My 4-Year-Old Cat Died Suddenly

My cat was a normal 4-year -old orange and white short hair tabby that lived indoors and did not have any cat diseases or so I thought. There were no warning signs of sickness but that did not mean that my cat would not die suddenly.

We rescued Dini when he was a baby kitten. He was the first kitten I saw in the trash bag that was dumped in the grassy section of the highway. My husband and I parked our car on the side of the road, crossed the highway carefully and walked slowly to rescue the orange and white baby cat that was meowing and looking very scared. I prayed as I approached the kitten that he did not run into the highway traffic.

Dini / photo taken a few days after we rescued him

We reached the trash bag and kitten extended its paws toward me, It was so small that I put it in my coat pocket then learned that there were other kittens in the bag. We rescued all of them and looked around to see if there were more before taking them home to bottle feed, help go to the bathroom and remove the fleas. My husband and I did not sleep for 10 days because these babies needed our care.

Photo of all rescue kittens on day they were weaned to mushy solid kitten food

The kittens survived and Dini (short for Houdini) was a normal 8-week old kitten even though he was the runt. He had the energy and the courage of a lion and we should have named him Romeo because he was so loving. This kitten kept us entertained because there was no room, cage, the carrier that would confine him., He would slide under doors, open cages, carriers, doors, and cabinets. He would study it by watching me. hence his real name Houdini.

Dini / at 5 weeks old

Dini and littermate Larry fascinated with the vacuum cord. This was the day we bought cord covers to keep the cats safe.  Dini is a one-year-old here.

He absolutely did not like being away from me so he would slide under our bedroom door to snuggle up next to me. I would awake with a kitten on my head. Like I said, Dini was a healthy kitten and 4-year-old cat who brought joy to our lives. He was talkative, played with his toys, played with other cats, loved to eat and even retrieved his plastic cat ball.

I work out of my home so I am with the cats 24/7 so if Dini was not feeling well I would know. But this cat was never sick, not a day in his life until he dropped dead at 4-years-old. Dini died from cardiac arrest from complications of an enlarged heart and suspicion of cancer.

I have read the cats will hide their sickness from their owners and from other cats, I also read that when cats have the same diagnosis as my Dini that they generally die suddenly.  

When a beloved fur-kid die suddenly it breaks your heart.

Here are a few articles that I published about Dini

When Cat Opens Cabinets and Crates

Meet Houdini my Rescued Kitten