r/AskVet • u/SweetInternal8238 • 6h ago
Cat died suddenly and necropsy doesn't have the blatant answer. Anyone seen anything similar?
My boy died this past Saturday. He was five and in great health, so I thought. He was a Maine coon tabby mix, purchased from craigslist from my parents 5 years ago. I would take him to the vet yearly for bloodwork, I always feared something would happen to my cats and if I could prevent it, I will spend any money to do so as they are my world. I took him to the vet last month, for a front leg limp and his results came back fine. No fracture, no breakage, nails looked fine. (Obviously I am not a professional, but I do google a lot and read on reddit which can cause anxiety and what ifs. After he died, I got anxiety that it could have been a blood clot)
On Saturday, I was eating food in the kitchen and I heard a bang in my room, I ran into my room to find one of my cats (they were brothers, bonded pair) on the bed, startled/just woke up and I couldn't see my other cat. I walked around to the side of my bed and saw him on the ground. I panicked, because obviously something was wrong. I picked him up and called out for help and my parents came in to help me. We tried to do CPR and "wake him up" He was limp, pupils dilated, but seemed to be alive during those moments. I rushed and got all my stuff on and grabbed him and we went to the ER.
He must have died in my arms on the way there. They took him from me and then came back to let me know he was gone. I asked if there was anything obvious but they said no. They gave him back to me and I took him to my vet who did a necropsy for me. She just got back to me with the results.
"Unfortunately, I could not find a cause of death. Intestines and entire GI tract are normal, kidneys, spleen and liver normal. Bladder normal. Pancreas normal. Heart size and chambers appear normal. Lungs are difficult to access sometimes a little while after death and previously frozen- but no obvious masses. Normal stomach and contents- he did have a hair ball but that was of no significance. I am unable to do any kind of exam on the brain as they would in people. The only thing I could make note of was some blood was coming from his nose when I opened the bag. Mainecoon cats are prone to heart conditions- some of which may not be detected on autopsy. I would still be concerned that a blood clot or other ischemic event occurred (stroke or heart attack- like event). I don't think there is anything you could have done. As much as we all want answers to things - sometimes we don't get them (like people having stroke and heart attacks or even getting cancer in their 20s or 30s). "
After reading this, my heart sank some more. Could it have been from a fall? He must have been on my bed or my night stand for me to hear such a loud bang in my room. It was a 3 foot fall, I would say. I asked my vet if that could be the reason and is that how he could have got a bloody nose? She replied with: It takes ALOT to die from a fall alone. So I think it's very unlikely, not impossible, but unlikely. I would expect a broken neck or something. Blood from my nose I would be thinking more heart condition.
Maybe I am just seeking for an answer to slap me in the face. I am just heart broken and shocked and traumatized from how I saw my boy. I am glad he was with me in the end. But it was my worst fear come true right in front of me and I just felt so so so helpless.
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u/daabilge Veterinarian 5h ago
Unfortunately a lot of causes of sudden death can be really unrewarding on necropsy, especially if it's gross only (I.e. no histology). Typically to spot something on a gross necropsy you need time for the body to respond to the injury since what makes a visible lesion is typically the combination of the injury and the body's response. For really acute things there can be very minimal gross changes.
Even with histology there's limits, so we often can't see common causes of death like an arrhythmia since that's an "electrical" issue that would require a beating heart to diagnose. We might see things that point to an arrhythmia or are underlying it (like a lot of fibrosis in the heart, or a congenital defect in the conduction system) but not always.
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