My pregnant cat died suddenly, struggling to breathe. What happened?

He may have had an injury, been hit by a car or he had a congenital heart defect that caused a blood clot at the bifurcation of the aorta (that paralyses hind legs and hurts terribly). This can also cause a clot in the lungs which would cause breathing problems. Unfortunately most cats with these blood clots die within a short time. I am so sorry for your loss. This is very sad.

I'm very sorry for your loss. Since Mace passed away several hours ago, it is fair to assume that her kittens died as well since they were dependent upon her for nutrition and oxygen. Again, I'm sorry for your loss.

There are several possibilities: She had a miscarriage and the kittens were dead and she cleaned up, ie ate them. Or she had them and hid them. You will know soon, when she disappears once in a while....you may need to follow her secretly to find the babies. third possibilities is that the babies had some defects and she ate them. She will have a discharge for about a week , which should be odorless. If she gets lethargic, stops eating or if the discharge gets smelly she will need to be examined by a vet.

If the kittens were dead, then she would be very ill by now. There may be many reasons for an extended abdomen in a feral cat. She could have worms and should be wormed, or, she could be suffering from feline infectious peritonitis. or have a large tumor in her abdomen., If you can touch her and maybe catch her, if would be a good idea to take her to a vet for an exam, worming and vaccination. Your vet can determine whether she is pregnant or what other problem may be causing this.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry for the loss of your cat P! Cats are very good at hiding illnesses until they are very sick. Jaundice in cats can be from: 1) destruction of red blood cells. They tend to be anemic on blood work. This can be from blood parasites, cancer, immune problems 2) Liver disease: cancer, infection, toxin, inflammatory conditions or fatty liver disease (hepatic lipidosis). Fatty liver is a secondary condition. Prolonged anorexia is usually the cause. Anything that makes a cat stop eating for more than 3 days can cause fatty liver disease and 3) Gall bladder, biliary or pancreatic disease: infection, cancer, gall stones, biliary obstruction. P didn't die from an overactive thyroid. She died from whatever disease caused her to stop eating, that could have been liver disease or another disease that caused fatty liver syndrome. She sounded like she was very sick. I hope this provides some insight. Again I am sorry for your loss.

This could be a pyometra. A pyometra is an infection of the uterus that is fatal without treatment. With a pyometra, the uterus fills with pus, and that can cause the belly to get big. Have Peekaboo seen by a vet now.

I'm so sorry for the loss of the kittens. They may have had a parasite infection or virus such as panleukopenia. Salmonella can also kill them quickly. Without a post mortem exam there is no way to know what they dried from. Mom will probably go back into heat fairly quickly so you might want to get her spayed. Monitor her mammary glands that they don't get engorged or painful. You can apply cool compresses to them if she will let you.