Any thoughts or comments would be gratefully received:
I had to make the decision for my cat on the 4th of June last year. Her name was Artemis which I shortened to Missy which suited her just fine because she was dainty, fine boned and precious. She was old - I don't know how old as she was a rescue and the vets believed her original owner had told a bit of a lie to try and improve her odds of adoption. They put her at between 17 and 20.
I loved her desperately, she was my world and I would do anything to have her back. But that is life with animals.
Over the space of a week it became obvious she was ailing, she had become blind and her world shrank down to a space about 6 feet square. She was medicated for various age related issues - mainly hyperthyroidism and I believe that she had CRF as well towards the end. But she would sleep quietly and eat a little (cooked chicken, little tiny bits of tuna, anything she would take. old cats who don't eat go downhill so fast it is scary).
I really didn't leave her side for days but something told me that she was in real trouble so I took her to the vets. Her body was shutting down organ by organ and she was battling to breathe - her tiny lungs barely working. The vet gave me two choices - make the decision, or take her home and bring her back the next day. The inference being that she would have died of natural causes. Her time was up. And to take her home would have been for MY benefit, not hers, to abdicate my responsibility for her. She could barely breathe and her little heart was struggling. She would have asphyxiated.
Under advice from my vet I made the decision. To prolong her suffering would have been an act of cruelty. either way she was done and she could go quietly in my arms or struggle in pain and fear for her last breaths. As a conscientious pet owner I believe that it is our duty to be responsible for our pets - we are their guardians. The vet put the needle in her and she was gone in seconds. She was ready to let go and it was almost as if she needed permission (yes, I am crying right now). My heart broke that day and it hasn't recovered.
It was the hardest thing that I have ever done. But I knew it was the right thing. My vet knew it was the right thing. I would do the same thing again if I had to.
Although this happened in June last year I still don't seem to have come to terms or any sort of peace. I still find myself crying at her loss. I don't seem to have passed through the grieving process right (she had full blood brother, he died a couple of years ago. I was in despair but eventually reconciled.) Every time I see a cat walking about in the street I feel a gut wrenching sense of terror (there is a little Egyptian Mau living locally and he is too friendly, someone will steal him or hurt him). I can't save them all but the thought of one dying - and the memory of my own treasured Missy, just haunts me every day =(
Sorry to be a downer. I thought that maybe cat people would understand and have an idea of where to turn.
I had to make the decision for my cat on the 4th of June last year. Her name was Artemis which I shortened to Missy which suited her just fine because she was dainty, fine boned and precious. She was old - I don't know how old as she was a rescue and the vets believed her original owner had told a bit of a lie to try and improve her odds of adoption. They put her at between 17 and 20.
I loved her desperately, she was my world and I would do anything to have her back. But that is life with animals.
Over the space of a week it became obvious she was ailing, she had become blind and her world shrank down to a space about 6 feet square. She was medicated for various age related issues - mainly hyperthyroidism and I believe that she had CRF as well towards the end. But she would sleep quietly and eat a little (cooked chicken, little tiny bits of tuna, anything she would take. old cats who don't eat go downhill so fast it is scary).
I really didn't leave her side for days but something told me that she was in real trouble so I took her to the vets. Her body was shutting down organ by organ and she was battling to breathe - her tiny lungs barely working. The vet gave me two choices - make the decision, or take her home and bring her back the next day. The inference being that she would have died of natural causes. Her time was up. And to take her home would have been for MY benefit, not hers, to abdicate my responsibility for her. She could barely breathe and her little heart was struggling. She would have asphyxiated.
Under advice from my vet I made the decision. To prolong her suffering would have been an act of cruelty. either way she was done and she could go quietly in my arms or struggle in pain and fear for her last breaths. As a conscientious pet owner I believe that it is our duty to be responsible for our pets - we are their guardians. The vet put the needle in her and she was gone in seconds. She was ready to let go and it was almost as if she needed permission (yes, I am crying right now). My heart broke that day and it hasn't recovered.
It was the hardest thing that I have ever done. But I knew it was the right thing. My vet knew it was the right thing. I would do the same thing again if I had to.
Although this happened in June last year I still don't seem to have come to terms or any sort of peace. I still find myself crying at her loss. I don't seem to have passed through the grieving process right (she had full blood brother, he died a couple of years ago. I was in despair but eventually reconciled.) Every time I see a cat walking about in the street I feel a gut wrenching sense of terror (there is a little Egyptian Mau living locally and he is too friendly, someone will steal him or hurt him). I can't save them all but the thought of one dying - and the memory of my own treasured Missy, just haunts me every day =(
Sorry to be a downer. I thought that maybe cat people would understand and have an idea of where to turn.