My kitty Oreo had to be put down

[Shalenarh]

Hi, today my 19 year old cat was found unmoving and wet on his bottom half with i assume urine, no blood or anything. He can’t get up but he is alert, I just gave him some water mixed with wet food. He didn’t want just water and at first I put it on my finger to see if he would drink it and he did. Then I have syringes so i scooped up the mixture and gave it that way. He just drank quiet a bit. Have no idea what’s going on, but at 2 am he was flicking his tail for a minute or so and i thought nothing of it as he went back to bed. Then nobody saw him today and we found him in this state. Yesterday he was completely fine, eating, running around. My mom and grandma think it’s time. We’ve scheduled an appointment at 4:30 today.

 

[Meowmee]

I am so sorry to hear that. Maybe some tests to see if it is really his time? Since he was ok yesterday. Either way, hugs to you all.

 

[fionasmom]

I am sorry that you are facing this. Asking the vet for an examination first is a good idea in case something can be done.

 

[Shalenarh]

The vet did an examination and everything was normal. He just wasn’t able to stand up. The vet believed it could have been neurological or something with his spine. So unfortunately we did put him down. My baby boy I’ve had since I was 5. We’ve been through the ups and downs of life together. My heart is broken.

 

[Bexandcats]

I'm so sorry to hear that! Lots of healing thoughts for you and lots of internet hugs.

 

[Molly and Abby]

The vet did an examination and everything was normal. He just wasn’t able to stand up. The vet believed it could have been neurological or something with his spine. So unfortunately we did put him down. My baby boy I’ve had since I was 5. We’ve been through the ups and downs of life together. My heart is broken.

You really loved him & he really loved you too. Let your happy memories of those loving times help you heal.

 

[Meowmee]

I am very sorry for your loss. I lost my Wizard at about 20 to cancer, I know how you feel. He was an outdoor rescue about 2-3 when I saved him so with me for 18 years or so. Let your memories be cherished moments you will always have run free sweet boy

 

[Shalenarh]

Thank you all for the kind words. It’s still hard, I feel like I can’t cry anymore and later on I’ll find myself crying as I stare at the cat tree, that he was just on the day before. The day we put Oreo down is and will be one of the hardest days of my life. I know I’ve explained some of this already but I just wanted to put more insight to what happened as I keep going over and over of what if I had realized sooner.

As of July 10, all I wanted to do was lay in bed which resulted in being alone in my thoughts. Was it my fault? If I had noticed sooner would he be alive? How long was he unable to move or make a sound? How long did he suffer by himself? Did I do the right thing? Why didn’t I see any of the signs? While I went about my day “blissfully” unaware my child was suffering. His unusual tail flicking that night, I had also found dried urine and poop next to my desk but didn’t think anything of this. When I finally realized I never saw him once that day, my family started saying they haven’t seen him either. We started searching for him. We looked everywhere, calling him, shaking the treat box. But nothing. We even searched outside but I doubted this as how would he even get outside. My brother and I searched the neighborhood and when we got back, my grandma told my brother to go downstairs and had me sit down. It didn’t hit me anything was wrong but as she kept staring at me, my anxiety with being unable to find him, I started to break. I wasn’t sure why and then she said “mom found him.” That was the thing that completely shattered me. She believed he was dead at this point that’s why she didn’t want me to go downstairs. My other brother who was already downstairs with my mom came upstairs and told me to go down. I heard him tell my grandma “he’s still alive” as I went downstairs. I saw him on my moms bed, unmoving but alive. I broke down even more, my mom’s telling me “he needs you right now” but I didn’t want to see him that way. They brought him upstairs and I finally took him in my arms. As I held him in my arms I could feel him shaking, he would try to cry but wasn’t able to make a sound. He stopped shaking while I held him, as my mom called the vet. We tried giving him water he drank some but stopped. I took him back to my bed while we waited to go to the vet. I gave him some gravy from the soft food on my finger and he licked that up. I switched to a syringe and gave him the mixture of gravy and water and he drank that until he decided he was done. My mom and grandma thought it was time as he stuffed himself in a place he had never gone before.

