Can a cat be literally scared to death?

Question

My young cat died suddenly after being swatted by my older cat, however it was only a swat, not an attack.

Answer 1

i would like to think so

Answer 2

i think a cat can be scared to death, in as much as when afraid there heart rate increases, if they had a weak hart then the sudden increase could cause them to have a heart attack.

Although it does sound a little strange that a young cat would just drop dead after being swiped by another cat?

Cats unlike most animals do not get scared very easily - i.e. - Rabbits are commonly killed by fear as they have very small and weak hearts that naturally beat fast even when at rest, but a cat??? I would go to the vet and explain the situation to them

Answer 3

Sudden death isn't common but it does happen, and its not always possible to pinpoint an exact cause. Shock does strange things to the body, and any animal can die of shock. It can also cause heart failure or a blood vessel can give way in the brain. So yes, it is possible for an animal to die of fright or shock. But its more likely that your kitten had a congenital defect such as a weak heart.
Sorry to hear about this, but older cats, especially Toms, often dislike having new kittens join the household. Toms especially may kill young kittens, so think carefully before replacing it.

Answer 4

Any sort of sudden shock can cause any animal (or human for that matter) to have a heart attack or a sudden aneurysm and drop dead, especially if they had a weak heart or a problem with their brain. Such things are not always diagnosed as they have no symptoms.

Answer 5

It is possible a cat can have a heartattack from being scared just like us but i dont think a cat can just drop dead out of being scared... your cat might of had a problem or had a heartattack if she was old this would probabily be the problem.

Sorry to hear about your cat :(

Answer 6

As reported previously, definite extreme stress can kill any animal, Even human beings. The condition which causes demise is frequent as marvel and reckoning on the animal the degree of the scare that could kill them might want to determination. regularly the smaller the animal and the smaller its heart can mean only a mild marvel might want to kill them. that is why taking pictures small mammals and birds might want to be an exceedingly undesirable theory - the stress of being dealt with by potential of a predator or predator-like animal can kill them. more effective animals with more effective hearts require more effective stress.

Answer 7

They can. They can have a heart attack.. just like people. however, it is more like extended fear.... that causes their hearts to beat so fast for a while, not a startle one time kind of thing.
My vet prescribed me tranquilizers for my one cat who was petrifed to travel in car, her heart was like a hummingbird, and the vet feared heart attack. So the answer is yes.

Answer 8

i dont know for sure, but when i was a kid we had a chucker bird that we raised in the house from a baby. when we went to put it in a pin, the mule looked in at it, and scared the thing to death ! i swear to god it just droped dead in front of all of us.

Answer 9

possibly, if she had a weak heart....shock can do strange things to any animal. so sorry to hear that, and as a cat lover, my heart goes out to you, poor little pusscat.

Answer 10

there must of been something wrong with it, ive never heard of a cat dropping dead like that!

Answer 11

Unforunately, any living thing can be scared to death.