Question
Every year since I planted it, (about 3), my seiryu maple has had the same problem that someone asked about, it starts to bud out, then some branches don't leaf out, and die. I thought this may have been from bark damage from squirrels and feral cats that were living in my yard.  This year the same thing happened to a couple, but then others, after leafing out beautifully, one by one, started wilting and shriveling up.  Today, I cut off all the wilting branches, the leader included, but one, just in case, it wasn't totally dead.  (I dipped my pruner in a chlorox solution between cuttings.)  If all the leafed-out branches wilt, is this tree a goner, or is it possible it could come back next year?  So far, I still have one or two branches that haven't wilted, yet.
I am in SE Penna.  A landscape architect friend told me leaf hoppers could be carrying disease from one branch to another. I have not been able to detect any pests.

Answer
Sounds like it is dead. Check by starting near the end of a branch and scrape a small bit of bark off and if the color under the bark is green the branch is still alive and should leaf out again. If the color under the bark is brown the branch is dead at this point on the branch if brown continue down the branch scraping at intervals until you find green or each the trunk. If no green is found the tree is dead. Sorry but it sounds dead.