Love your kitties like each day is their last cuz you never know when that day will be as we just recently experienced.
On Wednesday, January 18, 2017, we had to help our sons cat Tonks, transition to the other side. The story goes like this;
Tonks, an 8 year old, black and white petite female jumped up on my wife's lap like she does every night when we watch TV, to curl up and sleep on the warm blanket my wife puts on her lap. This is a nightly ritual.
As she lay there sleeping I happen to notice she was breathing rather rapidly. Weird.... I looked online to see what normal breathing in a resting cat looked like and found the average to be around 25 to 40 respirations per minute. I timed her breathing several times and every time she exceeded 40 respiration per minute. Concern.... I picked her up to get a better look at her and noticed she was much thinner than normal. Extremely concerned....
At this point I called our vet and made an appointment first thing the next morning to get her looked at. She didn't seemed too distressed the rest of the night, just uncomfortable. Still we watched her throughout the night.
The next morning we took her in and told the vet what was going on. She did the normal, check the ears, eyes, and temperature things. All looked fine. Then she did a physical examination and started feeling for internal distress. When she got just below the rib cage she stopped and became extremely concerned looking. It was at this point she said she found a large, hard lump and wanted to take an x-ray to see if she was blocked or if it may be a tumor. We agreed and she took Tonks to another room to be x-rayed. When she came back, the look on her face told us nothing good came out of that x-ray. She explained to us that Tonks had a large, inoperable tumor in her abdomen that was pushing on her lungs, restricting her breathing passage and had caused fluid to build up in and around her lungs. In all she was suffering and her life span just dropped from years to hours.
We arranged another appointment for later that night, you know, that one no one ever wants to make, and took her home to spend her last few hours with the family getting all the loves and treats she could before she left us. Pictures were taken, memories resurfaced and we made the most of what time was left with her.
Eventually the time came and we made the solemn journey back to the vet, her final ride so to speak.
Her suffering ended peacefully. The doctor was very professional and sympathetic to the situation. She walked us through each stage of the process, explained what Tonks was feeling and going through right up to the very end. If was very comforting to know how this went, even though it didn't stop the tears or heartache. She passed quietly and we left. She will be cremated and returned to my son so he can put her remains to rest as only he would know how to do.
This was almost two weeks ago. I just now have the emotional stamina to write about it. One of the best memories I will have of this is the image of my wife holding Tonks' head in her hand through the entire process, whispering love and encouragement into her ear nonstop until she was gone.
Tonks wax loved dearly and will be missed greatly now that she's gone.
These are the things we do for those who fill our hearts with joy. We love them, we care for them, we cherish them, but most importantly, we are there with them to the very end. It may hurt like hell, but I would rather my heartache than to leave them all alone and scared as they move on into the unknown.
Love you kitties with everything you have. And always remember, you are their advocate in life, and it's up to you to ensure they live the quality life they deserve no matter how long or short that life may be.
By the way, the week after Tonks had passed our vet sent us a sympathy card for having to give up one of our many 4 legged companions, signed by the entire staff. Top notch way to close a chapter in life I would have to say.
On Wednesday, January 18, 2017, we had to help our sons cat Tonks, transition to the other side. The story goes like this;
Tonks, an 8 year old, black and white petite female jumped up on my wife's lap like she does every night when we watch TV, to curl up and sleep on the warm blanket my wife puts on her lap. This is a nightly ritual.
As she lay there sleeping I happen to notice she was breathing rather rapidly. Weird.... I looked online to see what normal breathing in a resting cat looked like and found the average to be around 25 to 40 respirations per minute. I timed her breathing several times and every time she exceeded 40 respiration per minute. Concern.... I picked her up to get a better look at her and noticed she was much thinner than normal. Extremely concerned....
At this point I called our vet and made an appointment first thing the next morning to get her looked at. She didn't seemed too distressed the rest of the night, just uncomfortable. Still we watched her throughout the night.
The next morning we took her in and told the vet what was going on. She did the normal, check the ears, eyes, and temperature things. All looked fine. Then she did a physical examination and started feeling for internal distress. When she got just below the rib cage she stopped and became extremely concerned looking. It was at this point she said she found a large, hard lump and wanted to take an x-ray to see if she was blocked or if it may be a tumor. We agreed and she took Tonks to another room to be x-rayed. When she came back, the look on her face told us nothing good came out of that x-ray. She explained to us that Tonks had a large, inoperable tumor in her abdomen that was pushing on her lungs, restricting her breathing passage and had caused fluid to build up in and around her lungs. In all she was suffering and her life span just dropped from years to hours.
We arranged another appointment for later that night, you know, that one no one ever wants to make, and took her home to spend her last few hours with the family getting all the loves and treats she could before she left us. Pictures were taken, memories resurfaced and we made the most of what time was left with her.
Eventually the time came and we made the solemn journey back to the vet, her final ride so to speak.
Her suffering ended peacefully. The doctor was very professional and sympathetic to the situation. She walked us through each stage of the process, explained what Tonks was feeling and going through right up to the very end. If was very comforting to know how this went, even though it didn't stop the tears or heartache. She passed quietly and we left. She will be cremated and returned to my son so he can put her remains to rest as only he would know how to do.
This was almost two weeks ago. I just now have the emotional stamina to write about it. One of the best memories I will have of this is the image of my wife holding Tonks' head in her hand through the entire process, whispering love and encouragement into her ear nonstop until she was gone.
Tonks wax loved dearly and will be missed greatly now that she's gone.
These are the things we do for those who fill our hearts with joy. We love them, we care for them, we cherish them, but most importantly, we are there with them to the very end. It may hurt like hell, but I would rather my heartache than to leave them all alone and scared as they move on into the unknown.
Love you kitties with everything you have. And always remember, you are their advocate in life, and it's up to you to ensure they live the quality life they deserve no matter how long or short that life may be.
By the way, the week after Tonks had passed our vet sent us a sympathy card for having to give up one of our many 4 legged companions, signed by the entire staff. Top notch way to close a chapter in life I would have to say.
