Yesterday, my cat suddenly collapsed and died.  I am guessing that he
died of a heart attack.  Speculate on possible causes.

I did not have him as a kitten; I took him in as a stray.  His exact
age is not known.  Possibly eight to ten years of age.  He was
probably overweight at 14 pounds.  The day before he ate some canned
food and played with his toys.  He and another cat got in bed and
curled up together like hand and glove -- something he had not done in
a long time.  When I got up, he was already up and around.  So nothing
out of the ordinary.

He always had watery eyes and some discharge around his eyes -- so I
knew he was probably a carrier of some URI (upper respiratory
infection).
http://www.cah.com/dr_library/respiratorycats.html

I have ten or twelve cats -- two or three had "colds" but he did was
not sneezing or gagging like the others, so I didn't think he had the
"cold".  In thinking back, his eyes seemed a little red.  So I now
think he may have had conjunctivitis.
http://cats.about.com/cs/healthissues/a/uris_in_cats.htm

He was walking across the room when he cried out, collapsed and was
not moving.  If he did not die immediately, then it was quick.

I am guessing he had one or more URI's; his immunodeficiency system
was compromised; and his heart gave out.

What caused my cat to die so suddenly with no signs of serious symtoms?

Thank you kindly.

Cynthia Diane

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Clarification of Question by cyntlhiadiane-ga on 04 Feb 2005 13:34 PST

I believe both of you (pinkfreud and genco) pinpointed the likely
cause -- the vet said the last time she saw the cat he appeared to be
healthy.  So most likely he died of a sudden heart attack or stroke.

Please post the comment as an answer so you can get paid.

Thank you kindly.

Cynthia Diane

Condolences on your loss, Cynthia.

This web page has a good summary by Dr Michael Richards, DVM, of the most
common causes of sudden death in cats.  You might want to read the entire
summary on this web page.
http://www.vetinfo4cats.com/csuddeath.html

"The most common ones are probably cardiomyopathy and heartworm disease."

Cardiomyopathy, according to the Dictionary.com web site, means "A disease
or disorder of the heart muscle, especially of unknown or obscure cause."
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=cardiomyopathy

Hope this helps.

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

I am very sorry to hear of your loss. As an individual who is owned by
several cats, I understand how it feels to lose a fur person.

There are many, many possibilities, and only an autopsy is likely to
provide an authoritative answer. Cats, like humans, are sometimes
taken by sudden events such as strokes and heart attacks, and there
aren't always symptoms in advance.

Had your cat ever been tested for the feline infectious leukemia virus
(FeLV)? Cats can die quite quickly from this condition, or they can
decline slowly over a period of many years.