Put down or naturally?

I've been thinking about this for quite some time. Would you rather come home and find your furbaby has gone and left you for the Bridge, or be with him/her at the end? I know now that I would want to be with my cat when it was time. That way, he/she will see you one last time and you can sat Goodbye to each other.

Keith

Keith - this is such a hard question to answer with a 'yes or no' answer. It is so hard to say goodbye on any terms.

I have had one cat, Princess. who had a heart attack and died right in front of us. It was the only time I have seen a pet go unassisted.

My other animals have had to be helped to the Bridge when they were in too much pain and suffering to have any quality of life. I guess that either way is hard - but I will NEVER let a pet live on in pain.

If I had to pick - I would opt for being with them.....helping them to cross. I want all our ends to be peaceful though, no matter how they come.

About a year ago I had to make this decision for my kitty, Midnight, who was always very special to me. Rather than let Midnight go through suffering that would have kept getting worse, and may have resulted in a slow natural death, I choose to put her down. Snowball and I were with Midnight during her last few minutes. After the fatal injection was given, she was gone in less than a minute. I didn't want Midnight to suffer unnecessarily, and this was the easy, peaceful death I felt she deserved in return for her 14 years of giving me unconditional love and loyalty. The very last things Midnight was aware of before she lost consciousness(sp?) forever was being talked to soothingly and petted gently.

Debra- It is hard to figure out which is easier, that is why it took me awhile to post this poll. So sorry you had to watch Princess go out like that. I would totally freak out if I saw that happen.

Lorie- I saw your post about Midnight's 1 year anniv. She was a very beautiful cat. I can see a little Siamese in Snowball, correct?

The first time I had to have one of my babies put down, I could not say the words. I just kept saying, "Do what's best for Blacky." Finally, the vet clarified with me that Blacky would not be alive when I went back for him. I have had to say those words several times for my cats and dogs now, and it doesn't get any easier. The only problem with euthanasia versus a heart attack or other sudden death is that they have probably been sick longer.

What really broke my heart was when my Pixie, another black cat, was hit by a car right beside my mailbox. We live on a rather isolated road, which was not busy; yet, no one stopped. She was 16 years old, and so very special. My son was not home, and I could not dig. My neighbor, who had called me when he saw her, offered to bury her. That meant I had to hurry with finding a nice box for her and I had almost no time to say goodbye. The children and I always had a little service for our babies, to thank God for sharing them with us. I did that myself, but I could not take my time because I didn't want to take advantage of good nature. Now my cats are not allowed outside.

Although I haven't had to make this decision for my pets yet (my parents did this for the dogs we had while I was growing up), I think it depends on the situation. Like everyone else here, I don't want them to suffer. Obviously, sometimes death comes like a thief in the night and we don't have a choice. I just know that I don't want to be selfish about keeping them here with me if it means suffering for them.

You're right he is part Siamese. The people who owned Snowball's mother never had her spayed and she had two litters a year for about eight years. In each litter there was always at least one kitten who looked just like a Sealpoint Siamese.

After everything I have been through today with my cat being killed (see post 'goodbye' here) Id deffinately not want to be there at the end.

After Lucy died, we petted her, 1 hour later she was stone cold and stiff, It broke my heart, and that of my children to see her at the end.