I had to put a cat to sleep today.
 

I had to put Bobby to sleep today. He was previously my Great Aunt Val's cat. I got him when she went into a nursing home in 2002. She died in June of 2003. He was the sweetest, most loving cat I've ever had. I feel like I've lost my last connection to Val too. I had to put her other cat Molly to sleep this spring. Bobby was at least 14 years old and I'm not sure how old Molly was because Val got her from another lady who had to go in the nursing home. I have other cats, of course, but this loss is hitting me hard because of the connection to Val who was like my big sister.

I lost another cat today. Nicky died of natural causes this morning. He was about a hundred years old. I was his third home and I've had him about 8 years and he was old when I got him. I knew he was sick so I was going to take him to the vet after I got back from going to the doctor myself this morning, but when I got back he was in the process of dying. I wanted to take him and get him put to sleep so he wouldn't have to struggle, but the local vets were closed and by the time I would have gotten him to the Jackson area, he would have been gone anyway.

I'm sharing this because the internal debate as a pet owner with an ill pet has always been, "Do I put him to sleep or do I let nature take its course?" Well, this week, I've had to put one I loved dearly to sleep and I watched and petted and tried to comfort one while he died naturally. It made me realize that putting them to sleep is the more humane thing to do. Bobby was loving and purring and getting his head scratched and his tummy petted by me, the vet, and the vet tech up until the moment he died. He could feel that he was loved and he just went to sleep and it was over. The procedure literally took about two minutes. Nicky struggled, probably all night last night and this morning while I was at the doctor's office. His breath was labored. He was laying in his own urine because he lost control or his bladder. He gasped for breath until it was over. I would have rushed him to the vet to get him an injection to get it over with if they had been open. If anything positive has come of this, I know I will never have to struggle with deciding if euthanasia is the way to go again. The WHEN IS IT THE RIGHT TIME is what I'll struggle with.

It's a tough Christmas for me. Hug your pets tightly, my friends. And remember you're all they have, so be good to them. They're only with us for a short time.

Sorry to hear that. Losing a pet is always hard. And the "when" is always the hardest thing, no one wants to see their companion suffer.

We had to put our dog to sleep about a year ago. I still miss him and always expect to hear his bark even though the urn is by the fireplace along with his picture. But I know it was his time to go, and any longer would've been too much.

You'll always have the memories. Hope you can still have a good christmas.

Ice

Thanks, Ice. Merry Christmas to you too. The vet and I actually talked about how many people wish euthanasia was legal here for people who want to end their struggles. It's only legal in about 3 or 4 states. He used that as an example of how Bobby was blessed that he didn't have to get sicker, weaker, and go through more pain. The contrast between the two deaths was so stark that I know if I could choose to take a shot and go to sleep, I would.

Sorry for your loss Becky. Losing a pet any time is hard, but losing 2 so close to the holidays is awful. I agree about deciding to intervene when the time is right. We had a dog that had cancer and came home one day and he was gone. We will always wonder what his last moments were like being all alone. We'll never let that happen again.

My Condolences..... x

We lost one of our 2 kittens 7 weeks ago after he was hit and killed by a car outside the house.
Wasn't the best build-up to Christmas!!! Not even an opportunity to say goodbye.

That's really sad to not be able to say goodbye. I've had a couple of cats that got hit by cars too. The grass is always greener on the other side so they jump the fence. And I have a few that ran away and never came back so anything could have happened to them. For those, I always hope they found their way to someone else's house and moved in.

Very sad to hear this Becky , hope you are ok. Hugs. Dawn x