This happened to me once, minus the vet...
There was this black cat that used to hang out by my apt. I seemed to be its only friend, which was understandable because it never seemed to bathe itself and stunk to high heaven. I figured it still needed some petting, so for about a year I gave it some scratching and petting and just washed my hands afterwards.
One night it decided to die on my doorstep. It let out a terrible moan, which was the worst sound I ever heard from a cat. I opened the door and the poor guy was dead.
I buried him in the yard. I was pretty bummed about the whole deal. Seemed sad that he seemed to have no friends or loving owners or anything.
Anyway, sick animals are a major bummer.... no doubt about it.
