building a mystery

[brightrosefox]

So, I just talked to Mom again, and we are completely baffled by what may have caused Daniel's death. Mom said that he had no symptoms of anemia and he wasn't even bleeding -- he was just losing red blood cells. She says that for a couple of weeks before it happened, the cat was acting a little dopier than usual, a little confused... but he was eating well, he was grooming himself, he was active, happy, playful, etc. So Mom is going to call the vet and find out if there might be a cause after all. She's going to the shelter soon (she wants another orange tabby), and she wants to make sure there's nothing in or around the house that could be potentially problematic before she brings home a new cat.
However, Mom did make an interesting discovery in a book: Shy cats are often more susceptible to anemia. And Daniel was incredibly shy, almost pathological. Right now, we're thinking it may have been something he was born with that didn't trigger until he got older. But who knows?
It's just so mysterious and bizarre. How does a perfectly healthy cat die in three hours from anemia?
Sigh. Bulletins as they occur.