Rest in peace Taj my sweet prince

I could write a book on how much of an impact this little guy had on our lives, he single handedly brought our family together in a way not possible without him. We rescued him 8-9 years ago he was a stray in the neighborhood, we couldn't get close but my mum was leaving food out for him, one winter it was record cold and he didn't run away when she went to feed him. She picked him up and took him in, we already have two cats at this point, so we weren't to sure what to do. We took him to the vets and had he was in overall good health except for a chipped canine tooth, they said shouldn't cause him any issues. Ultimately he decided to stay with us, he loved the family, but I was his special boy. I knew the guy like the back of my hand, so when I noticed his tooth could've been bugging him a bit I wanted it checked out. We went to two Vets, the first seemed like they really just wanted your money, and kind of just scared us into thinking we had to go with them, the second seemed very nice, and with the testing facilities on site I felt more comfortable with them. We made the appointment with the second vet, days leading up to I felt increasingly anxious, but would look at him and say "you'll be a big strong boy, you'll be fine..." The night before I couldn't give him his bedtime treat he'd become accustomed to, but instead of being a stink and not sleeping with me, I just had to give him a few extra pets and he snuggled right in. He was never bad about his carrier, I just had to open the door and in he went. It was about a 15 min drive to the vets, but he was fairly calm all until we got there. I pushed my lips up against the door of the carrier, and he pushed his head up against the other side for our one last kiss. We were asked by the secretary if we wanted anything else done and we said no, just the tooth. He didn't make it. The vets couldn't really give us an explanation, but speculated it was either a freak allergic reaction to the anesthesia, or something with his heart. I don't blame the vets for his loss but they didn't make it easy.. We took him home so my sister, brother, and other two feline friends could say goodbye. However I did notice at the vets they had trimmed his claws because every claw on one paw had been cut so short he was bleeding, when confronted they said it was a "courtesy" service, so they don't wake up and hurt themselves, but why ask then if you're going to go ahead and do it anyways? They also sent their head vet to drop off his carrier we left and never asked for, and she made a joke pertaining to killing our friend, told us she wasn't really a cat person anyways, and asked for a hug before leaving. She was supposed to bring us his cremated remains on Friday after work as she lives nearby, well when I didn't hear anything a couple hours after she was off work I left a FB message, and called the vet and made the emergency staff get a hold of her, they basically said he was picked up late from the crematorium and wouldn't be ready to pick up until Monday. At that point that was all I needed, amazon packages have tracking, but I had no idea where my boy was it was torture. She jumped on Facebook and said she forgot to call us, and tried blaming the crematorium, and said she "had no idea we'd be waiting so intently for a call" I was so angry with them at this point I just wanted them out of everything. So I messaged the owner and told him my story, and how all I really wanted was to pick him up personally on Monday and never have to see them again. Now props to him for getting us our boy back on Saturday, but he had to go and refer to my boy as an "it" when he passed me Taj, I'm still so angry with myself for choosing them.. He deserved just the best, and I don't think those people were it. I have all of these beautiful memories that feel tainted by the vet we chose. He was a consistently awesome part of my life, and is missed deeply.

I don't blame you at all for being angry, I don't care for dogs much, but I would NEVER hurt one or disrespect one to the ones who love them. I am shocked on how callous these so called vets were, if they were treated as you were if one of their pets passed they would be appalled. I would send them a letter or E-mail informing them you did not appreciate how you were treated, that beautiful cat meant as much to you as any of their family members and you will be informing others that they were very unprofessional and most of all insensitive to your feelings. Write down every word you remember, time has a way of changing our memories and you don't want them to be able to deny anything.

That being said, I am so glad you came to a site that is sensitive and can have empathy for what you are going through. My heart cries for what you are going through, that sweet boy deserved many more years of your love and filling your home with happiness. It was an accident that could not be foreseen, you would never intentionally hurt the one you care so much about,  so please don't hold guilt over something you had no control over. You were trying to help him. You did what you did out of love, that cannot be construed as guilty of intentional harm.  He brought so much into your life, he was in your life for a reason. Try not to dwell on the end, but celebrate the time you did get to share with him. his new path on his life's journey will parallel yours now until it meets again. Held there by the bond that can never be taken from you. He is at peace now, let the peace enter your heart. His soul,  and the love it holds for you, deserves a heart full of happiness and sunshine, not sorrow and darkness. He would never want you to be so filled with sorrow because of him, he loves you too much.

The emptiness that invades your home and your heart is a horrible thing to experience, make the burden a little lighter by sharing the pain with those who understand and have been there. Please accept my sincere condolences on your loss, I can tell you that time is the only thing that helps to soften the acute pain in your heart right now, that and doing good things to honor that sweet boys name. Bring food to a shelter, give your time to bring some comfort to those who have yet to gain a forever home, it makes you feel a little better about yourself and brings happiness into lives that have so little right now. Take care.......RIP dear Taj,  you are so deeply loved and so desperately missed, please send what comfort you can to the hearts that are so broken on the pure light that comes from your star in the heavens.  Bring a little light to a world that is so dark with your passing. You will reside forever more in a heart that will hold you so tenderly, sweet dreams, little Prince!

You are dealing with two issues at one time here, the loss of your beloved Taj and incompetent, uncaring and unprofessional "vets" if you can call them that, they sound like clowns to me. It is a shame that you have to have that memory from the end of his life, it is hard enough to deal with the loss by itself but that just makes it worse tenfold. 

But that aside, you did a wonderful thing by taking him in and caring for him and giving him a loving home, outside life for some cats is just an awful existence but you improved his life 1,000 times over and he was so grateful and loving for doing that! The strays usually are the ones who show you their appreciation daily, and he surely did that.

I am sorry for your loss, you did a great thing by him, and when the time is right perhaps you can show another kitty in need the love and home you showed precious little Taj. May your heart heal a bit each day, God Bless.....

It helps so much just to know there are people out there who care. I'm not really one for posting, usually just a lurker, this site, and your replies have really helped.

I've contacted the vet association in our area, and talked to the head of complaints. He talked me over a few different routes. All very long and I don't think anything will really come of it, but I want to be as much of a pain for them as possible, but I know he wants me to let go of my anger, it's just tearing me apart.

what a beautiful boy, I am so sorry for your loss. Be kind to yourself, your sweet Taj would never want you to suffer like you are. 

Oh my...I'm so sorry for the loss of your Taj...so sorry. I was struck by the closeness of the bond you shared with that special boy and I can only imagine the depth of your grief and loss. Taj lived a blessed life in the warmth of your love, care and companionship. And Taj blessed your life by connecting with you in a way that not every person experiences. I hope that in time, the pain you are feeling will soften and you will only smile when you think of your Taj. Taj would want you to be kind to yourself and to try to find some peace.

[emoji]128149[/emoji]RIP Sweet Taj[emoji]128149[/emoji]