My cat died suddenly. Can hairballs or asthma cause sudden death?

Question

Hi, my friends 7 year old cat suddenly passed tonight of respiratory and heart failure. She had been trying to pass a hair ball all day and all of a sudden her tongue turned blue. They rushed her to the emergency vet but their cat passed before they could get out of the car. The cat had always had issues with hair balls and today, she didn't seem to be in distress or sound as bad as what she has in the past. My question is, could the hair ball have caused her death? Or something else? Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed

Sara Farmer, DVM · Accepted Answer

I’m so sorry this happened to your friend! I would actually guess that Smokey was coughing and not trying to pass a hairball. Coughing is commonly seen with feline asthma and other respiratory diseases, and a cat who is coughing looks very similar to a cat who is attempting to vomit. Asthma and heart failure can appear suddenly and quickly cause respiratory failure and death. There are many other possibilities as well, and if your friend wants to know for certain the cause of death they might be able to have their vet perform a post mortem exam (autopsy).

My cat died suddenly. Can hairballs or asthma cause sudden death?

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