Looking for thoughts about the loss of Freddie

[Flowercats]

We lost our cat on Thursday.

Freddie came to live with us 2 years ago from cats protection. We were his third home and he settled well and had a particular affinity with my eldest teenage son.

Over the last few weeks he was a little bit "odd", just slightly different patterns to his behaviour. He was eating and drinking fine, hunting and bringing stuff in but I'd noticed he'd taken to sleeping in the utility, where it was really quiet, and this was unusual for him. He just seemed a bit withdrawn, not dissimilar to when a cat starts to get sick but without the loss of appetite and visible signs of illness. I couldn't put my finger on it.

On Thursday someone told us there was a dead cat in the garden a few houses up. At this stage he wasn't missing as he'd only been gone for a few hours and this wasn't unusual for him. When we went to check it was him. He was lying on his side with his eyes closed. There was no blood from his mouth or nose, no signs of injury from either a vehicle or another animal and no frothing to suggest poison. It simply looked like he'd gone to sleep.

I've kept going over what it could have been and why he didn't come home to die in our garden. Does anyone think it could have been heart failure? He was about 8 years old but seemed very settled with us.

At least we knew where he was and got his body back as if he'd died anywhere else we may never have known where he'd gone.

[Grace56]

Hi Flowercats. I am so sorry about poor Freddie. It does sound very much as though he knew it was his time and went to sleep. I believe cats do go away from home to die elswhere. I may be wrong of course but I know of several cats who've done this. It's almost as though they do not want us to witness their final moments.

I'm afraid the only way to discover why Freddie died is a post mortem but that's not always practical or indeed, desirable.

But you can take some comfort in knowing that your boy had a good and loving home with you and your family. You gave him the best and that is a good thing.

My thoughts are with you at this sad time. I know how you must be feeling. But you can post on here as often as you wish and we will all understand your sadness. We've all experienced it with our little ones.

Take care and.....Sleep well, little Freddie. xx

[bobbys girl]

I am sorry to hear of the loss of your cat, Freddie. We had something similar happen to one of our cats.

Cassidy was only with us for a short time, he just turned up one day and made himself at home. There was quite a story attached to him , which I won't go into here. But we reckon he was anything from 8 to 12 years old and we found out that he had large fat deposits on his internal organs.

He disappeared one day and we found him three days later, curled up as if asleep, just like your cat, not a mark on him and no signs of injury or distress.

The vet put it down to a massive heart attack, probably a mix of his age and the fat deposits.

I agree with everything Grace has said. We are here if you need to talk.

RIP Freddie, play happily at the Bridge.

[Crewella]

I'm so sorry for your loss, and sorry that the circumstances of his passing have left you with so many unanswered questions. I too have heard of cats taking themselves off somewhere quiet when they feel their time has come, and in fact I thought my old boy Pugwash had done exactly that early last week (though we found him before he went downhill). It certainly sounds as though it might have been heart failure, and I would try to take some comfort in the fact that he took control and went at a time and place of his own choosing. Cats don't have the same attitude to death that we do.

You did a lovely thing in giving him a home and obviously loved him very much. I doubt that there's anything you could have done, and I hope you can take some comfort in that knowledge. With so many unwanted cats out there needing homes, he was a lucky boy to have found such a loving family.

Rest in peace lovely Freddie. xx

[HeatherCrazyCat]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss, Flowercats.

I lost my beloved Angel nearly 4 weeks ago, and like with Freddie, she was totally fine in every way before she passed away, except that her behaviour had become a little "odd". When I took her to the vets again the week after she had been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, the last thing I expected was to have her rushed off to emergency care and see her deteriorate rapidly overnight in hospital to the point where letting her go was the only option.

The important thing is that you gave him the best years of his life after a turbulent past. When you take on a rescue cat, not knowing their full history you never know what they might have gone through in the past, or what their future might bring. You cherished the here and now with him while he was with you, and he will have been very grateful to you for that. I think that he would not have wanted for you to see him struggling, and that is why he chose to go elsewhere for his last moments.

I hope that you will not feel guilty about his death, and that as time passes you will feel more able to cope with his loss.
Rest in peace Freddie x