My brother, my mom and I took him to the vet. We asked for an examination and the vet checked him over saying everything looked good. He could still feel but he was unable to move and he couldn’t lift his head. She checked his temperature and it was below normal. She suspects it could have been neurological or something with his spine. With his low body temperature she said he probably could have died on his own. After listening the vet, I finally agreed and made the decision to let him go. She sedated him and then a few minutes later injected the euthanasia in his leg. He did pass quick, she saw he wasn’t breathing shortly after injecting the euthanasia. Then checked his heartbeat and said “he’s gone.” I ended up hyperventilating, which I think may have startled the vet. When I finally stopped, I hugged his body and cried even more than I already was.

The drive home, I couldn’t muster anymore tears as I sat in silence, staring blankly. Strange as it may seem but I felt nothing. When we got home I passed my family and down to my room. And I started crying again, and wound up crying myself to sleep. When I woke up later on in the evening I had an anxiety attack, my hands began tingling and I couldn’t move them. I was hyperventilating, I’m not sure how long this went on but my mom helped me calm down.

My mom said he waited for her. As she was gone for the last 2 weeks and just got back the day before he died. My niece made some clay figurines of him for me and a card. The next day she made me a crane which she says symbolizes hope. Today I was annoyed as my mom and grandma wouldn’t leave me alone as all I wanted was a day before having to return to “normal” but I’m also thankful for my family, they tried to keep me functioning as best they could despite me not wanting to. For after care, I am having him cremated I’ve been set on this for some time. I can’t stand to bury him as if I move, I would be unable to take him with me. This way no matter where I go, I’ll still have him. I’m not sure exactly when I got him only the year so I placed his birthdate as my own.
My old baby, one of the loves of my life. Oreo 06/12/01–07/09/21

If you took the time to read this, thank you once again.

 

[di and bob]

My heart goes out to you. This time in your life will never be forgotten, it will continue to bring you pain when your heart goes back to this awful time. Time is the only thing that helps you to deal with it, the only thing that eventually will heal your broken heart. We are here to help you through it, sending our condolences and empathy because we too have stood where you are standing now. We are here to tell you it DOES get better, but it takes a long time and a lot of tears.......
Try not to go through all those should haves, could haves. They bring nothing but pain to an already broken heart. I know right now that is impossible, but over time, the sharp edge of grief will dull and you will learn a new life's order for yourself. There is nothing that can change the facts, or the past, and at almost twenty years old your precious little one simply ran out of time on this earth. Not many cats at all live to that great age, it is a testament to your care and the love that surrounded him.
You know in your heart he would never want to bring you such pain. You were there at the end to bring comfort, to offer what you could by your presence to see him on his way to his next path on his life's journey. This path will forever parallel your own, your souls are bonded together by love, and nothing can ever take that from you, not even death. "Death cannot take that which never dies". That sweet boy is at peace because he will always carry that love and will continue to send it to you until the end of time.
The soul cannot breathe under the weight of sorrow. But you are still alive, able to go forward into the future, carrying his love with you so you are really never alone. Eventually, you will have to take a breath and really start to live once more. Being alive demands it. You can allow your sorrow to crush you, letting no more happiness or the beauty of life in to really live your life, or you can gather strength from the love you shared with that precious boy and live your life as you would want for him to live if you were the first to go. Seeking happiness and the beauty that comes from truly living, knowing he taught you what love really is, and sharing that knowledge with another little one in the future. A love that would reside right next to his, never replacing, because that can never be, but helping his to grow even stronger, right along with a blossoming love that makes life a special world to be in. Oreo will be there, he will forever be as close as your thoughts and prayers. So for now, grieve. Because your heart is broken. Grieving takes as long as it takes. Keep busy, concentrate on the good times you remember and know these precious memories are one of life's treasures. They eventually will bring you comfort instead of pain. None of us are guaranteed a tomorrow, so live each and every day to it's fullest, knowing everything has a beginning and an end. Enjoy the simple pleasures of just being alive, and know you will always carry Oreo's love along within you. Because love is spiritual, and can never die.........RIP precious Oreo. You will be dearly missed, you will have a secure place in loving hearts for eternity. May the good Lord bless and keep you, until you meet again!

 

[Meowmee]

Thank you all for the kind words. It’s still hard, I feel like I can’t cry anymore and later on I’ll find myself crying as I stare at the cat tree, that he was just on the day before. The day we put Oreo down is and will be one of the hardest days of my life. I know I’ve explained some of this already but I just wanted to put more insight to what happened as I keep going over and over of what if I had realized sooner.

