss. He was an older cat, and there are many things that could have caused him to lose weight such as kidney failure, liver disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, heart disease, or cancer. I think that you did not kill him with the collar. He had been losing weight for months already, and I do think whatever was causing that weight loss was the likely cause of him needing to be put to sleep. I hope this helps, and again, I'm sorry for your loss.

Hello and I am so sorry to hear about the passing of your kitty. It is so heart breaking to lose them. Without an autopsy, one can't be certain, but most often in a cat without any other clinical signs, it's usually a bad heart that will cause sudden death. One of the most most common heart diseases in cats is called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. It often has no symptoms. It is often not detectable on a physical exam. Sometimes there will be fluid in the lungs from congestion in the lungs that can leak out after passing. I hope this helps to provide some closure and with time, I hope your heart heals. My condolences, Dr. Elizabeth