Cat Chat Feline Forum

My cat Lenny died yesterday in what seems like a freak accident and I don't understand how it's possible. I'm the type who needs answers in order to move on so I'm posting to see if anyone has any idea of what maybe could have happened.

Lenny was a 12-year-old male all-black cat and was seemingly healthy. He also had polydactyly (extra toes), I don't know if that is important but possibly could be a contributing factor. Lenny tried to jump up on my dresser yesterday, which is no more than 3 feet tall, just like he had hundreds of times before. Only this time, he didn't make the jump for some reason and fell backward. My mom was in the room and didn't see him hit the floor but she heard him. It is unclear how he landed because no one saw but I'm guessing he might have landed on his back or neck. After falling on the ground, he lay there and looked "contorted" to my mom and she immediately could tell something was wrong. Her first thought was maybe he dislocated his shoulder but she noticed he was twitching and almost looked like he was having a seizure. She said she picked him up and he felt limp and so she ran downstairs to call the vet and by the time she made it downstairs, he had made one final noise, not a meow but like a whine, and died. She even got out her stethoscope to check but he was gone within 2 mins of falling.

I have been trying to figure out what kind of injury may have caused this type of death but have not been able to find anything similar to this online. My theory is maybe he had a herniated disc and the fall caused it to sever the spinal cord and paralyzed him. Or possibly he had a heart attack while trying to jump which caused him to fall.

He was a totally healthy and super cuddly cat and my family is so shocked and confused about how a cat who was so agile and could jump higher than any cat ever seen could die from less than a 3-foot fall. If anyone has any knowledge about this type of situation please let me know as it would definitely provide me with some sort of closure.

It sounds like his collapse was the reason for his fall rather than the fall being the reason for his collapse. He may have had a sudden heart attack or some other acute medical episode just as he was jumping up onto the dresser. In any event, I am sorry for your loss.

Could it be that he slipped and broke his neck? Threshing movements can continue for some minutes, sadly.

Sorry for your loss, such an awful shock for you.

Only a post-mortem might give you an answer, but that is costly and of course it won't bring him back. Twitching and even the whine can happen after death, it's possible he may have died instantly before he was picked up. It does sound more like a broken neck if perhaps he slipped or misjudged the jump or was distracted somehow.

Kindest thoughts are with you and your family.