As of July 10, all I wanted to do was lay in bed which resulted in being alone in my thoughts. Was it my fault? If I had noticed sooner would he be alive? How long was he unable to move or make a sound? How long did he suffer by himself? Did I do the right thing? Why didn’t I see any of the signs? While I went about my day “blissfully” unaware my child was suffering. His unusual tail flicking that night, I had also found dried urine and poop next to my desk but didn’t think anything of this. When I finally realized I never saw him once that day, my family started saying they haven’t seen him either. We started searching for him. We looked everywhere, calling him, shaking the treat box. But nothing. We even searched outside but I doubted this as how would he even get outside. My brother and I searched the neighborhood and when we got back, my grandma told my brother to go downstairs and had me sit down. It didn’t hit me anything was wrong but as she kept staring at me, my anxiety with being unable to find him, I started to break. I wasn’t sure why and then she said “mom found him.” That was the thing that completely shattered me. She believed he was dead at this point that’s why she didn’t want me to go downstairs. My other brother who was already downstairs with my mom came upstairs and told me to go down. I heard him tell my grandma “he’s still alive” as I went downstairs. I saw him on my moms bed, unmoving but alive. I broke down even more, my mom’s telling me “he needs you right now” but I didn’t want to see him that way. They brought him upstairs and I finally took him in my arms. As I held him in my arms I could feel him shaking, he would try to cry but wasn’t able to make a sound. He stopped shaking while I held him, as my mom called the vet. We tried giving him water he drank some but stopped. I took him back to my bed while we waited to go to the vet. I gave him some gravy from the soft food on my finger and he licked that up. I switched to a syringe and gave him the mixture of gravy and water and he drank that until he decided he was done. My mom and grandma thought it was time as he stuffed himself in a place he had never gone before.

My brother, my mom and I took him to the vet. We asked for an examination and the vet checked him over saying everything looked good. He could still feel but he was unable to move and he couldn’t lift his head. She checked his temperature and it was below normal. She suspects it could have been neurological or something with his spine. With his low body temperature she said he probably could have died on his own. After listening the vet, I finally agreed and made the decision to let him go. She sedated him and then a few minutes later injected the euthanasia in his leg. He did pass quick, she saw he wasn’t breathing shortly after injecting the euthanasia. Then checked his heartbeat and said “he’s gone.” I ended up hyperventilating, which I think may have startled the vet. When I finally stopped, I hugged his body and cried even more than I already was.

The drive home, I couldn’t muster anymore tears as I sat in silence, staring blankly. Strange as it may seem but I felt nothing. When we got home I passed my family and down to my room. And I started crying again, and wound up crying myself to sleep. When I woke up later on in the evening I had an anxiety attack, my hands began tingling and I couldn’t move them. I was hyperventilating, I’m not sure how long this went on but my mom helped me calm down.

My mom said he waited for her. As she was gone for the last 2 weeks and just got back the day before he died. My niece made some clay figurines of him for me and a card. The next day she made me a crane which she says symbolizes hope. Today I was annoyed as my mom and grandma wouldn’t leave me alone as all I wanted was a day before having to return to “normal” but I’m also thankful for my family, they tried to keep me functioning as best they could despite me not wanting to. For after care, I am having him cremated I’ve been set on this for some time. I can’t stand to bury him as if I move, I would be unable to take him with me. This way no matter where I go, I’ll still have him. I’m not sure exactly when I got him only the year so I placed his birthdate as my own.
My old baby, one of the loves of my life. Oreo 06/12/01–07/09/21

If you took the time to read this, thank you once again.

So sorry for you and Oreo. He is still with you watching over you and would not want you to suffer. You can write a journal to him and tell him all of your feelings and have a memorial ceremony for him. It will take time to heal. When you are ready get another furbaby, this can help the healing process as well. There is a great forum at the rainbow bridge website for people who are grieving their furbabies. Big hugs to you

 

[bear]

We each process loss differently. I too can find myself missing different feline friends that lived a long life with me. During those times, I try to always thank nature for the wonderful long time gift and memories. That gift was more than the first and last day, it was a gift from nature each day through our times together. So too will be the upcoming memories of your good friend.