No he was an inside cat, he never ever went outside. It is very odd though. From what I understand cats usually go and hide somewhere when they feel ill and are dying. He was just lying in the middle of the kitchen floor. We think rat poision, but the only place we put it is in the attic and I haven't seen any rats dead or alive on our level of the house. Plus this cat was a very picky eater, so I highly doubt he would have even tried to eat a dead rat. We searched the internet, and it said a lot of cats have a certain heart condition where they just die suddenly with out warning.