Just Lost My Bandit

I acquired a feral tuxedo last Spring and she (Tootsie) had a boy (Bandit) and girl (Olive) tuxedo before we could get her fixed. I went out to the garage this evening for their evening feeding and found the boy (Bandit) in a lot of distress. I went to get my wife and within 10 minutes he was dead. He had blood around his mouth and bloody urine trickling out as well. We have a video camera pointed at the garage door off the patio and the last video of Bandit was at 8:07 playing with Olive on the patio. They go out of view and the next video is of me going in the garage at 8:22. Unfortunately Bandit didn't trigger the camera when he went back in the garage so we can't tell if he was already in trouble before he went in. They don't go out to the road, hardly ever leave the patio and when they went out of view it would have been to the other side of the patio to a wooden deck area that is fenced in except from the patio. We are crushed. What could possibly have happened?

I am so very sorry. I have no idea what could've happened.

Heart failure? I witnessed a dog who was really wobbly when she walked and was panting heavily and a ton. Within 10-15 minutes she had stopped breathing. Blood came down her nose and she deficated. Though, her heart started back up a couple of times before she finally died completely, so maybe Bandit didn’t have heart failure..

That’s just my guess. I’m very sorry for your loss.

Is it possible Bandit got into something he shouldn't have in the garage? It's hard to know what happened but I'm so sorry for your loss. Please accept my sincere regrets and heartfelt sympathies.

Short of a necropsy (animal autopsy) there's no way to tell for sure.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Please see this thread: Grieving
It may help, a little bit.

Margret

We had a young cat that died after a relative short fall onto a rock. He just fell out of a tree and landed the wrong way, klonked his head and went into spasms and died. It can happen, they don't always land on their feet. Last fall I had one of my small cats disappear, I believe she was taken by a hawk. Again something that can happen out of nowhere. To me it sounds like some kind of physical trauma. Wrong time, wrong place, doing the wrong thing.

Cats can get into so many things. They are curious and investigate everything. If there is anything that they could ingest in the garage, that could be your answer. If they can go outside then they could be confronted by other animals or people. As previous posts stated, it could have been a health condition or even a fall. I know you want to protect the other kitties so you might want to have a necropsy done but It really could have been any number of things. We just can’t always keep them safe and healthy. I know finding him was devastating but it’s good that you were there for him at that moment. You were there to give him your love and the comfort of your presence. No matter what happened we can’t do better than that for them at the end. He was loved and cared for. That’s a lot for a kitty. He was very lucky to have you both to give him that. Kitties do understand when we love them. I wish it hadn’t been such a sudden and traumatic thing for you. You have my deepest sympathy. You are onviously very loving people and if I could lessen this pain, I would. I am so very sorry. Please post again if you feel the desire. We will all be here for you in any way possible.

As I was going to sleep I couldn’t get you off my mind and something made me remember a loss when I was young. Please check with your neighbors to make sure they haven’t been trying to get rid of mice or rats lately. If your cat caught a mouse that had eaten bait, the symptoms could be similar. If your neighbors did use bait then you need to keep your other cats from getting hold of any mice or rats. Again, I’m so sorry about Bandit.

I'm so sorry..... sometimes bad things happen and we never have the answer why. Bandit knew he was loved, he was happy with his family, and for him that was everything. My heart goes out to you, to lose a loved family member that young is tragic, it will take a long time to fill the emptiness he leaves behind.
I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers, RIP beautiful little Bandit, may teh good Lord bless and keep you, until you meet again!

im sorry bandit died all of a sudden like that.

When you say you found bandit distressed what was he acting like, eg pawing at the mouth, seizuring, drooling, licking stomach, twitching. I understand that he came back with bloody mouth and urine had blood in it , something must of happened to him in such a short time frame. Was it poisoning or a car hit him ? Did you hear a cat meowing outside. To me it sounded like poisoning or someone hit him in the stomach which cause internal bleeding.

Oh this is so sad.
I am so sorry for your sudden loss. Maybe he ingested or eaten something he should not, like what Jcatbird said?

Rest in eternal peace, Bandit. This is so hard.

Thanks for all the responses and words of encouragement.
There is nothing in my garage or outside that would have poisoned Bandit. Everything is stowed in cabinets behind closed doors. I reviewed the saved footage from a camera pointed at our mailbox and he was never in the front yard or near the road. Since it happened in a matter of 10-15 minutes I'm thinking he fell from the attic in the garage. It is not totally enclosed above where I found him and he was in kind of an odd spot. Years ago I had a cat die from jumping off a couch and landing wrong on an unstationary object so it can happen.

I'm so sorry for your loss. It's heartbreaking and I wanted you to know that I share in your grief.

That is so sad poor bandit , may god bless you and bandit, its really sad to be gone so suddenly

My best guess is that Bandit drank, or ate, something poisonous. If the cats, playing on the patio (8:07-ish) looked normal (like Bandit wasn't suffering, then), I am guessing he ate, or drank, something in the next ten or fifteen minutes. Chemicals kill cats fast.

I wanted a bowl to soak, in the kitchen sink, so I filled it with water and added dish soap. I put a lid over it that covered all but 5/8 (maybe 3/4) of an inch on one side. Thirty minutes later, my beautiful, beautiful cat was dead. I could smell the dish soap on him. I put the lid over the bowl, thinking it was enough to protect my cats from drinking it, because of a similar experience six years prior -- with a bucket of water and insecticide. I still kick myself for thinking that tiny bit of water, exposed in the bowl, wouldn't matter, and that a cat wouldn't drink from a bucket, with water & insecticide in it, that smelled so horrible. Stupid me! Stupid! Since the first (bucket) experience, my property has been "cat proof" ... except for that bowl... 'cause I've learned cats get in to bad things.

Of course, my suggestion is to check your garage, and yard, for any exposed chemicals, or, even, their bottles that cats might lick. If you'd sprayed an insecticide, anywhere, or put down rat poison, thinking the cats can't get to it, rinse the area, or gather it up.

When checking your video for the cats playing normally, know that a sibling (or friend) will play with a sick, or suffering, cat to (try &) cheer him up. So, is Bandit as active as the other in the patio video? If not, that could be a clue that the "event" took place before their playing on the patio.

I am sooo sorry for your loss. I know how heart-breaking it is.