I suspect foul play.
Yard cats are the only cats worth having. They are eternally grateful.
Thank you.
They were each sick with something different. It was just pure bad luck that their chronic illnesses became terminal within days of each other.
Our old lady was 19 years old. I still remember when she came strutting into our yard, insisting that she belonged there despite all of my attempts to tell her otherwise. I put a collar on her, which she would sometimes lose and then bring back days later after she found it. She was the only cat I ever had who liked her collar.