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Cat Training and Behavior (Domestic and Feral)/Process of death
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My cat died yesterday morning at home. We were holding her when she died. All day she was very weak and slept a lot and would meow occasionally while looking at us. Just prior to her death she began breathing shallow and more often. As she died she stretched her 4 legs straight and arched her head back for about 5 to 10 seconds then relaxed. She wasn't breathing any longer and her heart was still beating faintly then stopped. Within 1 minute she seemed to sneeze 3 or 4 times. What I'd like to know is:
1) the stiffening, was that an involuntary action? Was she already dead?
2) how do we know at what point she was gone? (before she stopped breathing and heart beat?)
3) what was the sneezing? we didn't see her trying to breath so was that an involuntary action?
Thanks for any insight you can give us. Kim
Kim,
I'm sorry about your kitty. It's never easy to go through. Here is an EXCELLENT site for pet loss emotional support, and where you can make a memorial for your cat:
(copy and paste, or type the whole link into your address bar)
http://rainbowsbridge.com/hello.htm
The sneezing I have never heard of, and I've gone through the death process with quite a few cats and kittens. Usually a cat will get a burst of energy, or in your case the stiffening, but they have already died. It is a reflex action.
Cats do not have any concept of death so the cat did not know it was going to die. It just knew that it didn't feel good. Your being with the cat was a comfort to it.
Again, I'm sorry.
Tabbi
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| Comment | Thank you for your response and the time you took to answer my questions. It is very helpful to know there is a site to go to when we are so sad and would like answers. Thanks again. Kim | ||
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Dear Tabbi
Expertise
My expertise is in helping people understand their cat (or cats) and their behavior. Questions are welcome even if you don't have a cat....just a question about them. Hopefully my experience, suggestions, and comments will be of help to you...and your cat (or cats). Looking through my past responses to questions will give you additional information and/or answers too. Domestic Cats = cats (no matter what breed) who are tame or not wild, or abandoned cats who were pets that became wild, but can be tamed again. Ferals = cats who are born with one or more parents who were wild stray cats. They usually have had no interactions with people. They have an inbred distrust of humans and are difficult to socialize. They are skittish, hide, and are afraid of people. They take a lot of time and patience to work with them. A lot of kittens from shelters had a feral parent.
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Since I was a child, over 45 years, I have been owned by a LOT of cats and kittens of almost every temperament, behavior, and personality. I have had experience with neurotic, disabled (including blind), stray, and 'problem child' cats and kittens. (A few normal cats too!) Plus all the things a lifetime of owning cats and research has taught me. I also have experience in feral cat behavior (which is different from domestic cats), and some experience with feral colonies that includes colony feeding and feral cat TNR (trap/neuter/release).
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