I feed an outdoor kitty and grew attach to him .....now he is dead

Question

I just found him this morning dead in my yard. But, there was NO marks on the little kitty. He was just laying there.....with his eyes part open. I didn't see anything...that could have told me someone ran over him. I was just wondering would this be a normal death? He was still hanging with his mother and the other little kittens. But, he was my favorite....he was the friendliest. I feel really bad for him. It did turn cold this morning. What do you think happened to him? No stupid answers please.

Answer 1

He could have been poisoned.Do you have someone in the neighborhood that don't like cats?

Answer 2

It could be a natural death like maybe a heart defect or something.   I know what you mean about getting attached to cats.  I have a stray cat who has been living around my house for over a year and he is still scared of humans.  We take good care of him by providing a heated house, food, etc.  I have become very attached to him.

I also had a stray orange tabby cat before the white one  (his photo is located here:  http://mncatgrass.com/ourstory.html ) came to our house.  He just suddenly stopped coming around.  I never found a body but it was very hard knowing I would never see him again.  

Time will help you heal but you will never forget your cat.  He will live in your memory forever.  

Answer 3

He could have been hit by a car.  Sometimes their injuries are all internal, and don't show any outward sign of fatal injuries.  I had a cat get hit by a car out in the country once, and she made it halfway up the big hill our house was on, and collapsed and died.  The only outward indication that she was hurt was a tiny bit of blood coming out of one side of her nose.  It is also possible that he could've eaten something poisonous, but if he was poisoned, some of the other cats would probably have been poisoned, too.

I'm really sorry for your loss; I have a colony of strays at my apartment, one of which I am very attached to (he's the sweetest!), and if I don't see him one day, I worry a lot about him.  Your story motivates me even more to scrape up the money to take him to the vet so I can bring him inside where he's safe.  Seeing stray cats always breaks my heart, but the friendly ones are even more heartbreaking--I wish I could adopt them all!

Answer 4

Sometimes outdoor kitties have diseases that we can't catch and sometimes we can't even tell that they're sick. I have adopted homeless kitties and sometimes when the worst happens I just have to focus on the good that I did. You loved him and fed him and if you hadn't done that his last days wouldn't have been so comfortable. He didn't die from the cold, kitties are smarter than that. Your little friend was sick and you couldn't save him but you did make him happy for a while.  

Answer 5

It is so hard to say.  I adopted a little kitten from the shelter, It had a upper respiratory infection and even taking it to the vet I was unable to save her.  I always heard Steve Irwin say it's natures way, but that doesn't mean it's not sad.  I'm sorry for your loss.  

Answer 6

Perhaps the kittens/mother are ill and the death was inevitable. I hate to even mention it, but there are people out there who poisson animals to get ride of them, or maybe he ate something by accident that was toxic. It could also be that he choked - wild animals eat very fast and I witness a kiten choke to death when it ate too fast. I am very sorry for your lost.