Expert: Ali - 12/9/2008

Question
Hi, we have suffered a loss recently of our beautiful 8-year old neutered ginger tom and we cannot understand what happened to him.  Given your experience we thought it might be worth asking if any of our theories hold water.  We are mystified.

We found Sam still warm, but dead, eyes open, just outside our driveway.  He had no visible marks and when we took him to the vet he said no bones broken, but evidence of abdominal fluids indicating a trauma.  The cat also had acute cyanosis of the mouth, indicating he had died quite quickly (a relief to us).  The vet wanted to tell us the cat been hit by a car, as he couldn't really come up with any other explanation other than a fall.

We live on a very quiet farm, and just outside our driveway is a small turning & parking area for our 3 neighbours, none of whom had moved a vehicle that morning.  So there is no possibility of a car hit unless Sam had wandered over a mile to the nearest road and staggered home after an accident - very unlikely we think.

There is a field next to us with 2 horses and a few sheep.  There is a barn about 100 yards away that was full of cows that night - upset cows who had just been brought in from the fields and separated from their young.

There are many tame deer which, when last seen, were in a group of 3 - in our garden.

There are a few tall trees and old-timey electrical poles around.

My feeling is that he got into the cow barn and was trodden or kicked but I have 2 main problems with this theory - it's a nasty smelly noisy place and I can't see this home-loving cat wanting to get anywhere near this environment (am I being completely naive here) - and also the fact that there were no broken bones or other evidence of any physical force, nor mud or muck - and it's a pretty filthy place.  Plus, if that had happened, how would he have got (nearly) home?  But I have to admit that is the most likely explanation.

Others have suggested a horse kick (unlikely in an open field); the deer being startled by him (again so improbable as to be almost impossible I would have thought, in an unconfined space), or a fall out of a tree, perhaps landing on something like a fence across his belly (again, cats don't fall and when they do they kind of grab at everything on the way down and tend to "tumble" rather than drop straight.)

And lastly, behaviourally, it was before breakfast time, and this cat loves his food and is normally waiting for us before we get up.  He was home safe at midnight the night before, we found him at 7:45 a.m.  He has a catflap so could have left anytime in the morning but I would bet he didn't wander through the night as it's bitterly cold and nastily damp here just now.

Hope it's not too much of a ramble, but I'd be really interested to get viewpoints on the likely cause of death given the above scenarios. It's awful not knowing, but I don't expect we ever will.   The vet said categorically he wasn't poisoned.  I've tried to find out about hoof kicks, deer startling etc but having no luck.  What do you think?

Kind regards, hope you have time to read all this.

Answer
Vicki,

I understand completely how you feel and that you would like a definite answer about how your special kitty died. Unfortunately there isn't any way that I can give you specific details about this kitty's death, nobody can unless they happened to have seen what happened. I would be inclined to wonder if your kitty was poisoned either accidentally or intentionally due to the fact that there wasn't any damage to his body that would indicate that he had been hit by a car or been in a tussle with a bigger animal. It's really tough to lose a special family member who has left paw prints throughout your life and home without knowing why he's been taken away so suddenly. Every time you lose a pet a piece of your heart will hurt for a long time afterwards. Please find enclosed a piece of writing written by an anonymous pet lover - this piece has helped me to get through the loss of several cats.

The Rainbow Bridge

There is a bridge connecting heaven and Earth.
It is called the Rainbow Bridge because of its many colors. Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge is a land of meadows, hills and valleys, all of it covered with lush green grass.
When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this lovely land. There is always food and water and warm spring weather. Those who are maimed are made whole once more. They play all day with each other, content and comfortable.
There is only one thing missing. They are not with the special person who loved them on Earth. So each day they run and play until the day comes when one suddenly stops playing and looks up! Then, the nose twitches! The ears are up! The eyes are staring! You have been seen, and that one suddenly runs from the group!
You take him or her in your arms and embrace. Your face is kissed again and again and again, and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet.
Then, together, you cross the Rainbow Bridge, never again to be separated.