My cat died suddenly. Why did she fall, meow, then stop responding?

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

I'm so sorry to hear of your cat's passing. Heart failure is very common in older kitties. When the heart isn't pumping efficiently and/or when a clot moves to other areas of the body, the brain doesn't get the oxygen it needs. This causes disorientation and is likely why your cat was meowing loudly on the way to the vet. I doubt he was in any pain. And you did the right thing by taking him to a vet immediately. My thoughts are with you during this difficult time.

Hi, I am sorry to hear that your cat suddenly passed away. Since her death was sudden and her clinical signs had resolved with treatment of chylothorax, I am also inclined to think a clot caused the sad outcome. I am sorry, it is very sad and unexpected. I have come across this before with trauma, heart failure patients and also in a dog post gastric torsion surgery. I send you all my sympathy.

I'm so sorry you suddenly lost your cat! Without seeing her in person, I can't say for certain what caused her to pass away, but I can make some guesses. In senior cats, cancer is common, and because our animals can't tell us what is going on with them, oftentimes we find that they are suffering from cancer but we don't know it until it's too late. It could be possible that your kitty had cancer, and it ultimately took her life. She could have also been suffering from kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, or other organ failure. I hope my guesses may give you some peace of mind, and again I'm sorry for your loss :-(

She may have thrown a clot. Without a necropsy, it will be hard to say what definitely caused her death. What your veterinarian is saying can absolutely be the case. I am so sorry you lost Baby. It is never easy to lose a member of your family and I wish you peace during this time. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'm so sorry this happened. Unfortunately there is no way for us to tell you why she died by looking at some photos. If you want to know for sure you will need to have a vet do an autopsy. If this way a young cat the two most common reasons for sudden death are trauma (like hit by a car) or poison ingestion.

He may have had an injury, been hit by a car or he had a congenital heart defect that caused a blood clot at the bifurcation of the aorta (that paralyses hind legs and hurts terribly). This can also cause a clot in the lungs which would cause breathing problems. Unfortunately most cats with these blood clots die within a short time. I am so sorry for your loss. This is very sad.